Mater et Magistra

The most important social statement of the Roman Catholic Church in recent centuries has been a document known as Rerum Novarum (Of New Things)* issued on May 15, 1891 by 81-year-old Leo XIII as a papal encyclical--an open letter to the bishops of the church. Dealing directly and forcibly with the social ills facing the world at the turn of the century, it condemned socialism as immoral but supported trade unions and higher wages, state regulation of industry and broader distribution of property and wealth. Brought up to date 40 years later by Pope Pius XI, it is the starting point of modern Catholic social thought, and the ideological bedrock on which today's huge Christian Democratic parties in Italy, Germany and Belgium are founded.

Last week, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Pope John XXIII issued his own social encyclical, a message firmly oriented toward the new problems of the mid-20th century. Titled Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher) and addressed broadly to "all Christians," it is 25,000 words long--probably the longest encyclical in history--and ranges farther and wider than either of its two predecessors. It is also more polished; John and his advisers have been tinkering with it for many months, and its publication was reportedly delayed several times for last-minute changes.

A Creation of Free Men. "Mother and Teacher of all nations," it begins, "the Universal Church has been instituted by Jesus Christ so that all who in the long course of centuries come to her for loving embrace may find fullness of higher life and a guarantee of salvation." What follows sets forth "new aspects of the social question," and recommends means for the "reconstruction of social relationships in truth, justice and love."

Mater et Magistra takes careful measure of the massive power that science and technology have given the state to raise living standards and increase social welfare. It also warns the state of the danger this power carries to restrict the freedom of the individual. The state must therefore be careful to protect "the right that individual persons possess of being always primarily responsible for their own upkeep and that of their own family, which implies that in the economic systems the free development of productive activities should be permitted and facilitated."

Pope John left no doubt that in the church's view progress and "the natural right of private ownership, inclusive of productive goods," are inseparable. But John was also aware that the set of the modern state is toward what he calls "socialization"--"the fruit and expression of a natural tendency, almost irrepressible in human beings, the tendency to join together to attain objectives which are beyond the capacity and means at the disposal of single individuals." But socialization does not necessarily turn men into automatons. "For socialization is not to be considered as a product of natural forces working in a deterministic way. It is, on the contrary, as we have observed, a creation of men, beings conscious, free and intended by nature to work in a responsible way."

Where private enterprise makes it possible, Pope John urged that workers acquire shares in the firms that employ them. A onetime farm boy himself, John dug deep into the problems of ailing agriculture, especially critical in Italy, offering various solutions, including state aid, tax reform, cheap capital, social security and price protection.

Population Explosion. Probably the most difficult problem of the modern world, he said, is the inequality between rich and poor nations. In a remark clearly applicable to the U.S., he said that countries with more than enough food must share it with those that have too little--"to destroy or squander goods that other people need in order to live is to offend against justice and humanity." But while lending such assistance, the economically advanced countries must "overcome the temptation to impose themselves by means of these works . . . a new form of colonialism." On the other hand, the population explosion, "at least for the moment and in the near future," did not seem to create a "difficulty" on a world scale, and even in critical local situations the use of contraceptives was never justified.

The Fundamental Error. Pope John did not designate Communism by name, but he pointed out, "Experience has shown that where the personal initiative of citizens is missing, there is political tyranny." He then skillfully thrust through to Communism's most vulnerable spots--its promise of a temporal paradise, its scoffing at man's deeply felt religious needs, its persecution of Christian believers: "In the modern era, different ideologies have been devised and spread abroad . . . Some have been dissolved as clouds by the sun; others . . . have waned much and are losing still more their attraction on the minds of men. The reason is that they are ideologies which consider only certain and less profound aspects of man. And this because they do not take into consideration certain inevitable human imperfections, such as sickness and suffering, imperfections which even the most advanced economic-social system cannot eliminate. Then there is the profound and imperishable religious exigence which constantly expresses itself everywhere, even though trampled down by violence or skillfully smothered.

"In fact the most fundamental modern error is that of considering the religious demands of the human soul as an expression of feeling or of fantasy, or a product of some contingent event and should be thus eliminated as an anachronism and as an obstacle to human progress. Whereas by this exigency human beings reveal themselves for what they really are.

"It is true that the persecution of so many of our dearly beloved brothers and sons, which has been raging for decades in many countries, even those of an ancient Christian civilization, makes ever clearer to us the dignified superiority of the persecuted and the refined barbarity of the persecutors, so that, if it does not give visible signs of repentance, it induces many to think.

"But it is always true that the most perniciously typical aspect of the modern era consists in the absurd attempt to reconstruct a solid and fruitful temporal order prescinding from God . . . and, if possible, extinguishing man's sighing for God."

The Moral Order. It has been the historic hope of the church down through the ages to act as peacemaker between man and man, nation and nation. Today, the Pope noted, individuals are growing increasingly convinced of the need for mutual understanding and cooperation, but their leaders seem unable to understand one another. The reason, wrote John, is that "men, especially those more responsible, are inspired in the unfolding of their activity by different or radically opposed concepts of life. Unfortunately, in some of these concepts, the existence of the moral order is not recognized: an order which is transcendent, universal, absolute, equal and binding on all. Thus, they fail to meet and understand each other fully and openly in the light of one and the same law of justice, admitted and adhered to by all. Mutual trust among men and among states cannot begin or increase except by the recognition of and respect for the moral order."

*Papal encyclicals, written in Latin, are titled by their first two words.

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