1. Roots of
Catholic Social Teaching
from Tradition

2. Essential Question
Why would
a Church
that is responsible for
the “souls” of millions
enter
the world of
economic uncertainty and political strife?

3. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Review: Three Sources of C.S.T. are . . . ?
 Old and New Testaments
 History / Tradition of the Church
 Life and Social Sciences

4. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Review Old Testament Roots of C.S.T.
 Laws –for benefit of the poor with special emphasis on
widows, orphans, and aliens
 Prophets – challenged corruption of political and
religious leadership and challenged the overall
community to a higher moral standard.
 Review New Testament Roots of C.S.T.
 Gospels – examples and teachings of Jesus
 Acts of the Apostles– the early Christian Community’s
“communism”
 Letters – Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude

5. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 From c. 100 – 1891 A.D.
 There was no body of Catholic teaching that
would be labeled Social Justice.
 “Care for the poor” and “Do unto others” was
about as far as it went.
 During these centuries religious communities
took responsibility for
 Building hospitals and caring for the sick
 Founding schools and educating the people
 Helping immigrants find their way in a new home
 Feeding the hungry
 Caring for those displaced by war, famine, etc.

6. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Prior to the 20th Century
 It was not common for governments to create
and fund programs that were designed to help
the poor.
 At times, good monarchs may have worked to
keep their poor subjects happy, but probably
more out of a fear of rebellion than a sense
justice.
 The role of working for charity and justice was
filled by individuals and religious communities
and organizations (Catholic & Non-Catholic).

7. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Two Events of the Late Nineteenth Century
forced the Church to Deal with Social Justice in
a way it never had to in the past:
1. The Industrial Revolution
2. The Rise of Marxist-Communism

8. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 The Industrial Revolution
 Prior to Industrial Revolution, the world was
mostly an agrarian / rural based economy.
 Industrial Revolution created a manufacturing /
urban based economy, with new problems:
 Tension existed between capital (managers or
owners) and labor (the workers) over better
wages and safer working conditions.
 Capital: willing to exploit the worker for
profit;
 Labor: willingness to commit acts of
violence for better wages & working
conditions.

9. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 The Rise of Marxist Communism
 Given the exploitation of industrial
workers, Marxist Communism became an
attractive philosophy to workers:
 “Workers of the World Unite!” – Workers
wanted to join unions, which had communist
sympathies.
 M.C. saw religion as “opium for the people” –
they questioned the notion of enduring
suffering with the hope that heaven’s reward
will be great.

10. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 The Catholic Church now had ideological
competition which it hadn’t had in the past.
 These events came to a head in 1891, when
Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical (a letter)
addressing “these new things”.
 Rerum Novarum
 “Of These New Things”
 “On the Condition of Labor”

11. Rerum Novarum (Translation: Of New Things)
 Rerum Novarum (Translation: Of New Things)
 encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891
 an open letter that addressed the condition of the working
classes
 encyclical is [commonly] entitled, "On the Condition of
Labor".
 It discusses the relationships and mutual duties between labor and
capital, as well as government and its citizens.
 Of primary concern was the need for some [relief] for "the misery
and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the
working class.”
 It supports the rights of labor to form unions, rejected communism and
unrestricted capitalism, while affirming the right to private property.
 (Read : Message, Impact & Class vs. Class)

12. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Rerum Novarum was the first social justice
encyclical defining the Church’s position on
a social issue: the relationship between
capital and labor.
 Statements to:
 Workers
 Employers
 Governments

13. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Rerum Novarum to Workers:
 you have the right to join unions and strike, but
you may not commit acts of violence against
your employers.
 (Read: On Rights and Responsibilities of Workers)

14. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Rerum Novarum to Employers:
 you are serving society by providing jobs and
necessary goods, but you need to pay your
workers a just wage.
 (Read: On Rights and Responsibilities of Employers)

15. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Rerum Novarum to Governments:
 you need to pass laws and build institutions
that protect workers and promote the
common good.
 (Read: On the Rights and Responsibilities of Government)

16. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Many of the positions in Rerum Novarum were supplemented by later encyclicals, in
particular Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno / On the Fortieth Anniversary of “Rerum
Novarum” (1931); John XXIII’s Mater et Magistra / Mother and Church (1961); and
John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus / On the One Hundredth Anniversary of “Rerum
Novarum (1991).
Vatican Council II
Benedict XVI
John Paul II
Leo XIII John XXIII

17. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 Other C.S.T. documents written in the 20 th
Century were also written in response to what
the Church perceives as injustice:
 Work
 Economics
 War
 Environment
 Life issues

18. Roots of C.S.T. from Tradition
 The “nine + two” themes of C.S.T. are themes
that are taken from these documents and
organized.
 There’s no official list
 Some sources group them as 7 themes
 Other sources as 12 themes

19. Essential Question
Why would
a Church
that is responsible for
the “souls” of millions
enter
the world of
economic uncertainty and political strife?