Leo XIII CONTENT OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
1.
Definition 2. Sources
3. Content ISD
4. Interpretation
papal documents 5. Dissemination ISD
Can some doubt about the need for the Catholic Church holds a social doctrine, as the mission that Christ entrusted is not a political, economic or social, but religious order. But precisely that mission emerge lights serve to assist the better functioning of the human community, in a manner consistent with their faith. So says the Vatican Council II:
"Christians are wrong, saying that we have here no lasting city, but seek the future, consider that they may neglect temporal things, not realizing that their faith is a matter forcing them to more perfect fulfillment of all of them according to the vocation of each one. " (Gaudium et Spes, 43)
From the origins of Christianity, there was a social apostolate, based on Scripture itself. For example, in the Epistle of Paul to Philemon, in which I note that while in jail, met his slave Onesimus and asks, who became a Christian as he was baptized while in prison, I get it now, not as slave but as a brother. That is, acceptance of religion involves a change of life, which should be reflected in the habits and customs.
also the first Christian communities took care of the poor, who are called matriculari, because they were enrolled in the canon of the Church. In 251, the Roman Church had l.500 matriculari, and resources contributed by the faithful, to attain.
It applied this principle: "the able to work, try to get work, charity, only that you can no longer work. " Similarly, social thinking was formed through the work of the Fathers of the Church, who wrote and preached in the early centuries, both in Latin and Greek language.
noted that they were times of persecution, just starting to fade with the Emperor Constantine, who makes the Edict of Milan in 313, establishing freedom of religion, which encourages Christians. But then come other emperors who resumed the persecutions, Constantius, who was an Arian, and Julian, who was an apostate. It was not until the 380, which issues the decree of Theodosius Thessaloniki, which gives Christianity the official religion status of the Empire.
With the fall of Rome, the invasion of Odoacer in 476, starts the Middle Ages, the disappearance of the Empire, no authority can prevent the disintegration of peoples. The barbarians are limited to passing and destroy, not create a new order. Therefore, as the monasteries are the only places suitable for maintaining the culture and education.
multiply social initiatives of the Church: the houses of God (hospitals), nursing, arbitrations between lords, the truce of God (peace time) and so forth. It also was the work of the Church founded the first universities such as Paris and Bologna.
As for the social doctrine, we must say that did not arise, as is commonly believed, in the nineteenth century. Take, for example, a document that addresses an issue that touches us closely, promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV, in l74l:
"... recommend and sent to each of you ... the protection and effective defense to the said Indians both in the provinces of Paraguay, Brazil and del Río de la Plata named as elsewhere in the Indies ... prohibits strongly to each and every one of the people and Secular including church on pain of excommunication ... latae sententiae ... that hereinafter referred to enslave the Indians, sell, purchase, exchange or den, separated from their wives and children, plunder of their belongings and property, carried from one place to another or transferred or otherwise deprived of liberty or retained in servitude ... " (Bull" Immensa pastorum ", 5).
What emerges, yes, in the nineteenth century, is called "social question", by the total unhinged at the level of community living, which, beginning at the time, has not stopped yet. It was at this stage of history that came together: erroneous ideologies, driven by the French Revolution and the Revolution Industrial, which had repercussions on the economy. The rapid advance of science and technology, applied to the production of goods, is reflected in the proliferation of factories, which employ thousands of workers.
The workers, who must leave rural areas to concentrate on big cities no longer practice their craft with their own tools to become employed in harsh conditions. They are true "proletarian" or whether his only possession is the offspring-their children-who must work, too, from kids, to get the money to enable them to stay in very precarious conditions. This situation arose la encíclica más famosa: Rerum Novarum (cosas nuevas), de León XIII, en l89l, que en su primer párrafo sintetiza el panorama descripto:
“...los adelantos de la industria y de las artes, que caminan por nuevos derroteros...la acumulación de las riquezas en manos de unos pocos y la pobreza de la inmensa mayoría...juntamente con la relajación de la moral, han determinado el planteamiento de la contienda. (...) el tiempo fue insensiblemente entregando a los obreros, aislados e indefensos, a la inhumanidad de los empresarios y a la desenfrenada codicia de los competidores. Hizo aumentar el mal de la voraz usura, que, reiteradamente condenada por la autoridad de la Iglesia, es practicada, however, by greedy and greedy men under a different guise. Add to this that not only the recruitment of labor, but also trade relations of any kind, are subject to the power of a few, to the point that an extremely small number of affluent and wealthy has placed just under the yoke of slavery to an infinite multitude of proletarians . "
1. Definition:
The Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) defines the Social Doctrine of the Church "is the teaching moral in the social, political, economic, familial, cultural, makes the Church, exposed for who has the authority and responsibility to do so . "As we saw, that responsibility rests with the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him.
2. Sources:
social doctrine has its main source in Sacred Scripture, and a secondary source of human reason, enlightened by the Natural Law: the light of reason, which, through practical judgments, he says the man who should avoid evil and do good.
3. Content ISD:
papal teaching on social doctrine, with three features:
a) theoretical synthesis: a set of principles covering all aspects of the temporal order
b) practical range : theory illuminates the action;
c) morally obligatory : although anyone can use their wealth to the Christians is mandatory, and must live and act according to its principles.
Includes:
· Principles of reflection: on permanent values \u200b\u200b(truth, freedom, justice, peace, charity). The three main principles of social order are:
Common Good: the set of social conditions that condone and promote in human beings the integral development of his person. Solidarity
: means joining heavily, the man with his fellows should contribute to the common good of society in which they live. Based on the principle of solidarity, the Church opposes all individualism. Subsidiarity
: neither the state nor civil society initiatives should prevent individuals and groups. Based on this principle, the Church opposes all forms of collectivism.
• Criteria trial : the principles underlying the criteria for making judgments about:
situations: for example, assess the problem of poverty, the structures: in particular, institutions, such as the functioning state;
systems: for example, the consequences of the implementation of neoliberal economic system.
As the Church needs to know the reality of the times and in every society, before giving an opinion, must take into account the contributions of the positive sciences. In this area, we must carefully discern what is strictly scientific, the thesis makes some schools or authors, which may be tinged with ideology. This happens especially with regard to sociology, economics and political theory.
· Guidelines for action : the media must be consistent with the purposes and in accordance with the dignity of man. But also, the doctrine exists to be applied. This is referred to the encyclical Mater et Magistra:
"However, today more than ever, it is necessary that this social doctrine is not only known and studied, but also put into practice in the manner and to the extent that circumstances of time and place permit or claim. " (221)
For this to happen, it is necessary that Catholics are convinced that the doctrine is suitable for solving social problems. However, in applying the principles to reality may be that differences arise among Catholics, since there are issues that are debatable, but in these cases, care should be mutual respect and seek common ground. Also be avoided on the pretext of pursuing the optimum, neglecting the good that is possible and that, therefore, is required concrete.
By engaging in social life, with people of other ideas, we must put effort into not accept commitments that might affect the integrity of religion. But manifest always willing to work with good works or that could lead to good, apart from those who have taken the initiative.
The teacher recalled that the Church has no technical solutions to offer, but is an expert in humanity and has two thousand years of experience to support the depth of his reflections. The Social Doctrine of the Church is not a "third way" between liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism. It has its own category, not a matter of ideology but of theology.
Pius XII taught that the social doctrine is obligatory for all Catholics, and said:
"... this doctrine is finally determined and uniquely in its fundamental points , she is yet large enough to be adapted and applied to the vicissitudes of time variables, so that is not detrimental to their permanent immutable principles. (Aloc. 29-4-l945)
4. Interpretation of the papal documents : No encyclical
alone can claim to be undisputed, but when there is continuity in various documents and successive popes can not doubt the authenticity of the doctrine (Lumen Gentium, 25) .
claimed Pius XII in his address mentioned that the social doctrine is "clearly in all its parts." This does not mean that there can be difficult or paragraphs that deserve to doubts and objections, in a given document. The clarity of the concepts referred to the doctrine as a whole, and to ensure their correct interpretation is to employ certain rules:
a) use authentic text (official), which usually is written in Latin, and is translated and published by the Osservatore Romano. An example of alteration of the text-true intellectual fraud was verified with a concept used by the Mater et Magistra: "socialization "-increasing social relations," which was translated in some editions, " socialism."
b) analyze the concepts : this requires the study of each document, which should be read as a magazine.
c) confront similar texts: on the same subject in several documents. Eg the property.
d) go completely to the : it always pays to read the entire text, before stopping at each paragraph, to have a holistic and comprehensive approach of the content.
e) considering the circumstances, date and place, to determine the nature of the document: If you have a universal or specific.
f) distinguish reasonableness doctrinal: education of a document may be inapplicable to a different case that gave rise to it. It can also be erroneous assessment of a problem. For example, Pius XI condemned a political movement, the French action, Pius XII, with better information, raised the sentence.
g) clarify with theology and philosophy : usually bring documents references to the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Especially important is the consultation with the work of Dr. Universal, Sto. Thomas Aquinas.
5. Dissemination of ISD:
education and dissemination of the Social Doctrine of the Church are part of the evangelising mission of the Church. Juan Pablo II, "Centesimus Annus", talks about the announcement of the ISD, expression analogous to striking because it involves proclaiming the Gospel.
" It follows that the social doctrine is itself the value of an instrument of evangelization as such proclaims God and his mystery of salvation in Christ to all men and, for the same reason reveals man himself . "(CA, 54)
However, we must determine who should this announcement and the respective implementation of the social doctrine. Bishop Quarracino, with Secretary General of CELAM, said that the Church fixed a theology of the laity in Lumen Gentium, which states that it is the laity who have to manage the temporal affairs and sort them according to God (LG, 3l). Bishop adds Quarracino that in our times, with increasingly complex problems with a religious sense diluted, with a desperate shortage of priests, " if the Church wants to structures in the world, made by the laity or not do. " [1]
If the statement is correct, we must recognize that We have not even begun the task, since the DSI is ignored by most of the laity. This is manifest in the Argentines Bishops document "Surf Mar Adentro"
" In a country largely made up of baptized, is shocking ignorance, and the same, the lack of validity of the Social Doctrine of the Church. This ignorance and indifference allow a few have decoupled the faith of the Christian way of behaving compared to material goods and social contracts of justice and solidarity. The educational work of the Church could not give rise to a fairer country, because he has failed to bring Gospel values \u200b\u200btranslate into daily commitments . "(P. 38)
Unfortunately, after the accurate diagnosis and incisive in the above, by detailing the" Shares outstanding "to undertake, only mentioned the need to increase the courses and conferences (p. 97, c) and did not have a concrete program to overcome the situation diagnosed. Therefore, the task of dissemination will be limited to voluntary action by a handful of lay people who, with their own resources and without any support from the hierarchy, consider their moral obligation to convey what they have received.
Sources:
Congregation for Catholic Education. "Guidance Study of the Social Doctrine of the Church ", Madrid, PPC, SA, l995.
CELAM, "Handbook of Social Doctrine of the Church" Bogota, l997.
Sacheri, Carlos. "The Church and the social", Bahia Blanca, La Nueva Provincia, l972.
[1] Quarracino, Antonio. "Following Christ in the social teaching of the Church", Buenos Aires, Claretian, l980, pgs. l0/l2.
0 comments:
Post a Comment