(UNDATED) Ever since 1891, when Pope Leo XIII issued Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labor), the Catholic Church has seen a few blockbuster encyclicals. Pope Benedict XVI may be about to issue another one for the ages with his forthcoming Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).
Rerum Novarum addressed the challenges of the Industrial Revolution and its widespread exploitation of workers. It resounded in the United States as it upheld the rights of employees to organize and rejected both communism and unbridled capitalism. Later social encyclicals, which were built on its foundation, addressed growing concerns of labor and international finance.
Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical, was the first encyclical ever to address not just Catholics, but all people of good will. It also addressed a major social problem of its time: the Cold War. It said that peace required respect for human rights. Coming just months after the Cuban missile crisis, it offered hope here at home with its call for negotiation, not conflict.
Pope Paul VI’s only social encyclical, Populorum Progressio, (Progress of Peoples), in 1967, saw development as the path to peace. The world economy must serve the many, not the few, it said, and highlighted the inequities of global trade. It reiterated Catholic teaching on the right to a just wage, security in employment and unionization. Peace-through-development was an important call for Americans ensnared in the Vietnam War.
Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life), Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical, spoke of the inviolability of human life. It proclaimed a vital message in a society marked by widespread abortion, growing euthanasia and a too-casual use of the death penalty. It touched concerns in the U.S. where medical advances to preserve life have been overshadowed by efforts to snuff it out.
Like its predecessors, Benedict’s Caritas in Veritate will address the social ills of its time. The pope may touch on the economy, ecology and personal and corporate ethics. Preparation on it began two years ago; reportedly it was planned to mark the 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio.
With world finances in shambles, society may be ready to reconsider global economic structures. The worldwide reverberation of the U.S. mortgage meltdown surely highlights the need to address finances from a new, global perspective. As if we needed a reminder that we’re all part of one world community, last year’s financial tsunami was it.
The fact that human beings are damaging creation makes ecology another likely topic. A strong social statement from the Vatican, which is immune from worries about curtailing its own manufacturing empire or other business ventures, can provide a basis for honest brokering on environmental concerns. The pope is a voice for the poor and can speak out for everyone’s rights to basic needs, including water — a staple that’s quickly becoming an endangered commodity in many areas of the world.
As a moral leader, the pope may also address the greed heralded in headlines sparked by individual (the well-named Mr. Madoff comes to mind) or corporate (think Enron for starters) misdeeds. The fact that greed requires one to ignore — indeed, to exploit — one’s neighbor underscores dramatically the violation of the simple principle for peace: love thy neighbor.
Today’s social ills, sins, and crimes give Benedict plenty to work with. Economic, ecological and ethical troubles abound. It’s safe to say the world is overdue for a call to consider the ethical dimensions of economic life.
Benedict is, first and foremost, a teacher and pastor. Though his words will likely be carefully nuanced, his message will be clear: divorcing economics and ethics is a path to moral and human disaster.
To be sure, no one will be 100 percent satisfied with the encyclical. It may be a boon, however, if it prompts citizens across the globe to think, act and change when they look to others’ needs as well as their own.
(Sister Mary Ann Walsh is director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.)
