The Catholic Church has been established by Jesus Christ as Mother and Teacher of nations, so that all who in the course of centuries come to her loving embrace, may find salvation as well as the fullness of a more excellent life.  To this Church, "the pillar and mainstay of the truth,"  (Cf. I Tim. 3, 15.)  her most Holy Founder has entrusted the double task of begetting sons unto herself, and of educating and governing those whom she begets, guiding with maternal providence the life both of individuals and of peoples.  The lofty dignity of this life, she has always held in the highest respect and guarded with watchful care.
    2.   For the teaching of Christ joins, as it were, earth with Heaven, in that it embraces the whole man, namely, his soul and body, intellect and will, and bids him to lift up his mind from the changing conditions of human existence to that Heavenly country where he will one day enjoy unending happiness and peace.
    3.   Hence, although Holy Church has the special task of sanctifying souls and of making them sharers of Heavenly blessings, she is also solicitous for the requirements of men in their daily lives, not merely those relating to food and sustenance, but also to their comfort and advancement in various kinds of goods and in varying circumstances of time.
    4.   Realizing all this, Holy Church implements the commands of her Founder, Christ, Who refers primarily to man's eternal salvation when He says, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 14, 6.)  and elsewhere "I am the Light of the World." (John 8, 12.)   On other occasions, however, seeing the hungry crowd, He was moved to exclaim sorrowfully, "I have compassion on the crowd," (Mark 8, 2.)  thereby indicating that He was also concerned about the earthly needs of mankind.  The Divine Redeemer shows this care not only by His words but also by the actions of His life, as when, to alleviate the hunger of the crowds, He more than once miraculously multiplied bread.
    5.   By this bread, given for the nourishment of the body, He wished to foreshadow that heavenly food of the soul which He was to give to men on the day before He suffered.
    6.   It is no wonder, then, that the Catholic Church, instructed by Christ and fulfilling His commands, has for two thousand years, from the Ministry of the early Deacons to the present time, tenaciously held aloft the torch of Charity not only by her teaching but also by her widespread example--that Charity which, by combining in a fitting manner the precepts and the practice of mutual love, puts into effect in a wonderful way this twofold commandment of giving, wherein is contained the full social teaching and action of the Church.
    7.   By far the most notable evidence of this social teaching and action, which the Church has set forth through the centuries, undoubtedly is the very distinguished Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarun, (Acta Leonis XIII, XI [1891], P. 97-144.)  issued seventy years ago by our predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII.  Therein he put forward teachings whereby the question of the workers' condition would be resolved in conformity with Christian principles.
    8.  Seldom have the admonitions of a Pontiff been received with such universal approbation, as was that Encyclical of Leo XIII, rivaled by few in the depth and scope of its reasoning and in the forcefulness of its expression.  Indeed, the norms and recommendations contained therein were so momentous that their memory will never fall into oblivion.  As a result, the action of the Catholic Church became more widely known.  For its Supreme Pastor, making his own the problems of weak and harassed men, their complaints and aspirations, had devoted himself especially to the defense and restoration of their rights.
    9.   Even today, in spite of the long lapse of time since the Letter was published, much of its effectiveness is still evident.  It is indeed evident in the documents of the Popes who succeeded Leo XIII, and who, when they discussed economic and social affairs, have always borrowed something from it, either to clarify its application or to stimulate further activity on the part of Catholics.  The efficacy of the document also is evident in the laws and institutions of many nations.  Thus does it become abundantly clear that the solidly grounded principles, the norms of action, and the paternal admonitions found in the masterly Letter of our predecessor, even today retain their original worth.  Moreover, from it can be drawn new and vital criteria, whereby men may judge the nature and extent of the social question, and determine what their responsibilities are in this regard.

The Period of the Encyclical, "Rerum Novarum"
    10.   The teachings addressed to mankind by this most wise Pontiff undoubtedly shone with greater brilliance because they were published when innumerable difficulties obscured the issue.  On the one hand, the economic and political situation was in process of radical change; on the other, numerous clashes were flaring up and civil strife had been provoked.
    11.   As is generally known, in those days an opinion widely prevailed and was commonly put into practice, according to which, in economic matters, everything was to be attributed to inescapable, natural forces.  Hence, it was held that no connection existed between economic and moral laws.  Wherefore, those engaged in economic activity need look no further than their own gain.  Consequently, mutual relations between economic agents could be left to the play of free and unregulated competition.  Interest on capital, prices of goods and services, profits and wages, were to be determined purely mechanically by the laws of the marketplace.  Every precaution was to be taken lest the civil authority intervene in any way in economic affairs.  During that era, trade unions, according to circumstances in diffferent countries, were sometimes forbidden, sometimes tolerated, sometimes recognized in private law.
    12.   Thus, at that time, not only was the proud rule of the stronger regarded as legitimate, so far as economic affairs were concerned, but it also prevailed in concrete relations between men.  Accordingly, the order of economic affairs was, in general, radically disturbed.
    13.   While a few accumulated excessive riches, large masses of workingmen daily labored in very acute need.  Indeed, wages were insufficient for the necessities of life, and sometimes were at starvation level.  For the most part, workers had to find employment under conditions wherein there were dangers to health, moral integrity, and religious faith.  Especially inhuman were the working conditions to which children and women were subjected.  The spectre of unemployment was ever present, and the family was exposed to a process of disorganization.
    14.   As a natural consequence, workers, indignant at their lot, decided that this state of affairs must be publicly protested.  This explains why, among the working classes, extremist theories that propounded remedies worse than the evil to be cured, found widespread favor.

The Way to Reconstruction
    15.   Such being the trend of the times, Leo. XIII, in his Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum, proclaimed a social message based on the requirements of human nature itself and conforming to the precepts of the Gospel and reason.  We recall it as a message which, despite some expected opposition, evoked response on all sides and aroused widespread enthusiasm.  However, this was not the first time the Apostolic See, in regard to the affairs of this life, undertook the defense of the needy, since that same predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII, published other documents which to some extent paved the way for the document mentioned above.  But this Letter so effected for the first time an organization of principles, and, as it were, set forth singlemindedly a future course of action, that we may regard it as a summary of Catholic teaching, so far as economic and social matters are concerned.
    16.   It can be said with considerable assurance that such proved to be the situation.  For while some, confronted with the social question, unashamedly attacked the Church as if she did nothing except preach resignation to the poor and exhort the rich to generosity, Leo XIII did not hesitate to proclaim and defend quite openly the sacred rights of workers.  In beginning his exposition of the principles and norms of the Church in social matters, he frankly stated:  "We approach the subject with confidence and in the exercise of the rights that belong to us.  For no satisfactory solution of this question will ever be found without the assistance of Religion and the Church." (Ibid. p. 107.)
    17.   Venerable Brothers, you are quite familiar with those basic principles expounded both clearly and authoritatively by the illustrious Pontiff, according to which human society should be renewed in so far as economic and social matters are concerned.
    18.   He first and foremost stated that work, inasmuch as it is an expression of the human person, can by no means be regarded as a mere commodity.  For the great majority of mankind, work is the only source from which the means of livelihood are drawn. Hence, its remuneration is not to be thought of in terms of merchandise, but rather according to the laws of justice and equity.  Unless this is done, justice is violated in labor agreements, even though they are entered into freely on both sides.
    19.   Private property, including that of productive goods, is a natural right possessed by all, which the State may by no means suppress.  However, as there is from nature a social aspect to private property, he who uses his right in this regard must take into account not merely his own welfare but that of others as well.
    20.   The State, whose purpose is the realization of the common good in the temporal order, can by no means disregard the economic activity of its citizens.  Indeed, it should be present to promote in a suitable manner the production of a sufficient supply of material goods, "the use of which is necessary for the practice of virtues." (St. Thomas, De regimine principum, I, 15.)  Moreover, it should safeguard the rights of all citizens, but especially the weaker, such as workers, women, and children.  Nor may the State ever neglect its duty to contribute actively to the betterment of the living conditions of workers.
    21.   In addition, the State should see to it that labor agreements are entered into according to the norms of justice and equity, and that in the environment of work the dignity of the human being is not violated either in body or spirit.  On this point, Leo XIII's Letter delineated the broad principles regarding a just and proper human existence.  These principles, modern States have adopted in one way or another in their social legislation, and they have--as our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius XI declared, in his Encyclical Letter, Quadragesimo Anno (Acta Apostolicae Sedis, XXIII [1931]. p. 185.) --contributed much to the establishment and promotion of that new section of legal science known as labor law.
    22.   In the same Letter, moreover, there is affirmed the natural right to enter corporately into associations, whether these be composed of workers only or of workers and management; and also the right to adopt that organizational structure judged more suitable to meet their professional needs.  And workers themselves have the right to act freely and on their own initiative within the above-mentioned associations, without hindrance and as their needs dictate.
    23.   Workers and employers should regulate their mutual relations in a spirit of human solidarity and in accordance with the bond of Christian brotherhood.  For the unregulated competition which so-called liberals espouse, or the class struggle in the Marxist sense, are utterly opposed to Christian teaching and also to the very nature of man.
    24.   These, Venerable Brothers, are the fundamental prinicples on which a healthy socio-economic order can be built.
    25.   It is not surprising, therefore, that outstanding Catholic men inspired by these appeals began many activities in order to put these principles to action.  Nor were there lacking other men of good will in various parts of the world who, impelled by the needs of human nature, followed a similar course.
    26.   For these reasons the Encyclical is known even to the present day as the Magna Charta (Cf. Ibid., p. 189.) for the reconstruction of the economic and social order.

The Encyclical "Quadragesimo Anno"
    27.   Furthermore, after a lapse of forty years since publication of that outstanding corpus, as it were, of directives, our predecessor of happy memory, Pius XI, in his turn decided to publish the Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno. (Ivid., p. 177-228.)
    28.   In it the Supreme Pontiff first of all confirmed the right and duty of the Catholic Church to make its special contribution in resolving the more serious problems of society which call of the full cooperation of all.  Then he reaffirmed those principles and directives of Leo XIII's Letter related to the conditions of the times.  Finally, he took this occasion not only to clarify certain points of Doctrine on which even Catholics were in doubt, but he also showed how the principles and directives themselves regarding social affairs should be adapted to the changing times.
    29.   For at that time, some were in doubt as to what should be the judgment of Catholics regarding private property, the wage system, and more especially, a type of moderate socialism.
    30.   Concerning private property, our predecessor reaffirmed its natural-law character.  Furthermore, he set forth clearly and emphasized the social character and function of private ownership.
    31.   Turning to the wage system, after having rejected the view that would declare it unjust by its very nature, the Pontiff criticized the inhuman and unjust forms under which it was sometimes found.  Moreover, he carefully indicated what norms and conditions were to be observed, lest the wage system stray from justice and equity.
    32.   In this connection, it is today advisable as our predecessor clearly pointed out, that work agreements be tempered in certain respects with partnership arrangements, so that "workers and officials become participants in ownership, or management, or share in some manner in profits." (Cf. Ibid., p. 199.)
    33.   Of great theoretical and practical importance is the affirmation of Pius XI that "if the social and individual character of labor be overlooked, the efficency of men can neither be justly appraised nor equitably recompensed." (Cf. Ibid., p. 200.)  Accordingly, in determining wages, justice definitely requires that, in addition to the needs of the individual worker and his family, regard be had on the one hand for conditions within the productive enterprises wherein the workers labor; on the other hand, for the "public econimic good" (Cf. Ibid., p. 201.)  in general.
    34.   Furthermore, the Supreme Bishop emphasized that the views of communists, as they are called, and of Christians are radically opposed.  Nor may Catholics, in any way, give approbation to the teachings of socialists who seemingly profess more moderate views.  From their basic outlook it follows that, inasmuch as the order of social life is confined to time, it is directed solely to temporal welfare; that since the social relationships of men pertain merely to the production of goods, human liberty is excessively restricted and the true concept of social authority is overlooked.
    35.   Pius XI was not unaware that, in the forty years that had elapsed since the appearance of Leo XIII's Letter, historical conditions had profoundly altered.  In fact, unrestricted competition, because of its own inherent tendencies, had ended by almost destroying itself.  It had caused a great accumulation of wealth and a corresponding concentration of power in the hands of a few who "are frequently not the owners, but only the trustees and directors of invested funds, who administer them at their good pleasure." (Cf. Ibid., p. 210f.)
    36.   Therefore, as the Supreme Pontiff noted, "economic power has been substituted for the free marketplace.  Unbridled ambition for domination has replaced desire for gain; the whole economy has become harsh, cruel, and relentless in frightful measure." (Cf. Ibid., p. 211.)  Thus it happened that even public authorities were serving the interests of more wealthy men and that concentrations of wealth, to some extent, achieved power over all peoples.
    37.   In opposition to this trend, the Supreme Pontiff laid down the following fundamental principles:  the organization of economic affairs must be conformable to practical morality; the interests of individuals or of societies especially must be harmonized with the requirements of the common good.  This evidently requires, as the teaching of our predecessor indicated, the orderly reorganization of society with smaller professional and economic groups existing in their own right, and not prescribed by public authority.  In the next place, civil authority should reassume its function and not overlook any of the community's interests.  Finally, on a world-wide scale, governments should seek the economic good of all peoples.
    38.   The two fundamental points that especially characterize the Encyclical of Pius XI are these:  First,  one may not take as the ultimate criteria in economic life the interests of individuals or organized groups, nor unregulated competition, nor excessive power on the part of the wealthy, nor the vain honor of the nation or its desire for domination, nor anything of this sort.
    39.   Rather, it is necessary that economic undertakings be governed by justice and charity as the principal laws of social life.
    40.   The second point that we consider to be basic to the Letter of Piux XI is that both within individual countries and among nations there be established a juridical order, with appropriate public and private institutions, inspired by social justice, so that those who are involved in economic activities are enabled to carry out their tasks in conformity with the common good.

Radio Broadcast of Pentecost, 1941
    41.   In specifying social rights and obligations, our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius XII, made a significant contribution, when on the feast of Pentecost, June 1, 1941, he broadcast to the world community a message:  "In order to call to the attention of the Catholic world the memory of an event worthy of being written in letters of gold on the Calendar of the Church: namely, the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the epoch-making Encyclical of Leo XIII, Rerum Novarun." (Cf. Acta Apostolicae Sedia, XXXIII [1941], p. 196.)  He broadcast this message, moreover, "to render special thanks to Almighty God that His Vicar on earth, in a Letter such as this, gave to the Church so great a gift, and also to render praise to the eternal Spirit that through this same Letter, He enkindled a fire calculated to rouse the whole human race to new and better effort." (Cf. Ibid., p. 197.)
    42.   In the message, the great Pontiff claimed for the Church "the indisputable competence" to "decide whether the bases of a given social system are in accord with the unchangeable order which God our Creator and Redeemer has fixed both in the natural law and revelation." (Cf. Ibid., p. 196.) He noted that the Letter of Leo XIII is of permanent value and has rich and abiding usefulness.  He takes the occasion "to explain in greater detail what the Catholic Church teaches regarding the three principal issues of social life in economic affairs, which are mutually related and connected one with the other, and thus interdependent: namely, the use of material goods, labor, and the family." (Cf. Ibid., p. 198f.)
    43.   Concerning the use of material goods, our predecessor declared that the right of every man to use them for his own sustenance is prior to all other rights in economic life, and hence is prior even to the right of private ownership.  It is certain, however, as our predecessor noted, that the right of private property is from the natural law itself.  Nevertheless, it is the will of God the Creator that this right to own property should in no wise obstruct the flow of "material goods created by God to meet the needs of all men, to all equitably, as justice and charity require." (Cf. Ibid., p. 199.)
    44.   As regards labor, Pius XII repeating what appeared in Leo XIIII's Letter, declared it to be both a duty and a right of every human being.  Consequently, it is in the first place the responsibility of men themselves to regulate mutual labor relations.  Only in the event that the interested parties are unwilling or unable to fulfill their functions, does it "devolve upon the State to intervene and to assign labor equitably, safeguarding the standards and aims that the common good properly understood demands." (Cf. Ibid., p. 201.)
    45.   Turning to the family, the Supreme Pontiff stresses that private ownership of material goods helps to safeguard and develop family life.  Such goods are an apt means "to secure for the father of a family the healthy liberty he needs in order to fulfill the duties assigned him by the Creator, regarding the physical, spiritual, and religious welfare of the family." (Cf. Ibid., p. 202.)  From this arises the right of the family to migrate.  Accordingly, our predecessor reminds governments, both those permitting emigration and those accepting immigrants, that "they never permit anything whereby mutual and sincere understanding between States is diminished or destroyed." (Cf. Ibid., p. 203.)  If this be mutually accomplished, it will come to pass that benefits are equalized and diffused widely among peoples, as the supply of goods and the arts and crafts are increased and fostered.

Further Changes
    46.   But just as contemporary circumstances seemed to Pius XII quite dissimilar from those of the earlier period, so they have changed greatly over the past twenty years.  This can be seen not only in the internal situation of each individual country, but also in the mutual relations of countries.
    47.   In the fields of science, technology, and economics, these developments are especially worthy of note: the discovery of atomic energy, employed first for military purposes and later increasingly for peaceful ends; the almost limitless possibilities opened up by chemistry in synthetic products; the growth of automation in the sectors of industry and services; the modernization of agriculture; the nearly complete conquest, especially through radio and television, of the distance separating peoples; the greatly increased speed of all manner of transportation; the initial conquests of outer space.
    48.   Turning to the social field, the following contemporary trends are evident: development of systems for social insurance; the introduction of social security systems in some more affluent countries; greater awareness among workers, as members of unions, of the principal issues in economic and social life; a progressive improvement of basic education; wider diffusion among the citizenry of the conveniences of life; increased social mobility and a resulting decline in divisions among the classes; greater interest than heretofore in world affairs on the part of those with average education.  Meanwhile, if one considers the social and economic advances made in a growing number of countries, he will quickly discern increasingly pronounced imbalances: first, between agriculture on the one hand and industry and the services on the other; between the more and the less developed regions within countries; and, finally, on a worldwide scale, between countries with differing economic resources and development.
    49.   Turning now to political affairs, it is evident that there, too, a number of innovations have occurred.  Today, in many communities, citizens from almost all social strata participate in public life.  Public authorities intervene more and more in economic and social affairs.  The peoples of  Asia and Africa, having set aside colonial systems, now govern themselves according to their own laws and institutions.  As the mutual relationships of peoples increase, they become daily more dependent one upon the other.  Throughout the world, assemblies and councils have become more common, which, being supranational in character, take into account the interests of all peoples.  Such bodies are concerned with economic life, or with social affairs, or with culture and education, or, finally, with the mutual relationships of peoples.

Reasons for the New Encyclical
    50.   Now, reflecting on all these things, we feel it our duty to keep alive the torch lighted by our great predecessors and to exhort all to draw from their writings light and inspiration, if they wish to resolve the social question in ways more in accord with the needs of the present time.  Therefore, we are issuing this present Letter not merely to commemorate appropriately the Encyclical Letter of Leo XIII, but also, in the light of changed conditions, both to confirm and explain more fully what our predecessors taught, and to set forth the Church's teaching regarding the new and serious problems of our day.

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