Abstract
In his Populorum Progressio Encyclical of 26 March 1967, Pope Paul VI raised the link between development and law as one of the most pressing matters for his and for future generations. This encyclical letter was preceded by the era of social teachings of the Church that had begun at the end of the 19th century with the Rerum novarum Encyclical. Pope John Paul II explained in Annus centisimus that Pope Leo XIII had already offered an initial conception of development to be applied to the juridical relations between masters and workmen. That doctrinal work was further extended by Pope John XXIII, in his 1961 Mater et magistra Encyclical, from social rights to the support of less developed areas, which was to be determined on the basis of justice and equity, and not by a mechanical application of the laws of the marketplace. Less than two years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, the advent of the Populorum Progressio Encyclical occurred within a global context marked by burgeoning prosperity in the West and by the often violent decolonisation process. Nations that had just gained independence were hopeful as to the prospects of improving their legal systems, of contributing to their own development, and of assuming their rightful place in the international community. Despite aid programmes, the disparities between developed and developing nations had increased dramatically. The study of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio may enable a better definition of the notion of development which, according to Pope Paul VI ought not be restricted to purely economic growth, but as ‘man’s complete development which should be understood and pursued in conformity with the dictates of moral law. The Encyclical may provide answers to questions as to the purpose of development, founded on social and legal equality, with the formula, ‘development: the new name for peace’.
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Notes
- 1.
Presentation of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, by Paul Poupard, La documentation catholique, 1967, col. 1018; Cardinal Paul Poupard, «Capire la Populorum Progressio», Quaderni di fede e mondo in Sviluppo, Assise, edizioni Pro Civitate Christiana, 1968; «L’idea dello sviluppo integrale: la ricerca dei veri valori nelle encicliche», Nuntium, n° 31–32, Pontificia Università Lateranense, 2007; Le développement des peoples, entre souvenir et espérance, Paris, éditions Parole et Silence, 2008. François Perroux, Dialogue des monopoles et des nations, Grenoble, Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 1982; L’économie du XXe siècle, Paris, PUF, 1961; Pour une philosophie du nouveau développement, Paris, Fleurus, 1967. Paolo-G. Carozza, «The structures of developpement and the structure of the human person», Questione sociale, questione mondiale. La permanente attualità del magistero di Paolo VI, Rome, Vita et Pensiero, 2017; Marc Feix, «Développement des peuples et développement durable, de Populorum Progressio au Forum social mondial», Revue des sciences religieuses, n° 82/1, 2010; Michel Schooyans, «Populorum Progressio, vingt ans après», Vatican, 1987; Ignace Berten, «Populorum Progressio, quelle actualité?», Développement et civilisations Lebret-Irdef, février 2008; Vincent Cosmao, «Populorum Progressio, trente ans après», Bulletin du Centre Lebret «Foi et Développement», n° 250/251, février et mars 1997.
- 2.
The French and the English versions present certain differences—for instance, the term ‘humanisme intégral’, is rendered in the English version as ‘true humanism’, and the term ‘devoir communautaire’ is rendered as ‘ties with all men’.
- 3.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, n° 3 ‘Today it is most important for people to understand and appreciate that the social question ties all men together, in every part of the world. John XXIII stated this clearly, and Vatican II confirmed it in its Pastoral Constitution on The Church in the World of Today. The seriousness and urgency of these teachings must be recognized without delay. The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance. And the Church, cut to the quick by this cry, asks each and every man to hear his brother’s plea and answer it lovingly’.
- 4.
‘We come to you as a messenger of Jesus and his teaching. Many of you know His life and doctrine and, like Mahatma Gandhi, express reverence for Jesus and admiration for His teaching. ‘I am the light of the world’, Jesus said; and today the world stands in great need of this Light, to overcome the strife and division, and the menace of unprecedented violence, which threaten to engulf mankind. The people of India and of Asia can draw light and strength from the teaching and spirit of Jesus, from His love and compassion, in their efforts to help the less fortunate, to practise brotherly love, to attain peace among themselves and with their neighbours’. Journey to India, homily of Paul VI, Bombay, 4 December 1964.
- 5.
‘It is a question of the full development of man and humanity which opens to all the way of truth; the truth of science—a major factor of cultural, technical and economic progress—as well as moral and spiritual truth, which alone is capable of fulfilling man’s highest aspirations’. Message of His Holiness Paul VI to Mr. Rene Maheu, Director General of UNESCO for the World Congress of Ministers of Education, 26 August 1965.
- 6.
Presentation of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, by Monseigneur Paul Poupard, La documentation catholique, 1967, col. 1017.
- 7.
Motu Proprio: Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam, 6 January 1967: ‘Deinde de Pontificia Commissione studiosorum, a Iustitia et Pace appellata.
Haec Commissio sibi proponit populum Dei universum excitare ad plenam adipiscendam conscientiam muneris sibi hisse temporibus demandati; ita quidem, ut hinc pauperiorum populorum progressus promoveatur ac socialis iustitia inter nationes foveatur, illinc vero subsidia nationibus minus progressis praebeantur, quorum ope eaedem incrementis suis per se ipsae consulere possint. Quam ad rem huius Pontificiae Commissionis erit:
(1) colligere ac summatim perscribere praestantiores scientiae investigationes ac doctrinae adiumenta, quae pertineant sive ad cuiusvis generis incrementa, in campo scilicet educationis et mentis culturae, rei oeconomicae et socialis, et in ceteris eiusdem generis; sive ad ipsam pacem, in iis omnibus rebus, quae progressus causam superent;
(2) operam conferre, ut altius pervestigentur, quod attinet ad doctrinam, ad pastorale munus et ad apostolatus actionem, generales quaestiones, quae progressus et pacis causa proponantur;
(3) curare, ut haec doctrina atque huiusmodi nuntiorum collectio in notitiam omnium Institutorum Ecclesiae, quorum intersit, perferantur;
(4) vincula nectere inter omnia Instituta, hoc quidem Consilio, ut apta virium coniunctio foveatur, validiores nisus fulciantur, itemque caveatur, ne ad idem propositum, cum virium impendio, varia incepta et opera contendant.’
- 8.
This definition will be given in the Encyclical Deus Caritas est: ‘The just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics. As Augustine once said, a State which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves: ‘Remota itaque iustitia quid sunt regna nisi magna latrocinia?’. Fundamental to Christianity is the distinction between what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God (cf. Mt 22:21), in other words, the distinction between Church and State, or, as the Second Vatican Council puts it, the autonomy of the temporal sphere. The State may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony between the followers of different religions. For her part, the Church, as the social expression of Christian faith, has a proper independence and is structured on the basis of her faith as a community which the State must recognize. The two spheres are distinct, yet always interrelated.’
- 9.
Presentation of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, by Monsignor Paul Poupard, La documentation catholique, 1967, col. 1017.
- 10.
‘The action of Church is not entirely on the same level as your own, and the convergence of efforts and points of view leaves intact the distinction that exists between a spiritual society like the Church and the temporal society constituted by the countries you represent.’ (Cf. Populorum Progressio, No. 13), Address of His Holiness Paul VI to the Intergovernmental Committee of the World Food Programme, 20 April 1967.
- 11.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 40.
- 12.
Ibid., No. 74.
- 13.
Ibid., No., 45.
- 14.
Presentation of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, by Monsignor Paul Poupard, La documentation catholique, 1967, col. 1017.
- 15.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 3: ‘Today it is most important for people to understand and appreciate that the social question ties all men together, in every part of the world. John XXIII stated this clearly, (6) and Vatican II confirmed it in its Pastoral Constitution on The Church in the World of Today. (7) The seriousness and urgency of these teachings must be recognized without delay.
The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance. And the Church, cut to the quick by this cry, asks each and every man to hear his brother's plea and answer it lovingly’.
- 16.
- 17.
Maritain [3].
- 18.
Clark [4].
- 19.
- 20.
von Nell-Breuning [7].
- 21.
Emmanuel Larrain Errázuriz, Bishop of Talca, Chile, President of CELAM, Lettre pastorale sur le développement et la paix, Paris: Pax Christi (1965).
- 22.
Presentation of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, by Paul Poupard, La documentation catholique, 1967, col. 1018.
- 23.
Lebret [8].
- 24.
Presentation of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, by Paul Poupard, La documentation catholique, 1967, col. 1018.
- 25.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 3: «Founded to build the kingdom of heaven on earth rather than to acquire temporal power, the Church openly avows that the two powers—Church and State—are distinct from one another; that each is supreme in its own sphere of competency».
- 26.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 13: «The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance. And the Church, cut to the quick by this cry, asks each and every man to hear his brother's plea and answer it lovingly».
- 27.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 4.
- 28.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 70. Cf., ‘Why is it, then, that they give in to baser motives of self-interest when they set out to do business in the developing countries?’. NB., French version of the Encyclical, is more forceful—cf., ‘pourquoi reviendraient-ils aux principes inhumains de l'individualisme quand ils opèrent en pays moins développés?’.
- 29.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 9: ‘Then there are the flagrant inequalities not merely in the enjoyment of possessions, but even more in the exercise of power’.
- 30.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 7: ‘Though insufficient for the immensity and urgency of the task, the means inherited from the past are not totally useless. It is true that colonizing nations were sometimes concerned with nothing save their own interests, their own power and their own prestige; their departure left the economy of these countries in precarious imbalance—the one-crop economy, for example, which is at the mercy of sudden, wide-ranging fluctuations in market prices. Certain types of colonialism surely caused harm and paved the way for further troubles’.
- 31.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 52: ‘It is certainly all right to maintain bilateral and multilateral agreements. Through such agreements, ties of dependence and feelings of jealousy—holdovers from the era of colonialism —give way to friendly relationships of true solidarity that are based on juridical and political equality. But such agreements would be free of all suspicion if they were integrated into an overall policy of worldwide collaboration. The member nations, who benefit from these agreements, would have less reason for fear or mistrust. They would not have to worry that financial or technical assistance was being used as a cover for some new form of colonialism that would threaten their civil liberty, exert economic pressure on them, or create a new power group with controlling influence’.
- 32.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 49: ‘If prosperous nations continue to be jealous of their own advantage alone, they will jeopardize their highest values, sacrificing the pursuit of excellence to the acquisition of possessions. We might well apply to them the parable of the rich man. His fields yielded an abundant harvest and he did not know where to store it: But God said to him, Fool, this very night your soul will be demanded from you’.
- 33.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 62: ‘There are other obstacles to creation of a more just social order and to the development of world solidarity: nationalism and racism. It is quite natural that nations recently arrived at political independence should be quite jealous of their new-found but fragile unity and make every effort to preserve it. It is also quite natural for nations with a long-standing cultural tradition to be proud of their traditional heritage. But this commendable attitude should be further ennobled by love, a love for the whole family of man. Haughty pride in one’s own nation disunites nations and poses obstacles to their true welfare. It is especially harmful where the weak state of the economy calls for a pooling of information, efforts and financial resources to implement programs of development and to increase commercial and cultural interchange’.
- 34.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 63: ‘Racism is not the exclusive attribute of young nations, where sometimes it hides beneath the rivalries of clans and political parties, with heavy losses for justice and at the risk of civil war. During the colonial period it often flared up between the colonists and the indigenous population, and stood in the way of mutually profitable understanding, often giving rise to bitterness in the wake of genuine injustices. It is still an obstacle to collaboration among disadvantaged nations and a cause of division and hatred within countries whenever individuals and families see the inviolable rights of the human person held in scorn, as they themselves are unjustly subjected to a regime of discrimination because of their race or their color’.
- 35.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 33: ‘It is for the public authorities to establish and lay down the desired goals, the plans to be followed, and the methods to be used in fulfilling them; and it is also their task to stimulate the efforts of those involved in this common activity. But they must also see to it that private initiative and intermediary organizations are involved in this work. In this way they will avoid total collectivization and the dangers of a planned economy which might threaten human liberty and obstruct the exercise of man's basic human rights’.
- 36.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 26.
- 37.
Declaration of human and civic rights, of 26 August 1789, article 17, ‘Since the right to Property is inviolable and sacred, no one may be deprived thereof, unless public necessity, legally ascertained, obviously requires it, and just and prior indemnity has been paid’; Civil Code of France, article 544: ‘Ownership is the right to enjoy and dispose of things in the most absolute manner, provided they are not used in a way prohibited by statutes or regulations’.
- 38.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 23. De Nabute, c. 12, n. 53: PL 14. 747; cf. Palanque [9].
- 39.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 23: The Use of Private Property, ‘He who has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him? Everyone knows that the Fathers of the Church laid down the duty of the rich toward the poor in no uncertain terms. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich. These words indicate that the right to private property is not absolute and unconditional’.
- 40.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 23: ‘No one may appropriate surplus goods solely for his own private use when others lack the bare necessities of life. In short, as the Fathers of the Church and other eminent theologians tell us, the right of private property may never be exercised to the detriment of the common good. When private gain and basic community needs conflict with one another, it is for the public authorities to seek a solution to these questions, with the active involvement of individual citizens and social groups’.
- 41.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 31: “Everyone knows that revolutionary uprisings engender new injustices, introduce new inequities and bring new disasters”.
- 42.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 31.
- 43.
Ibid.
- 44.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 29, ‘We must make haste. Too many people are suffering. While some make progress, others stand still or move backwards; and the gap between them is widening. However, the work must proceed in measured steps if the proper equilibrium is to be maintained. Makeshift agrarian reforms may fall short of their goal. Hasty industrialization can undermine vital institutions and produce social evils, causing a setback to true human values’.
- 45.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 12.
- 46.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 6, ‘Moreover, those nations which have recently gained independence find that political freedom is not enough. They must also acquire the social and economic structures and processes that accord with man's nature and activity, if their citizens are to achieve personal growth and if their country is to take its rightful place in the international community’.
- 47.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 16.
- 48.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 26, ‘But if it is true that a type of capitalism, as it is commonly called, has given rise to hardships, unjust practices, and fratricidal conflicts that persist to this day, it would be a mistake to attribute these evils to the rise of industrialization itself, for they really derive from the pernicious economic concepts that grew up along with it’.
- 49.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 26, ‘The structural machinery [those colonizers] introduced was not fully developed or perfected, but it did help to reduce ignorance and disease, to promote communication, and to improve living conditions’.
- 50.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 12, ‘We need only mention the efforts of Pere Charles de Foucauld: he compiled a valuable dictionary of the Tuareg language, and his charity won him the title, “everyone's brother”. So We deem it fitting to praise those oft forgotten pioneers who were motivated by love for Christ, just as We honor their imitators and successors who today continue to put themselves at the generous and unselfish service of those to whom they preach the Gospel’.
- 51.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 12, Man’s Supernatural Destiny, ‘Self-development, however, is not left up to man's option. Just as the whole of creation is ordered toward its Creator, so too the rational creature should of his own accord direct his life to God, the first truth and the highest good. Thus human self-fulfilment may be said to sum up our obligations. Moreover, this harmonious integration of our human nature, carried through by personal effort and responsible activity, is destined for a higher state of perfection. United with the life-giving Christ, man’s life is newly enhanced; it acquires a transcendent humanism which surpasses its nature and bestows new fullness of life. This is the highest goal of human self-fulfilment’.
- 52.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 42, ‘The ultimate goal is a full-bodied humanism. And does this not mean the fulfillment of the whole man and of every man? A narrow humanism, closed in on itself and not open to the values of the spirit and to God who is their source, could achieve apparent success’.
- 53.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 22, Issues and Principles.
- 54.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 27, Nobility of Work, ‘Further, when work is done in common—when hope, hardship, ambition and joy are share—it brings together and firmly unites the wills, minds and hearts of men. In its accomplishment, men find themselves to be brothers’.
- 55.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 33, Programs and Planning.
- 56.
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, No. 76, Development, the New Name for Peace.
- 57.
Homily of Paul VI, Christmas—Closing of the Holy Year, 25 December 1964: ‘La sapienza dell'amore fraterno, la quale ha caratterizzato in virtù ed in opere, che cristiane sono giustamente qualificate, il cammino storico della santa Chiesa, esploderà con novella fecondità, con vittoriosa felicità, con rigenerante socialità.
Non l’odio, non la contesa, non l'avarizia sarà la sua dialettica, ma l'amore, l'amore generatore d’amore, l’amore dell'uomo per l’uomo, non per alcun provvisorio ed equivoco interesse, o per alcuna amara e mal tollerata condiscendenza, ma per l’amore a Te; a Te, o Cristo scoperto nella sofferenza e nel bisogno di ogni nostro simile. La civiltà dell’amore prevarrà nell’affanno delle implacabili lotte sociali, e darà al mondo la sognata trasfigurazione dell’umanità finalmente cristiana. Così, così si conclude, o Signore, questo Anno Santo; così o uomini fratelli riprenda coraggioso e gioioso il nostro cammino nel tempo verso l’incontro finale, che fin d’ora mette sulle nostre labbra l’estrema invocazione: Vieni, o Signore Gesù (Apoc. 22, 20)’.
- 58.
Idem.
- 59.
Idem; Patrick de Laubier, La civilisation de l’amour selon Paul VI, Paris, Frédéric Aimard, éditeur, 2013.
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Pape, C.ML. (2019). Populorum Progressio: Development and Law?. In: Szwedo, P., Peltz-Steele, R., Tamada, D. (eds) Law and Development. Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9423-2_2
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