John 3, 22-36 + CSDC and CV

John 3, 22-36 + CSDC and CV

CV 69b Technology enables us to exercise dominion over matter, to reduce risks, to save labour, to improve our conditions of life. It touches the heart of the vocation of human labour: in technology, seen as the product of his genius, man recognizes himself and forges his own humanity. Technology is the objective side of human action [151] whose origin and raison d'etre is found in the subjective element: the worker himself. For this reason, technology is never merely technology. It reveals man and his aspirations towards development, it expresses the inner tension that impels him gradually to overcome material limitations. Technology, in this sense, is a response to God's command to till and to keep the land (cf. Gen 2:15) that he has entrusted to humanity, and it must serve to reinforce the covenant between human beings and the environment, a covenant that should mirror God's creative love.

Notes: [151] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens, 5: loc. cit., 586-589. 

It is necessary for the market and the State to act in concert

CSDC 353. It is necessary for the market and the State to act in concert, one with the other, and to complement each other mutually. In fact, the free market can have a beneficial influence on the general public only when the State is organized in such a manner that it defines and gives direction to economic development, promoting the observation of fair and transparent rules, and making direct interventions — only for the length of time strictly necessary [737] — when the market is not able to obtain the desired efficiency and when it is a question of putting the principle of redistribution into effect. There exist certain sectors in which the market, making use of the mechanisms at its disposal, is not able to guarantee an equitable distribution of the goods and services that are essential for the human growth of citizens. In such cases the complementarities of State and market are needed more than ever.

Notes: [737] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 48: AAS 83 (1991), 852-854.

(Jn 3, 22-36) The one who comes from above is above all  

[22] After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. [23] ohn was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, [24] for John had not yet been imprisoned. [25] Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings. [26] So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him." [27] John answered and said, "No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. [28] You yourselves can testify that I said (that) I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. [29] The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. [30] He must increase; I must decrease." [31] The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven (is above all). [32] He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. [33] Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. [34] For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift 16 of the Spirit. [35] The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. [36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. 

CSDC 51. According to the plan of God brought about in Christ, there corresponds to the identity and mission of the Church in the world “a saving and eschatological purpose which can be fully attained only in the next life”[60]. Precisely for this reason, the Church offers an original and irreplaceable contribution with the concern that impels her to make the family of mankind and its history more human, prompting her to place herself as a bulwark against every totalitarian temptation, as she shows man his integral and definitive vocation[61]. By her preaching of the Gospel, the grace of the sacraments and the experience of fraternal communion, the Church “heals and elevates the dignity of the human person, ... consolidates society and endows the daily activity of men with a deeper sense and meaning”[62]. At the level of concrete historical dynamics, therefore, the coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be discerned in the perspective of a determined and definitive social, economic or political organization. Rather, it is seen in the development of a human social sense which for mankind is a leaven for attaining wholeness, justice and solidarity in openness to the Transcendent as a point of reference for one's own personal definitive fulfilment.

Notes: [60] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 40: AAS 58 (1966), 1058. [61] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2244. [62] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 40: AAS 58 (1966), 1058.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]