CHRISTIAN LIVING IV
AY 2016-2017
SOCIAL ENCYCLICALS
Handout: Additional salient points on
1. Rerum Novarum
2. Quadragesimo Anno
3. Mater et Magistra
Rerum Novarum
1. private property:
Socialism/(communism) is wrong.
2. rich and poor
Capital and labor cannot stand alone, one without the other
It is a duty of the rich to help the poor not of justice but of charity
3. workers association
Quadragesimo Anno
1. private property:
The common good ought to be upheld
the state may intervene in this regard
Workers ought to be given a fair chance of owning property
So they can have a sound and secure present and future
2. rich and poor
Social justice must be upheld:
each class must receive its due share
in a spirit of solidarity
Only charity can perfect the bonding of men
Economic life must be inspired by Christian principles
To combat the environment of sin
The law of charity must pervade the whole economic enterprise.
Mater et Magistra
1. private property
and make goods and services accessible to the greater number of people
Wages must allow the worker to live a truly human life and face up to their
family responsibility with dignity
Introduces the social dimension of work
Wages ought to be established according to the available
wealth which may vary from country to country