''Populorum progressio'' is an
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
written by
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
on the topic of "the development of peoples" and that the economy of the world should serve mankind and not just the few. It was released on 26 March 1967.
It touches on a variety of principles of
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state (polity), state, subsidiarity, social o ...
such as the right to a
just wage; the right to
security of employment; the right to fair and reasonable working conditions; the right to join a union; and the
universal destination of resources and goods.
Content
"Humanism"
Paul VI espoused a "transcendent humanism which surpasses its nature and bestows new fullness of life", which he described as a 'new humanism'. Citing the ''Integral humanism'' of
Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aquinas fo ...
's ''L'humanisme intégral'', Paul VI declared that the "ultimate goal is a full-bodied humanism". Quoting
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer.
He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pa ...
's ''
Pensées
The ''Pensées'' ("Thoughts") is a collection of fragments written by the French 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. Pascal's religious conversion led him into a life of asceticism, and the ''Pensées'' was in many ways his ...
'':
Legacy
Twenty years later,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
issued another
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
,
''Sollicitudo rei socialis'', in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of ''Populorum progressio''.
In 2004, the UK-based nongovernmental development organisation
Catholic Institute for International Relations
Progressio (1940–2017) was an international development charity that enabled poor communities to solve their own problems by support from skilled workers. The organisation attempted to influence decisionmakers, secular and religious alike, to su ...
(CIIR), changed its name to
Progressio and established
Progressio Ireland
Progressio Ireland is an international development organisation that works toward "sustainable development and the eradication of poverty in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia".''Role out of LiveSimply Education and Info ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The organisation takes its name from this document and is based on
Catholic Social Teachings (CST) espoused in the
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
.
In 2009,
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
published the encyclical
''Caritas in veritate'', which again, addressed many of the themes discussed in ''Populorum progressio''.
See also
*
World Day of Peace
The World Day of Peace is an annual celebration by the Catholic Church, dedicated to universal peace, held on 1 January, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Pope Paul VI established it in 1967, being inspired by the encyclical ''Pacem in Terri ...
References
External links
Text of the encyclical
Documents of Pope Paul VI
Papal encyclicals
Documents of the Catholic Social Teaching tradition
1967 documents
1967 in Christianity
March 1967 events
Christian humanism
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