Catholic social teaching

**Catholic Social Teaching** is the official Catholic doctrine on society. This ranged from individual human dignity to the common good to environmental stewardship.

## Lay origins of Catholic Social Teaching

The Catholic Church was largely reactionary towards the changes of Europe around the early 19th, largely in response to the turbulence caused by the French revolution. As such, the task of formulating a catholic response to the issues of democracy and capitalism came down to lay thinkers and isolated clerics. Catholic social thinkers such as Frederic Ozanam, Alban de Villeneuve-Bargemont and Bishop of Maine Wilhelm von Ketteler provided early response to the social questions at hand.

Alongside these thinkers there was a revival of Thomist thought within the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIII issued the papal encyclical *Aeterni patris* (1878), encouraging Catholics to study the work of Aquinas.

## Official Catholic Social Teaching

The integration of the Catholic social thinkers into the official doctrine was due to the issuing of papal encyclicals, Of which the most notable are *Rerum Novarum* (1891) and *Quadragesimo Anno* (1931)

### *Rerum Novarum*

*Rerum Novarum* was written by Leo XII, and was the first and most influential document on the Catholic Social Thought. As a result, it set the standard views of catholic social thought, inspiring further thinkers such as Jacques Maritain, Luigi Sturzo, G. K. Chesteron and Heinrich Pesch.

*Rerum Novarum* made statements on largely economic matters. Here, Leo XII;

* Upheld the inherent dignity within each Human
* ​​​​​Condemned Socialism as anti-worker
* Upheld the right to private property
* Condemned corporate greed & exploitation
* Advocated a just wage
* Advocated social partnership between labor and capital
* Advocated a more equitable distribution of property
* Accepted trade unions and encouraged Catholics to form their own trade unions
* Tasked both the state and society to uphold the Common Good

### *Quadragesimo Anno*

Given the ground breaking impact that Rerum Novarum had, the next major Papal Encyclical *Quadragesimo Anno* , by Pius XI, was issued on its 40th anniversary. A substantial literature had formed after the release of Rerum Novarum, and much of this was integrated into *Quadragesimo Anno*. Notable is that that doctrines of lay Economic doctrines - Distributism and Solidarism, were officially accepted by the Catholic Church.

*Quadragesimo Anno* built upon Rerum Novarum, alongside establishing new concepts. In it, Pius XI:

* Condemned Social democracy, alongside socialism
* Advocated the co-determination, an element of Solidarism
* Advocated democratic corporatism system, another element of Solidarism
* Advocated a more equitable distribution of property, in line with Distributism
* Established subsidiarity within Catholic Social Thought.​​​​

## Reference List

1. ↑ The Nineteenth-Century Historical and Intellectual Context of Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Social Teaching, a volume of essays
2. ↑ Aquinas as a Primary Source of Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Social Teaching, a volume of essays
3. ↑ Rerum Novarum (1891), Papal Encyclical
4. ↑ Quadragesimo Anno (1931), Papal Encyclical