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Catholic Social Teaching On the Development of Peoples ~ 1967 Populorum Progression and On Social Concerns ~ 1987 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. Loyola University New Orleans School of Law February 20, 2004. Facts on Hunger & Poverty International
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Catholic Social Teaching On the Development of Peoples ~ 1967 Populorum Progression and On Social Concerns ~ 1987 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Loyola University New Orleans School of Law February 20, 2004
Facts on Hunger & Poverty International 840 million are malnourished - 799 million are from developing world. More than 153 million are under the age of 5 6 million children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of hunger. Of the 6.2 billion people in today’s world, 1.2 billion live on less than $1 per day. The richest 5% of the world’s people have incomes 114 times that of the poorest 5%.
Hunger and Health 91 children out of 1,000 die before their 5th birthday. In the U.S., 8 children out of 1,000 will die before age 5. 30,000 children die from mostly preventable and treatable causes such as, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, measles and malaria. 12 million people die each year from lack of water, including 3 million children from waterborne diseases 1.1 billion lack access to clean water, 2.4 billion live without decent sanitation
The overall percentage of people living below the poverty line increased from 11.7% in 2001 to 12.1% in 2002. Poverty Rate Children - 16.7% African Americans - 24% Hispanics - 21.8% Female headed families - 27%
“…the problem of world hunger is rooted in the inequitable structures of the world’s social, political and economic systems.” Dr. Martin McLaughlin - former vice-president of the Overseas Development Council where he specialized in world hunger problems.
Bedrock Principle of Catholic Social Teaching Every person - regardless of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, employment, economic status, health, intelligence, achievement or any other differentiating characteristic - is worthy of respect. It is not what I do or what I have that gives me a claim on respect; it is simply being human that establishes my dignity. Given this dignity, THE HUMAN PERSON IS NEVER A MEANS, ALWAYS AN END.
Vision Statement, Millennium Forum United Nations, New York, May 2000 We are one human family, in all our diversity, living on one common homeland and sharing a just, sustainable and peaceful world, guided by universal principles of democracy, equality, inclusion, voluntarism, non- discrimination and participation by all persons, men and women, young and old, regardless of race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or nationality.
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES Populorum Progressio Three Major Duties Mutual Solidarity- aid to developing nations. St. James, “…faith that does nothing in practice is throughly lifeless.” (2:17) #45 Social Justice- the rectification of trade relations between strong and weak nations. Universal Charity- the effort to build a more humane world community, where all can give and receive, and where the progress of some is not bought at the expense of others.
#50 On the Development of Peoples The times call for coordinated planning of projects and programs, which are much more effective than occasional efforts promoted by individual goodwill.
United Nations Millennium Development Goals Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development
How do you build peace when warring tribes lay down their guns? We know 3 outstanding keys in peace building are: ~ role women play in decision making. ~ peace education for youth. ~ economic development.
“Development is the • new name for • Peace.” • Pope Paul VI, 1967 • “Development is the • engine that drives • Economies.” • Bush Administration, 2001
#47 On the Development of Peoples It is not just a question of eliminating hunger and poverty. It involves building a human community where men can live truly human lives, free from discrimination on account of race, religion or nationality, free from servitude to other men or to natural forces which they cannot yet control satisfactorily.
#48 On the Development of Peoples The duty of promoting human solidarity also falls upon the shoulders of nations. It is very important duty of the advanced nations to help the developing nations.
#51 On the Development of Peoples We asked world leaders to set aside part of their military expenditures for a world fund to relieve the needs of impoverished peoples. #52 On the Development of Peoples Such agreements would be free of all suspicion if they were integrated into an overall policy of worldwide cooperation.
#56 On the Development of Peoples Efforts are being made to help the developing nations financially and technologically. Yet all these efforts will prove to be vain and useless, if their results are nullified to a large extent by the unstable trade relations between rich and poor nations. The latter will have no grounds for hope or trust if they fear that what is being given them with one hand is being taken away with the other.
#58 On the Development of Peoples It is evident that the principle of free trade, by itself, is no longer adequate for regulating international agreements. It certainly can work when both parties are about equal economically; in such cases it stimulates progress and rewards efforts. That is why industrially developed nations see an element of justice in this principle. But the case is quite different when the nations involved are far from equal. Market prices that are freely agreed upon can turn out to be most unfair.
#59 On the Development of Peoples The teaching set forth by Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum is still valid today: when 2 parties are in very unequal positions, their mutual consent does not guarantee a fair contract; the rule of free consent remains subservient to the demands of the natural law.
#59 continued In Rerum Novarum this principle was set down with regard to a just wage for the individual worker; but it should be applied with equal force to contracts made between nations: trade relations can no longer be based solely on the principle of free, unchecked competition, for it very often creates an economic dictatorship. Free trade can be called just only when it conforms to the demands of social justice.
#61 On the Development of Peoples What applies to national economies and to high developed nations must also apply to trade relations between rich and poor nations. Indeed, competition should not be eliminated from trade transactions; but it must be kept within limits so that it operates justly and fairly, and thus becomes a truly human endeavor.
#61 On the Development of Peoples In order that international trade be human and moral, social justice requires that it restore to the participants a certain equality of opportunity. To be sure, this equality will not be attained at once, but we must begin to work toward it now by injecting a certain amount of equality into discussions and price talks.
#66 On the Development of Peoples Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations.
#73 On the Development of Peoples Sincere dialogue between cultures, as between individuals, paves the way for ties of brotherhood. This dialogue will be fruitful if it shows the participants how to make economic progress and how to achieve spiritual growth as well; if the technicians take the role of teachers and educators; if the training provided is characterized by a concern for spiritual and moral values, so that it ensures human betterment as well as economic growth.
#76 On the Development of Peoples When we fight poverty and oppose the unfair conditions of the present, we are not just promoting human well-being; we are also furthering man’s spiritual and moral development, and hence we are benefiting the whole human race. For peace is not simply the absence of warfare, based on a precarious balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts directed day after day toward the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect form of justice among men.
#77 On the Development of Peoples Nations are the architects of their own development, and they must bear the burden of this work; but they cannot accomplish it if they live in isolation from others.
#78 On the Development of Peoples As we told the United Nations General Assembly In New York: “Your vocation is to bring not just some peoples but all peoples together as brothers…Who can fail to see the need and importance of thus gradually coming to the establishment of a world authority capable of taking effective action on the juridical and political planes.”
#83 On the Development of Peoples Finally, we look to all men of good will, reminding them that civil progress and economic development are the only road to peace.
On Social Concerns Considerations First ~ document issued by the highest authority Of the Catholic Church addressed to Church And “to all people of good will.” Second ~ worldwide dimension of social question Third ~ contributes to the social doctrine of the Church in its totality and to the concept of development.
#7 On Social Concerns …the encyclical presents itself as an application of the Council’s teaching in social matters to the specific problem of the development and the underdevelopment of peoples.
Economic development must…not be left to the sole judgment of a few individuals or groups, possessing excessive economic power, or of the political community alone, or of certain powerful nations. It is proper, on the contrary, that at every level the largest number of people have an active share in directing that development. The Church in the Modern World, #65
#8 On Social Concerns In continuity with the Encyclical of Leo XIII, it must be recognized that the document of Paul VI possesses the merit of having emphasized the ethical and cultural character of the problems connected with development, and likewise the legitimacy and necessity of the Church’s intervention in this field.
#8 continued The social doctrine of the Church has once more demonstrated its character as an application of the word of God to people’s lives and the life of society as well as to the earthly realities connected with them, offering “principles for reflection,” “criteria of judgment” and “directives for action.” Here, in the document of Paul IV, one finds these three elements with a prevalently practical orientation, that is, directed towards moral conduct.
#10 On Social Concerns The encyclical provides a very original contribution to the social doctrine of the Church in its totality and to the very concept of development. If the social question has acquired a worldwide dimension, this is because the demand for justice can only be satisfied on that level.
#42 On Human Concerns The option or love of preference for the poor. This is an option, or a special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions to be made concerning the ownership and use of goods.
#46 On Social Concerns Development which is merely economic is incapable Of setting man free, on the contrary, it will end by Enslaving him further…Human beings are totally Free only when they are completely themselves, In the fullness of their rights and duties. The same Can be said about society as a whole. The principle obstacle to be overcome on the way To authentic liberation is sin and the structures Produced by sin as it multiplies and spreads.
It is not just individuals who are called to practice justice. Every society must also practice it. Justice must find formal embodiment in the institutional structures of society. The failure of society to embody justice is social sin. Social sin is present when there are: Growing economic disparities, Increasing concentrations of economic power, Accelerating environmental abuse.