“ COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH”
A PAX ROMANA STUDY GUIDE J O E H O L L A N D & C É S A R B A L D E L OM A R E D I T OR S
The cover photo is of the Catholic Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere within the city of Rome, Italy. This was the Roman titular church of James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 to 1921. A plaque in the Basilica honors this famous American Cardinal who, in one of his first acts as Archbishop, successfully intervened with the Vatican so that it would not condemn the young labor movement in America known as the Knights of Labor. Born into a family of Irish immigrants, Cardinal Gibbons was one of the important church leaders who significantly influenced the decision of Pope Leo XIII to write his famous social encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which supported both labor unions and the regulatory state – issued in 1991, only four years after Cardinal Gibbon’s famous intervention with the Vatican. His intervention, also known as “Gibbons Memorial,” defended the rights of workers to form unions and closely linked Catholic evangelization closely to the church’s defense of the working class. The plaque in the Basilica honors Cardinal Gibbons with the following words:
JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE 1887-1921 FAITHFUL SHEPHERD AND TEACHER PIONEER ECUMENIST DEFENDER OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS ON TAKING POSSESSION OF THIS HISTORIC BASILICA AS HIS TITULAR CHURCH ON THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION, MARCH 25 , 1887, CARDINAL GIBBONS PREACHED A SERMON WHICH, IN ITS SUPPORT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, ANTICIPATED AND HELPED MAKE POSSIBLE THE TEACHING OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL IN DIGNITATIS HUMANAE AND GAUDIUM ET SPES.
“CO M PE NDI U M O F THE S O CI AL DO CT RI NE O F TH E CH UR CH ”
A P AX RO M A N A ST U DY G U ID E
Edited by JOE HOLLAND President Pax Romana /Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs - USA CÉSAR J. BALDELOMAR Executive Director Pax Romana Center for International Study of Catholic Social Teaching
Produced by PAX ROMANA Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs USA 1025 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1000 Washington DC 20036 USA Email pax-romana-cmica-usa@comcast.net Email pax-romana-cmica-usa.org
In dedication to the 420,000 university students, professionals, and intellectuals who are members of Pax Romana in both the Eastern and Western Catholic Churches across 80 countries of Planet Earth and to the countless deceased members of Pax Romana reaching back more than 120 years
T A B L E
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C O N T E N T S
Preface About Catholic Social Doctrine How to Use This Study Guide Introduction
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Summary of Introduction: AN INTEGRAL AND SOLIDARY HUMANISM Joe Holland, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Part I Summary of Chapter One: GOD’S PLAN OF LOVE FOR HUMANITY James Conley, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Two: THE CHURCH’S MISSION AND SOCIAL DOCTRINE Arthur Kane, M.A. Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Three: THE HUMAN PERSON AND HUMAN RIGHTS César J. Baldelomar Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Four: PRINCIPLES OF THE CHURCH’S SOCIAL DOCTRINE Lynn Bridgers, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide
Part II Summary of Chapter Five: THE FAMILY, VITAL CELL OF SOCIETY David Masters, M.A. & Dayane Masters Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Six: HUMAN WORK Josef Klee, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Seven: ECONOMIC LIFE Rebecca Qui単ones Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Eight: THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY Thomas Brezenski, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Nine: THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY Rev. Stephen Judd, M.M., Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Ten: SAFEGUARDING THE ENVIRONMENT Edward Ajhar, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Summary of Chapter Eleven: THE PROMOTION OF PEACE Tim Shipe Plus Discussion Guide
Part III Summary of Chapter Eleven: SOCIAL DOCTRINE & ECCLESIAL ACTION Francis J. Sicius, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide Conclusion Summary of Conclusion: FOR A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE Joe Holland, Ph.D. Plus Discussion Guide
S UM M AR Y O F T HE I NT RO DU C TIO N: "A N IN TEG R AL A ND SO L ID A RI T Y H U M AN IS M"
J OE H OLLAND Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Saint Thomas University of Florida; President, Pax Romana/Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs USA
At the Da wn of the T hird M illennium (1-6)
The Compendium begins by telling us that, at the dawn of this Third Millennium of Christian history, the Church – a pilgrim people guided by Christ the “great shepherd” who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” -speaks to “all people and all nations” to announce an integral salvation. This integral salvation needs to “permeate this world in the realities of the economy and labor, of technology and communications, of society and politics, of the international community and of the relations among culture and peoples.” This teaching of integral salvation includes “the demands of justice and peace” as central to “the new law of love.” It is founded in the “transcendent dignity” of humans as they “encounter their neighbor in a network of relationships.” Thus, the church’s social doctrine has a profound unity rooted in God’s love for the world. Loved by God, all people are called to become authentically human by understanding “their transcendent dignity” and by working for “justice and peace” through “the new law of love” on behalf of our neighbors “in a network of relationships” at every level “to the ends of the earth.” We have so many “needy brothers and sisters waiting for help, ” including those suffering from unjust oppression, unemployment, lack of 1
healthcare, hunger, homelessness, the despair of affluence without meaning, drug addiction, abandonment in old age, marginalization by discrimination, ecological crisis, war, and human rights violations. Such needs require “denunciation, proposals, and a commitment to cultural and social projects” with a “responsibility inspired by an integral and shared humanism.” (Italics added.) T he Sig nificance of this Document (7-12)
The Compendium tells us that the Church’s social doctrine offers:
“Principles for reflection” “Criteria for judgment” “Directives for action”
As “the starting point for promotion of an integral and solidary humanism,” this doctrine is “a genuine pastoral priority,” “part of the Church’s evangelizing mission,” and essential for “the new evangelization.” The Compendium presents here ‘a complete and systematic … overview” of the “fundamental elements” of Church’s Magisterium in the social arena,” with “Episcopal Conferences (having) the task of making the appropriate applications as required for the different local situations.” While “this teaching” is drawn “from documents of differing authority,” it needs to be “considered as a whole,” that is characterized by “an ever greater interconnectedness” which requires a “systematic approach” to our contemporary reality, with “constant updating” of interpreting “the new signs of the times,” and with “new strategies” and “different charisms” for “the evangelization of the social order.” The Compendium “is first of all for bishops, who will determine the most favorable methods for interpreting it correctly,” and also for priests, religious, and the lay faithful, and indeed for all Christian communities, as well as for our “brethren of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities,” for “followers of other religions,” and for “all people of good will.” It also welcomes the new dialogue among “religions and cultures” 2
in “promoting peace, fraternity, justice, and growth of the human person.” At the Service of the Full Truth a bout M an (13-17)
In service to “the women and men of our time,” the Compendium draws on the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes (from Vatican Council II) and reflects the Church’s “one solitary goal,” namely “to carry forward the work of Christ himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit … to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to sit in judgment, and to serve and not to be served.” In this regard, the Church offers a contribution to “the question of man’s place in nature and human society” on behalf of “civilizations and cultures” that are rooted in the ancient traditions of human wisdom – often thousands of years old. “These are the basic questions of human life, recalled by the admonition found on the ancient “temple portal at Delphi” – “Know yourself.” These questions address the very nature of “human existence, society and history.” Such questions are “essentially religious,” for they ask the “why of things.” They take on ever greater significance today because of “the enormity of the challenges facing modern generations.”
A first challenge is “the truth itself of the being who is man” A second is “the understanding and management of pluralism and difference at every level” A third is “globalization,” for we are witnessing “the opening of a new era” of “human destiny.”
“The disciplines of Jesus” commit themselves to “the quest for the truth and the meaning of life lived both as an individual person and as a society.” Regarding these questions, “God has spoken to men and women throughout history.” In Jesus, his Son made man, “God … has entered history in order to dialogue with humanity and to reveal to mankind his plan of salvation, justice, and brotherhood.” 3
In the Sig n of Solidarity, Respect, and Love (18-19)
“The Church journeys along the roads of history together with all of humanity.” “The Second Vatican Council” demonstrated the Church’s “solidarity, respect, and affection for all of humanity by its dialogue with the great problems of our times.” It did this in the light of the Gospel and “under the promptings of the Holy Spirit,” in order “to put the Church at the service of the human race.” The Church proposes to all women and men a humanism that reflects “God’s plan of love.” This plan calls for “an integral and solidary humanism capable of creating a new social, economic, and political order founded on the dignity and freedom of every human person in peace, justice, and solidarity.”
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