A reflection on Catholic Social Teachings and the 2009 encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, "Charity In Truth."

1. Authentic Human Development 2009 Papal Encyclical Charity in Truth

2. Catholic Social Tradition “Charity in Truth” Authentic Human Development The Growing Economic Gap Economic Activity in Scripture and the Encyclical Related Issues Charity and Justice Presentation overview

3. Catholic Social Tradition Scripture and the Early Christian community Decalogue- Legal relationship to God and neighbor Matthew 25- Judgment is based on social responsibility to the poor and neglected Beatitudes, Communal Life, Pauline correspondence Social reform movements Apologetics Peace of God Movement (9th and 10th century) Religious reform movements (Cistercians, Mendicants, Passionist and Redemptorist )

4. Catholic Social Teaching 1891 – Pope Leo XIII wrote RerumNovarum Papal Encyclicals: 1931 – Quadragesimo Anno – Pope Pius XI 1961 – Mater et Magistra– Pope John XXIII 1963 – Pacem In Terris– Pope John XXIII 1967 – PopulorumProgressio– Pope Paul VI 1987 – SollicitudoReiSocialis: - Pope John Paul II 1995 – Evangelium Vitae – Pope John Paul II 2009 – Caritas in Veritate – Pope Benedict XVI Vatican II – Gaudium et Spes 1971 Synod of Bishops – Justice in the World U.S. Bishops The Challenge of Peace, 1983 Economic Justice for All, 1986 Renewing the Earth, 1991

5. Catholic Social Principles Life and Dignity of the Human Person Call to Family, Community, and Participation Rights and Responsibilities Option for the Poor and Vulnerable The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers Solidarity Care for God’s Creation

6. “Charity In Truth”

7. Charity in Truth #53 One of the deepest forms of poverty a person can experience is isolation… The development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family working together into true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side.

8. Charity in Truth #11 authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension. Without the perspective of eternal life, human progress in this world is denied breathing-space. Enclosed within history, it runs the risk of being reduced to the mere accumulation of wealth; humanity thus loses the courage to be at the service of higher goods, at the service of the great and disinterested initiatives called forth by universal charity.

9. Charity in Truth #11 …Only through an encounter with God are we able to see in the other something more than just another creature, to recognize the divine image in the other, thus truly coming to discover him or her and to mature in a love that “becomes concern and care for the other”

11. Charity in Truth #22 The world's wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase. In rich countries, new sectors of society are succumbing to poverty and new forms of poverty are emerging… “The scandal of glaring inequalities” continues.

13. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

14. Charity in Truth #36 Economic activity cannot solve all social problems through the simple application of commercial logic. This needs to be directed towards the pursuit of the common good, for which the political community in particular must also take responsibility. Therefore, it must be borne in mind that grave imbalances are produced when economic action, conceived merely as an engine for wealth creation, is detached from political action, conceived as a means for pursuing justice through redistribution.

15. Related social issues mentioned in the encyclical “link between life ethics and social ethics” #15 “International Aid within a solidarity based plan to resolve today’s economic problems” #41 “The environment is God’s gift to everyone” #48 “… so-called sex tourism, to which many human beings are sacrificed even at a tender age” #61 “Every migrant is a human person” #62 “labor union… should be open to the new perspectives that are emerging in the world of work” #64 “regulation of the financial sector… and experimentation with new forms of finance, designed to support development projects, are positive experiences that should be further explored and encouraged.” #65 “reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nation can acquire real teeth.” #67

16. Charity in Truth #7 To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practice this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbor directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis.