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25 Questions
Reading List
Teacher's Toolbox
Web Links
OSJ Homepage
Office for Social Justice
328 West Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651-291-4477)
Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation
Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
INTRODUCTION
The yearning for liberation
1. Awareness of man's freedom and dignity, together with
the affirmation of the inalienable rights of individuals and
peoples, is one of the major characteristics of our time. But
freedom demands conditions of an economic, social, political and
cultural kind which makes possible its full exercise. A clear
perception of the obstacles which hinder its development and
which offend human dignity is at the source of the powerful
aspirations to liberation which are at work in our world.
The Church of Christ makes these aspirations her own, while
exercising discernment in the light of the Gospel which is by its
very nature a message of freedom and liberation. Indeed, on both
the theoretical and practical levels, these aspirations sometimes
assume expressions which are not always in conformity with the
truth concerning man as it is manifested in the light of his
creation and redemption. For this reason the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith has considered it necessary to draw
attention to "deviations, or risks of deviation, damaging to the
Faith and to Christian living." Far from being outmoded, these
warnings appear ever more timely and relevant.
Purpose of the instruction
2. The Instruction
Libertatis nuntius
(On Certain Aspects
of the Theology of Liberation) stated the intention of the
Congregation to publish a second document which would highlight
the main elements of the Christian doctrine on freedom and
liberation. The present instruction responds to that intention.
Between the two documents there exists an organic relationship.
They are to be read in the light of each other.
With regard to their theme, which is at the heart of the
Gospel message, the Church's Magisterium has expressed itself on
many occasions. The present document limits itself to indicating
its principal theoretical and practical aspects. As regards
applications to different local situations, it is for the local
Churches, in communion with one another and with the See of
Peter, to make direct provision for them.
The theme of freedom and liberation has an obvious
ecumenical dimension. It belongs to the fact of the traditional
patrimony of the Churches and ecclesial communities. Thus the
present document can assist the testimony and action of all
Christ's disciples, called to respond to the great challenges of
our times.
The truth that makes us free
3. The words of Jesus: "The truth will make you free"
(Jn. 8:32) must enlighten and guide all theological reflection
and all pastoral decisions in this area.
This truth which comes from God has its center in Jesus
Christ, the Savior of the world. From Him, who is "the way, and
the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6), the Church receives all that
she has to offer to mankind. Through the mystery of the
Incarnate Word and Redeemer of the world, she possesses the truth
regarding the Father and His love for us, and also the truth
concerning man and his freedom.
Through His cross and resurrection, Christ has brought about
our redemption, which is liberation in the strongest sense of the
word, since it has freed us from the most radical evil, namely
sin and the power of death. When the Church, taught by her Lord,
raises to the Father her prayer: "Deliver us from evil," she
asks that the mystery of salvation may act with power in our
daily lives. The Church knows that the redeeming cross is truly
the source of light and life and the center of history. The
charity which burns in her impels her to proclaim the Good News
and to distribute its life-giving fruits through the sacraments.
It is from Christ the Redeemer that her thought and action
originate when, as she contemplates the tragedies affecting the
world, she reflects on the meaning of liberation and true freedom
and on the paths leading to them.
Truth, beginning with the truth about redemption, which is
at the heart of the mystery of faith, is thus the root and the
rule of freedom, the foundation and the measure of all liberating
action.
Truth, the condition for freedom
4. Man's moral conscience is under an obligation to be
open to the fullness of truth; he must seek it out and readily
accept it when it presents itself to him.
According to the command of Christ the Lord, the truth of
the Gospel must be presented to all people, and they have a right
to have it presented to them. Its proclamation, in the power of
the Spirit, includes full respect for the freedom of each
individual and the exclusion of every form of constraint or
pressure.
The Holy Spirit guides the Church and the disciples of Jesus
Christ "into the full truth" (Jn. 16:13). The Spirit directs the
course of the centuries and "renews the face of the earth" (Ps.
104:30). It is He who is present in the maturing of a more
respectful awareness of the dignity of the human person. The
Holy Spirit is at the root of courage, boldness and heroism:
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor.
3:17).
CHAPTER 1
The State of Freedom in the World Today
I. Achievements and Dangers of the Modern Liberation Process
5. By revealing to man his condition as a free person
called to enter into communion with God, the Gospel of Jesus
Christ has evoked an awareness of the hitherto unsuspected depths
of human freedom.
Thus the quest for freedom and the aspiration to liberation,
which are among the principal signs of the times in the modern
world, have their first source in the Christian heritage. This
remains true even in places where they assume erroneous forms and
even oppose the Christian view of man and his destiny. Without
this reference to the Gospel, the history of the recent centuries
in the West cannot be understood.
The modern age
6. Thus it is that from the dawn of modern times, at the
Renaissance, it was thought that by a return to antiquity in
philosophy and through the natural sciences man would be able to
gain freedom of thought and action, thanks to his knowledge and
control of the laws of nature.
Luther, for his part, basing himself on his reading of St.
Paul, sought to renew the struggle for freedom from the yoke of
the Law, which he saw as represented by the Church of his times.
But it was above all in the Age of the Enlightenment and at
the French Revolution that the call to freedom rang out with full
force. Since that time, many have regarded future history as an
irresistible process of liberation inevitably leading to an age
in which man, totally free at last, will enjoy happiness on this
earth.
Towards the mastery of nature
7. With the perspective of such an ideology of progress,
man sought to become master of nature. The servitude which he
had experienced up to that point was based on ignorance and
prejudice. By wresting from nature its secrets, man would
subject it to his own service. The conquest of freedom thus
constituted the goal pursued through the development of science
and technology. The efforts expended have led to remarkable
successes. While man is not immune from natural disasters, many
natural dangers have been removed. A growing number of
individuals is ensured adequate nourishment. New means of
transport and trade facilitate the exchange of food resources,
raw materials, labor and technical skills, so that a life of
dignity with freedom from poverty can be reasonably envisaged for
mankind.
Social and political achievements
8. The modern liberation movement had set itself a
political and social objective. It was to put an end to the
domination of man by man and to promote the equality and
brotherhood of all. It cannot be denied that in this sphere,
too, positive results have been obtained. Legal slavery and
bondage have been abolished. The right of all to share in the
benefits of culture has made significant progress. In many
countries the law recognizes the equality of men and woman, the
participation of all citizens in political life, and equal rights
for all. Racism is rejected as contrary to law and justice. The
formulation of human rights implies a clearer awareness of the
dignity of all human beings. By comparison with previous systems
of domination, the advances of freedom and equality in many
societies is undeniable.
Freedom of thought and of decision
9. Finally and above all, the modern liberation movement
was supposed to bring man inner freedom, in the form of freedom
of thought and freedom of decision. It sought to free man from
superstition and atavistic fears, regarded as so many obstacles
to his development. It proposed to give man the courage and
boldness to use his reason without being held back by fear before
the frontiers of the unknown. Thus, notably in the historical
and human sciences, there developed a new notion of man,
professedly to help him gain a better self-understanding in
matters concerning his personal growth or the fundamental
conditions for the formation of the community.
Ambiguities in the modern process of liberation
10. With regard to the conquest of nature, or social and
political life, or man's self-mastery on both the individual and
collective level, anyone can see that the progress achieved is
far from fulfilling the original ambitions. It is also obvious
that new dangers, new forms of servitude and new terrors have
arisen at the very time that the modern liberation movement was
spreading. This is a sign that serious ambiguities concerning
the very meaning of freedom have from the very beginning plagued
this movement from within.
Man threatened by his domination of nature
11. So it is that the more man freed himself from the
dangers of nature, the more he experienced a growing fear
confronting him. As technology gains an ever greater control of
nature, it threatens to destroy the very foundations of our
future in such a way that mankind living today becomes the enemy
of the generations to come. By using blind power to subjugate
the forces of nature, are we not on the way to destroying the
freedom of the men and women of tomorrow? What forces can
protect man from the slavery of his own domination? A wholly new
capacity for freedom and liberation, demanding an entirely
renewed process of liberation, becomes necessary.
Dangers of technological power
12. The liberating force of scientific knowledge is
objectively expressed in the great achievements of technology.
Whoever possesses technology has power of the earth and men. As
a result of this, hitherto unknown forms of inequality have
arisen between those who possess knowledge and those who are
simple users of technology. The new technological power is
linked to economic power and leads to a concentration of it.
Thus, within nations and between nations, relationships of
dependence have grown up which within the last twenty years have
been the occasion for a new claim to liberation. How can the
power of technology be prevented from becoming a power of
oppression over human groups or entire peoples?
Individualism and collectivism
13. In the field of social and political achievements, one
of the fundamental ambiguities of the affirmation of freedom in
the age of the Enlightenment has to do with the concept of the
subject of this freedom as an individual who is full self-
sufficient and whose finality is the satisfaction of his own
interests in the enjoyment of earthly goods. The individualistic
ideology inspired by this concept of man favored the unequal
distribution of wealth at the beginning of the industrial era to
the point that workers found themselves excluded from access to
the essential goods which they had helped to produce and to which
they had a right. Hence the birth of powerful liberation
movements from the poverty caused by industrial society.
Certain Christians, both lay persons and pastors, have not
failed to fight for a just recognition of the legitimate rights
of workers. On many occasions the Magisterium of the Church has
raised its voice in support of this cause.
But more often than not the just demands of the worker
movement have led to new forms of servitude, being inspired by
concepts which ignored the transcendental vocation of the human
person and attributed to man a purely earthly destiny. These
demands have sometimes been directed towards collectivist goals,
which have then given rise to injustices just as grave as the
ones which they were meant to eliminate.
New forms of oppression
14. Thus it is that our age has seen the birth of
totalitarian systems and forms of tyranny which would not have
been possible in the time before the technological leap forward.
On the one hand, technical expertise has been applied to acts of
genocide. On the other, various minorities try to hold in thrall
whole nations by the practice if terrorism. Today control can
penetrate into the innermost life of individuals, and even the
forms of dependence created by the early warning systems can
represent potential threats of oppression.
A false liberation from the constraints of society is sought
in recourse to drugs which have led many young people from all
over the world to the point of self-destruction and brought whole
families to sorrow and anguish.
Danger of total destruction
15. The recognition of a juridical order as a guarantee of
relationships within the great family of peoples is growing
weaker and weaker. When confidence in the law no longer seems to
offer sufficient protection, security and peace are sought in
mutual threats, which become a danger for all humanity. The
forces which ought to serve the development of freedom serve
instead the increase of threats. The weapons of death drawn up
against each other today are capable of destroying all human life
on earth.
New relationships of inequality
16. New relationships of inequality and oppression have
been established between the nations endowed with power and those
without it. The pursuit of one's own interest seems to be the
rule for international relations, without the common good of
humanity being taken into consideration.
The internal balance of the poor nations is upset by the
importation of arms, which introduces among them a divisive
element leading to the domination of one group over another.
What powers could eliminate systematic recourse to arms and
restore authority to law?
Emancipation of young nations
17. It is in the context of the inequality of power
relationships that there have appeared movements for the
emancipation of young nations, generally the poor ones, until
recently subjected to colonial domination. But too often the
people are frustrated in the hard-won independence by
unscrupulous regimes or tyrannies which scoff at human rights
which impunity. The people thus reduced to powerlessness merely
have a change of masters.
It remains true that one of the major phenomena of our time,
of continental proportions, is the awakening of the consciousness
of people who, bent beneath the weight of age-old poverty,
aspirate to a life of dignity and justice and are prepared to
fight for their freedom.
Morality and God: obstacles to liberation?
18. With reference to the modern liberation movement within
man himself, it has to be stated that the effort to free thought
and will from their limits has led some to consider that morality
as such constitutes an irrational limit. It is for man, now
resolved to become his own master, to go beyond it.
For many more, it is God Himself who is the specific
alienation of man. There is said to be a radical incompatibility
between the affirmation of God and of human freedom. By
rejecting belief in God, they say, man will become truly free.
Some agonizing questions
19. Here is the root of the tragedies accompanying the
modern history of freedom. Why does this history, in spite of
great achievements which also remain always fragile, experience
frequent relapses into alienation and see the appearance of new
forms of slavery? Why do liberation movements which had roused
great hopes result in regimes for which the citizens' freedom,
beginning with the first of these freedoms which is religious
freedom, become enemy number one?
When man wishes to free himself from the moral law and
become independent of God, far from gaining his freedom he
destroys it. Escaping the measuring rod of truth, he falls prey
to the arbitrary; fraternal relations between people are
abolished and give place to terror, hatred and fear.
Because it has been contaminated by deadly errors about
man's condition and his freedom, the deeply-rooted modern
liberation movement remains ambiguous. It is laden both with
promises of true freedom and threats of deadly forms of bondage.
II. Freedom in the Experience of the People of God
Church and freedom
20. It is because of her awareness of this deadly
ambiguity, that through her Magisterium the Church has raised her
voice over the centuries to warn against aberrations that could
easily bring enthusiasm for liberation to a bitter
disillusionment. She has often been misunderstood in so doing.
With the passage of time however it is possible to do greater
justice to the Church's point of view.
It is in the name of the truth about man, created in the
image of God, that the Church has intervened. Yet she is accused
of thereby setting herself up as an obstacle on the path to
liberation. Her hierarchical constitution is said to be opposed
to equality, her Magisterium to be opposed to freedom of thought.
It is true that there have been errors of judgment and serious
omissions for which Christians have been responsible in the
course of the centuries; but these objections disregard the true
nature of things. The diversity of charisms in the People of
God, which are charisms of service, is not opposed to the equal
dignity of persons and to their common vocation to holiness.
Freedom of thought, as a necessary condition for seeking the
truth in all fields of human knowledge, does not mean that human
reason must cease to function in the light of the Revelation
which Christ entrusted to His Church. By opening itself to
divine truth, created reason experiences a blossoming and a
perfection which are an eminent form of freedom. Moreover, the
Second Vatican Council has recognized fully the legitimate
autonomy of the sciences, as well as of activities of a political
nature.
The freedom of the little ones and the poor
21. One of the principal errors that has seriously burdened
the process of liberation since the Age of the Enlightenment
comes from the widely held conviction that it is the progress
achieved in the fields of the sciences, technology and economics
which should serve as a basis for achieving freedom. This was a
misunderstanding of the depths of freedom and its needs.
The reality of the depth of freedom has always been known to
the Church, above all through the lives of a multitude of the
faithful, especially among the little ones and the poor. In
their faith, these latter know that they are the object of God's
infinite love. Each of them can say: "I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20b).
Such is the dignity which none of the powerful can take away from
them; such is the liberating joy present in them. They know that
to them too are addressed Jesus' words: "No longer do I call you
servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing;
but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my
Father I have made known to you" (Jn. 15:15). This sharing in
the knowledge of God is either emancipation from the dominating
claims of the learned: "You all know...and you have no need that
anyone should teach you" (1 Jn. 2:20b, 27b). They are also aware
of sharing in the highest knowledge to which humanity is called.
They know that they are loved by God, the same as all other
people and more than all other people. They thus live in the
freedom which flows from truth and love.
Resources of popular piety
22. The same sense of faith, possessed by the People of God
in its hope-filled devotion to the cross of Jesus, perceives the
power contained in the mystery of Christ the Redeemer.
Therefore, far from despising or wishing to suppress the forms of
popular piety which this devotion assumes, one should take and
deepen all its meaning and implications. Here we have a fact of
fundamental theological and pastoral significance; it is the
poor, the object of God's special love, who understand best and
as it were instinctively that the most radical liberation, which
is liberation from sin and death, is the liberation accomplished
by the death and resurrection of Christ.
Salvific and ethical dimensions of liberation
23. The power of this liberation penetrates and profoundly
transforms man and his history in its present reality and
animates his eschatological yearning. The first and fundamental
meaning of liberation which thus manifests itself is the salvific
one: man is freed from the radical bondage of evil and sin.
In this experience of salvation, man discovers the true
meaning of his freedom, since liberation is the restoration of
freedom. It is also education in freedom, that is to say,
education in the right use of freedom. Thus to the salvific
dimension of liberation is linked its ethical dimension.
A new phase in the history of freedom
24. To different degrees, the sense of faith, which is at
the origin of a radical experience of liberation and freedom, has
imbued the culture and the customs of Christian peoples.
But today, because of the formidable challenges which
humanity must face, it is in a wholly new way that it has become
necessary and urgent that the love of God and freedom in truth
and justice should mark relations between individual and peoples
and animate the life of cultures.
For where truth and love are missing, the process of
liberation results in the death of a freedom which will have lost
all support.
A new phase in the history of freedom is opening before us.
The liberating capacities of science, technology, work, economics
and political activity will produce results only if they find
their inspiration and measure in the truth and love which are
stronger than suffering: the truth and love revealed to men by
Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER II
Man's Vocation to Freedom and the Tragedy of Sin
I. Preliminary Approaches to Freedom
A spontaneous response
25. The spontaneous response to the question: "What does
being free mean?" is this: a person is free when he is able to
do whatever he wishes without being hindered by an exterior
constraint and thus enjoys complete independence. The opposite
of freedom would therefore be the dependence of our will upon the
will of another.
But does man always know what he wants? Can he do
everything he wants? Is closing in on oneself and cutting
oneself off from the will of others in conformity with the nature
of man? Often the desire of a particular moment is not what a
person really wants. And in one and the same person there can
exist contradictory wishes. But above all man comes up against
the limits of his own nature: his desires are greater than his
abilities. Thus the obstacle which opposes his will does not
always come from outside, but from the limits of his own being.
This is why, under pain of destroying himself, man must learn to
harmonize his will with his nature.
Truth and justice, rules of freedom
26. Furthermore, every individual is oriented toward other
people and needs their company. It is only by learning to unite
his will to the others for the sake of true good that he will
learn rectitude of will. It is thus harmony with the exigencies
of human nature which makes the will itself human. This in fact
requires the criterion of truth and a right relationship to the
will of others. Truth and justice are therefore the measure of
true freedom. By discarding this foundation and taking himself
for God, man falls into deception, and instead of realizing
himself he destroys himself.
Far from being achieved in total self-sufficiency and an
absence of relationships, freedom truly exists only where
reciprocal bonds, governed by truth and justice, link people to
one another. But for such bonds to be possible, each person must
live in the truth.
Freedom is not the liberty do anything whatsoever. It is
the freedom to do good, and in this alone happiness is to be
found. The good is thus the goal of freedom. In consequence,
man becomes free to the extent that he comes to a knowledge of
the truth, and to the extent that this truth--and not any other
forces--guides his will. Liberation for the sake of a knowledge
of the truth which alone directs the will is the necessary
condition for a freedom worthy of the name.
II. Freedom and Liberation
Freedom for the creatures
27. In other words, freedom which is interior mastery of
one's own acts and self-determination immediately entails a
relationship with the ethical order. It finds its true meaning
in the choice of moral good. It them manifests itself as
emancipation from moral evil.
By his free action, man must tend towards the supreme good
through lesser goods, which conform to the exigencies of his
nature and his divine vocation.
In exercising his freedom, he decides for himself and forms
himself. In this sense man is his own cause. But he is this
only as a creature and as God's image. this is the truth of his
being which shows by contrast how profoundly erroneous are the
theories which think they exalt the freedom of man or his
"historical praxis" by making this freedom the absolute principle
of his being and becoming. These theories are expressions of
atheism or tend towards atheism by their own logic.
Indifferentism and deliberate agnosticism go in the same
direction. It is the image of God in man which underlies the
freedom and dignity of the human person.
The call of the Creator
28. By creating man free, God imprinted on him His own
image and likeness. Man hears the call of his Creator in the
inclination and aspiration of his own nature towards the Good,
and still more in the word of Revelation, which was proclaimed in
a perfect manner in the Christ. It is thus revealed to man that
God created him free so that by grace man could enter into
friendship with God and share His life.
A shared freedom
29. Man does not take his origin from his own individual or
collective action, but from the gift of God who created him.
This is the first confession of our Faith, and it confirms the
loftiest insights of human thought.
The freedom of man is a shared freedom. His capacity for
self-realization is in no way suppressed by his dependence on
God. It is precisely the characteristic of atheism to believe in
an irreducible opposition between the causality of a divine
freedom and that of man's freedom, as though the affirmation of
God meant the negation of man, or as though God's intervention in
history rendered vain the endeavors of man. In reality, it is
from God and in relationship with Him that human freedom takes
its meaning and consistency.
Man's free choice.
30. Man's history unfolds on the basis of the nature which
he has received from God and in the free accomplishment of the
purpose towards which the inclinations of this nature and of
divine grace orient and direct him.
But man's freedom is finite and fallible. His desire may be
drawn to an apparent good: in choosing a false good, he fails in
his vocation to freedom. By his free will, man is master of his
own life: he can act in a positive sense or in a destructive
one.
By obeying the divine law inscribed in his conscience and
received as an impulse of the Holy Spirit, man exercises true
mastery over himself and thus realizes his royal vocation as a
child of God. "By the service of God he reigns." Authenic
freedom is the "service of justice," while the choice of
disobedience and evil is the "slavery of sin."
Temporal liberation and freedom
31. This notion of freedom clarifies the scope of temporal
liberation: it involves all the processes which aim at securing
and guaranteeing the conditions needed for the exercise of an
authenic human freedom.
Thus it is not liberation which in itself produces human
freedom. Common sense, confirmed by Christian sense, knows that
even when freedom is subject to forms of conditioning it is not
thereby completely destroyed. People who undergo terrible
constraint succeed in manifesting their freedom and taking steps
to secure their own liberation. A process of liberation which
has been achieved can only create better conditions for the
effective exercise of freedom. Indeed, a liberation which does
not take into account the personal freedom of those who fight for
it is condemned in advance to defeat.
III. Freedom and Human Society
The rights of man and his "freedoms"
32. God did not create man as a "solitary being" but wished
him to be a "social being." Social life therefore is not
exterior to man: he can grow and realize his vocation only in
relation with others. Man belongs to different communities: the
family and professional and political communities, and it is
inside these communities that he must exercise his responsible
freedom. A just social order offers man irreplaceable assistance
in realizing his free personality. On the other hand, an unjust
social order is a threat and an obstacle which can compromise his
destiny.
In the social sphere, freedom is expressed and realized in
actions, structures and institutions, thanks to which people
communicate with one another and organize their common life. The
blossoming of a free personality, which for every individual is a
duty and a right, must be helped and not hindered by society.
Here we have an exigency of a moral nature which has found
its expression in the formulation of the Rights of Man. Some of
these have as their object what are usually called "the
freedoms," that is to say ways of recognizing every human being's
character as a person responsible for himself and his
transcendent destiny, as well as the inviolability of his
conscience.
Man's social dimension and the glory of God
33. The social dimension of the human being also takes on
another meaning: only the vast numbers and rich diversity of
people can express something of the infinite richness of God.
Finally, this dimension is meant to find its accomplishment
in the Body of Christ which is the Church. This is why social
life, int he variety of its forms and to the extent that it is in
conformity with the divine law, constitutes a reflection of the
glory of God in the world.
IV. Human Freedom and Dominion Over Nature
Man's call to master nature
34. As a consequence of his bodily dimension, man needs the
resources of the material world for his personal and social
fulfillment. In this vocation to exercise dominion over the
earth by putting it at his service through work, one can see an
aspect of the image of God. But human intervention is not
"creative"; it encounters a material nature which like itself has
its origin in God the Creator and of which man has been
constituted the "noble and wise guardian."
Man, the master of his works
33. Technical and economic transformations influence the
organization of social life; they cannot help but affect to some
extent cultural and even religious life.
However, by reason of his freedom man remains the master of
his activity. The great and rapid transformations of the present
age face him with a dramatic challenge: that of mastering and
controlling by the use of his reason and freedom the forces which
he puts to work in the service of the true purposes of human
existence.
Scientific discoveries and moral progress
36. It is the task of freedom then, when it is well
ordered, to ensure that scientific and technical achievements,
the quest for their effectiveness, and the products of work and
the very structures of economic and social organization, are not
made to serve projects which would deprive them of their human
purposes and turn them against man himself.
Scientific activity and technological activity each involve
specific exigencies. But they acquire their properly human
meaning and value only when they are subordinated to moral
principles. These exigencies must be respected; but to wish to
attribute to them an absolute and necessary autonomy, not in
conformity with the nature of things, is to set out along a path
which is ruinous for the authentic freedom of man.
V. Sin, the Source of Division and Oppression
Sin, separation from God
37. God calls man to freedom. In each person there lives a
desire to be free. And yet this desire almost always tends
towards slavery and oppression. All commitment to liberation and
freedom therefore presupposes that this tragic paradox has been
faced.
Man's sin, that is to say his breaking away from God, is the
radical reason for the tragedies which mark the history of
freedom. In order to understand this, many of our contemporaries
must first rediscover a sense of sin.
In man's desire for freedom there is hidden the temptation
to deny his own nature. Insofar as he wishes to desire
everything to be able to do everything and thus forget that he is
finite and a created being, he claims to be a god. "You will be
like God" (Gn. 3:5). These words of the serpent reveal the
essence of man's temptation; they imply the perversion of the
meaning of his own freedom. Such is the profound nature of sin:
man rejects the truth and places his own will above it. By
wishing to free himself from God and be a god himself, he
deceives himself and destroys himself. He becomes alienated from
himself.
In this desire to be a god and to subject everything to his
own good pleasure, there is hidden a perversion of the very idea
of God. God is love and truth in the fullness of the mutual gift
of the Divine Persons. It is true that man is called to be like
God. But he becomes like God not in the arbitrariness of his own
good pleasure but to the extent that he recognizes that truth and
love are at the same time the principle and the purpose of his
freedom.
Sin, the root of human alienation
38. By sinning, man lies to himself and separates himself
from his own truth. But seeking total autonomy and self-
sufficiency, he denies God and denies himself. Alienation from
the truth of his being as a creature loved by God is the root of
all other forms of alienation.
By denying or trying to deny God, who is his Beginning and
End, man profoundly disturbs his own order and interior balance
and also those of society and even of visible creation.
It is in their relationship to sin that Scripture regards
all the different calamities which oppress man in his personal
and social existence.
Scripture shows that the whole course of history has a
mysterious link with the action of man who, from the beginning,
has abused his freedom by setting himself up against God and by
seeking to gain his ends without God. Genesis indicates the
consequences of this original sin in the painful nature of work
and childbirth, in man's oppression of woman and in death. Human
beings deprived of divine grace have thus inherited a common
mortal nature, incapable of choosing what is good and inclined to
covetousness.
Idolatry and disorder
39. Idolatry is an extreme form of disorder produced by
sin. The replacement of adoration of the living God by worship
of created things falsifies the relationships between individuals
and brings with it various kinds of oppression.
Culpable ignorance of God unleashes the passions, which are
causes of imbalance and conflicts in the human heart. From this
there inevitably come disorders which affect the sphere of the
family and society: sexual license, injustice and murder. It is
thus that St. Paul describes the pagan world, carried away by
idolatry to the worst aberrations which ruin the individual and
society.
Even before St. Paul, the prophets and wise men of Israel
saw the misfortunes of the people as a punishment for their sin
of idolatry; and in the "heart full of evil" (Eccl. 9:3), they
saw the source of man's radical slavery and of the forms of
oppression which he makes his fellow men endure.
Contempt for God and a turning towards creatures.
40. The Christian tradition, found in the Fathers and
Doctors of the Church, has made explicit this teaching of
Scripture about sin. It sees sin as contempt for God (Contemptus
Dei). It is accompanied by a desire to escape from the dependent
relationship of the servant to his Lord, or still more of the
child to its Father. By sinning, man seeks to free himself from
God. In reality, he makes himself a slave. For by rejecting God
he destroys the momentum of his aspiration to the infinite and of
his vocation to share in the divine life. This is why his heart
is a prey to disquiet.
Sinful man who refuses to accept God is necessarily led to
become attached in a false and destructive way to creatures. In
this turning towards creatures (conversio ad creaturam) he
focuses on the latter his unsatisfied desire for the infinite.
But created goods are limited; and so his heart rushes from one
to another, always searching for an impossible peace.
In fact, when man attributes to creatures an infinite
importance, he loses the meaning of his created being. He claims
to find his center and his unity in himself. Disordered love of
self is the other side of contempt for God. Man then tries to
rely on himself alone; he wishes to achieve fulfillment by
himself and to be self-sufficient in his own immanence.
Atheism, a false emancipation of freedom
41. This becomes more particularly obvious when the sinner
thinks that he can assert his own freedom only by explicitly
denying God. Dependence of the creature upon the Creator, and
the dependence of the moral conscience upon the divine law, are
regarded by him as an intolerable slavery. Thus he sees atheism
as the true form of emancipation and of man's liberation, whereas
religion or even the recognition of a moral law constitute forms
of alienation. Man then wishes to make independent decisions
about what is good and what is evil, or decisions about values;
and in a single step he rejects both the idea of God and the idea
of sin. It is through the audacity of sin that he claims to
become adult and free, and he claims this emancipation not only
for himself but for the whole of humanity.
Sin and unjust structures
42. Having become his own center, sinful man tends to
assert himself and to satisfy his desire for the infinite by the
use of things: wealth, power and pleasure, despising other
people and robbing them unjustly and treating them as objects or
instruments. Thus he makes his own contribution to the creation
of those very structures of exploitation and slavery which he
claims to condemn.
CHAPTER III
Liberation and Christian Freedom
Gospel, freedom and liberation
43. Human history, marked as it is by the experience of
sin, would drive us to despair if God had abandoned His creation
to itself. But the divine promises of liberation, and their
victorious fulfillment in Christ's death and resurrection, are
the basis of the "joyful hope" from which the Christian community
draws the strength to act resolutely and effectively in the
service of love, justice and peace. The Gospel is a message of
freedom and a liberating force which fulfills the hope of Israel
based upon the words of the prophets. This hope relied upon the
action of Yahweh, who even before He intervened as the "goel,"
liberator, Redeemer and Savior of His people had freely chosen
that people in Abraham.
I. Liberation in the Old Testament
The Exodus and the liberating acts of Yahweh
44. In the Old Testament, the liberating action of Yahweh
which serves as model and reference for all others is the Exodus
from Egypt, "the house of bondage." When God rescues His people
from hard economic, political and cultural slavery, He does so in
order to make them, through the Covenant on Sinai, "a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation" (Ex. 19:6). God wishes to be adored
by people who are free. All the subsequent liberations of the
people of Israel help to lead them to this full liberty that they
can find only in communion with their God.
The major and fundamental event of the Exodus therefore has
a meaning which is both religious and political. God sets His
people free and gives them descendants, a land and a law, but
within a Covenant and for a Covenant. One cannot therefore
isolate the political aspect for its own sake; it has to be
considered in the light of a plan of a religious nature within
which it is integrated.
The law of God
45. In His plan of salvation, God gave Israel its law.
This contained, together with the universal moral precepts of the
Decalogue, religious and civil norms which were to govern the
life of the people chosen by God to be His witness among the
nations.
Of this collection of laws, love of God above all things and
of neighbor as oneself already constitutes the center. But the
justice which must govern relations between people, and the law
which is its juridical expression, also belong to the sum and
substance of the biblical law. The codes and the preaching of
the prophets, as also the psalms, constantly refer to both of
them, very often together. It is in this context that one should
appreciate the biblical law's care for the poor, the needy, the
widow and the orphan: they have a right to justice according to
the juridical ordinances of the People of God. Thus there
already exist the ideal and the outline of a society centered
upon worship of the Lord and based upon justice and law inspired
by love.
The teaching of the prophets
46. Prophets constantly remind Israel of the demands made
by the law of the Covenant. They condemn man's hardened heart as
the source of repeated transgressions, and they foretell a New
Covenant in which God will change hearts by writing on them the
law of His Spirit.
In proclaiming and preparing for this new age, the prophets
vigorously condemn injustice done to the poor: they make
themselves God's spokesmen for the poor. Yahweh is the supreme
refuge of the little ones and the oppressed, and the Messiah will
have the mission of taking up their defense.
The situation of the poor is a situation of injustice
contrary to the Covenant. This is why the law of the Covenant
protects them by means of precepts which reflect the attitude of
God Himself when He liberated Israel from the slavery of Egypt.
Injustice to the little ones and the poor is a grave sin and one
which destroys communion with God.
The "poor of Yahweh"
47. Whatever the form of poverty, injustice and affliction
they endure, the "just" and the "poor of Yahweh" offer up their
supplications to Him in the psalms. In their hearts they suffer
the servitude to which the "stiff-necked" people are reduced
because of their sins. They endure persecution, martyrdom and
death; but they live in hope of deliverance. Above all, they
place their trust in Yahweh, to whom they commend their cause.
The "poor of Yahweh" know that communion with Him is the
most precious treasure and the one in which man finds his true
freedom. For them, the most tragic misfortune is the loss of
this communion. Hence their fight against injustice finds its
deepest meaning and its effectiveness in their desire to be freed
from the slavery of sin.
On the threshold of the New Testament
48. On the threshold of the New Testament, the "poor of
Yahweh" make up the first fruits of a "people humble and lowly"
who live in hope of the liberation of Israel.
Mary, personifying this hope, crosses the threshold from the
Old Testament. She proclaims with joy the coming of the Messiah
and praises the Lord who is preparing to set His people free. In
her hymn of praise to the divine mercy, the humble Virgin, to
whom the people of the poor turn spontaneously and so
confidently, sings of the mystery of salvation and its power to
transform. The sensus fidei, which is so vivid among the little
ones, is able to grasp at once all the salvific and ethical
treasures of the Magnificat.
II. Christological Significance of the Old Testament
In the light of Christ
49. The Exodus, the Covenant, the law, the voices of the
prophets and the spirituality of the "poor of Yahweh" achieve
their full significance only in Christ. The Church reads the Old
Testament in the light of Christ who died and rose for us. She
sees a prefiguring of herself in the People of God of the Old
Covenant, made incarnate in the concrete body of a particular
nation, politically and culturally constituted as such. This
people was part of the fabric of history as Yahweh's witness
before the nations until the fulfillment of the time of
preparation and the prefigurement. In the fullness of time which
came with Christ, the children of Abraham were invited to enter,
together with all the nations, into the Church of Christ in order
to form with them one People of God, spiritual and universal.
III. Christian Liberation
The Good News proclaimed to the poor
50. Jesus proclaims the Good News of the kingdom of God and
calls people to conversion. "The poor have the good news
preached to them" (Mt. 11:5). By quoting the expression of the
prophet, Jesus manifests His messianic action in favor of those
who await God's salvation.
Even more than this, the Son of God who has made Himself
poor for love of us wishes to be recognized in the poor, in those
who suffer or are persecuted: "As you did it to one of the least
of these my brethren, you did it to me."
The paschal mystery
51. But it is above all by the power of His paschal mystery
that Christ has set us free. Through His perfect obedience on
the cross and through the glory of His resurrection, the Lamb of
God has taken away the sin of the world and opened for us the way
to definitive liberation.
By means of our service and love, but also by the offering
up of our trials and sufferings, we share in the one redeeming
sacrifice of Christ, completing in ourselves "what is lacking in
Christ's affliction for the sake of his body, that is, the
church" (Cor. 1:24), as we look forward to the resurrection of
the dead.
Grace, reconciliation and freedom
52. The heart of the Christian experience of freedom is in
justification by the grace received through faith and the
Church's sacraments. This grace frees us from sin and places us
in communion with God. Through Christ's death and resurrection
we are offered forgiveness. The experience of our reconciliation
with the Father is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. God reveals
Himself to us as the Father of mercy, before whom we can come
with total confidence.
Having been reconciled with Him, and receiving this peace of
Christ which the world cannot give, we are called to be
peacemakers among all men.
In Christ, we can conquer sin, and death no longer separates
us from God; death will finally be destroyed at our resurrection,
which will be like that of Jesus. The "cosmos" itself, of which
man is the center and summit, waits to be "set free from its
bondage to decay and to share in the glorious freedom of the
children of God" (Rom. 8:21). Even now Satan has been checked;
he who has the power of death has been reduced to impotence by
the death of Christ. Signs are given which are a foretaste of
the glory to come.
Struggle against the slavery of sin
53. The freedom brought by Christ in the Holy Spirit has
restored to us the capacity, which sin had taken away from us, to
love God above all things and remain in communion with Him.
We are set free from disordered self-love, which is the
source of contempt of neighbor and of human relationships based
on domination.
Nevertheless, until the risen One returns in glory, the
mystery of iniquity is still at work in the world. St. Paul
warns of us this: "For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal.
5:1). We must therefore persevere and fight in order not to fail
once more under the yoke of slavery. Our existence is a
spiritual struggle to live according to the Gospel and it is
waged with the weapons of God. But we have received the power
and the certainty of our victory over evil, the victory of the
love of Christ whom nothing can resist.
The Spirit and the law
54. St. Paul proclaims the gift of the New Law of the
Spirit in opposition to the law of the flesh or of covetousness
which draws man towards evil and makes him powerless to choose
what is good. This lack of harmony and this inner weakness do
not abolish man's freedom and responsibility, but they do have a
negative effect on their exercise for the sake of what is good.
This is what causes the Apostle to say: "I do not do the good I
want, but the evil I do not want is what I do" (Rom. 7:19). Thus
he rightly speaks of the "bondage of sin" and the "slavery of the
law," for to sinful man the law, which he cannot make part of
himself, seems oppressive.
However, St. Paul recognizes that the law still has value
for man and for the Christian, because it "is holy and what it
commands is sacred, just and good" (Rom. 7:12). He reaffirms the
Decalogue, while putting it into relationship with that charity
which is its true fullness. Furthermore, he knows well that a
juridical order is necessary for the development of life in
society. But the new thing he proclaims is God's giving us His
Son "so that the Law's just demands might be satisfied in us"
(Rom. 8:1).
The Lord Jesus Himself spelled out the precepts of the New
Law in the Sermon on the Mount; by the sacrifice He offered on
the cross and by His glorious resurrection He conquered the power
of sin and gained for us the grace of the Holy Spirit which makes
possible the perfect observance of God's law and access to
forgiveness if we fall again into sin. The Spirit who dwells in
our hearts is the source of true freedom.
Through Christ's sacrifice, the cultic regulations of the
Old Testament have been rendered obsolete. As for the juridical
norms governing the social and political life of Israel and the
Apostolic Church, inasmuch as it marked the beginning of the
reign of God on earth, was aware that it was no longer held to
the observance. This enabled the Christian community to
understand the laws and authoritative acts of various peoples.
Although lawful and worthy of being obeyed, they could never,
inasmuch as they have their origin in such authorities, claim to
have a sacred character. In the light of the Gospel, many laws
and structures seem to bear the mark of sin and prolong its
oppressive influence on society.
IV. The New Commandment
Love, the gift of the Spirit
55. God's love, poured out in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit, involves love of neighbor. Recalling the first
commandment, Jesus immediately adds: "And the second is like it,
you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the law and the prophets (Mt. 22:39-40).
And St. Paul says that love is the fulfillment of the law.
Love of neighbor knows no limits and includes enemies and
persecutors. The perfection which is the image of the Father's
perfection and for which the discipline must strive is found in
mercy. The parable of the Good Samaritan shows that
compassionate love, which puts itself at the service of neighbor,
destroys the prejudices which set ethnic or social groups against
one another. All of the New testament witnesses to the
inexhaustible richness of the sentiments which are included in
Christian love of neighbor.
Love of neighbor
56. Christian love, which seeks no reward and includes
everyone, receives it nature from the love of Christ who gave His
life for us: "Even as I have loved you...you also love one
another" (Jn. 13:34-35). This is the "new commandment" for the
disciples.
In the light of this commandment, St. James severely reminds
the rich of their duty, and St. John says that a person who
possesses the riches of this world but who shuts his heart to his
brother in need cannot have the love of God dwelling in him.
Fraternal love is the touchstone of the love of God: "He who
does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom
he has not seen" (1 Jn. 4:20). St. Paul strongly emphasizes the
link between sharing in the sacrament of the body and blood of
Christ and sharing with one's neighbor who is in need.
Justice and charity
57. Evangelical love, and the vocation to be children of
God to which all are called, have as a consequence the direct and
imperative requirement of respect for all human beings in their
rights to life and to dignity. There is no gap between love of
neighbor and desire for justice. To contrast the two is to
distort both love and justice. Indeed, the meaning of mercy
completes the meaning of justice by preventing justice from
shutting itself up within the circle of revenge.
The evil inequities and oppression of every kind which
afflict millions of men and women today openly contradict
Christ's Gospel and cannot leave the conscience of any Christian
indifferent.
The Church, in her docility to the Spirit, goes forward
faithfully along the paths to authenic liberation. Her members
are aware of their failings and their delays in this quest. But
a vast number of Christians, from the time of the Apostles
onwards, have committed their powers and their lives to
liberation from every form of oppression and to the promotion of
human dignity. The experience of the saints and the example of
so many works of service to one's neighbor are an incentive and a
beacon for the liberating undertakings that are needed today.
V. The Church, People of God of the New Covenant
Towards the fullness of freedom
58. The people of God of the New Covenant is the Church of
Christ. Her law is the commandment of love. In the hearts of
her members the Spirit dwells as in a temple. She is the seed
and the beginning of the kingdom of God here below, which will
receive its completion at the end of time with the resurrection
of the dead and the renewal of the whole of creation.
Thus possessing the pledge of the Spirit, the People of God
is led towards the fullness of freedom. The new Jerusalem which
we fervently await is rightly called the city of freedom in the
highest sense. Then, "God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning
nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed
away" (Rv. 21:4). Hope is the certain expectation "of new
heavens and of a new earth where justice will dwell" (2 Pt.
3:13).
The final meeting with Christ
59. The transfiguration by the risen Christ of the Church
at the end of her pilgrimage in no way cancels out the personal
destiny of each individual at the end of his or her life. All
those found worthy before Christ's tribunal for having, by the
grace of God, made good use of their free will are to receive the
reward of happiness. They will be made like to God, for they
will see Him as He is. The divine gift of eternal happiness is
the exaltation of the greatest freedom which can be imagined.
Eschatological hope and the commitment for temporal liberation
60. This hope does not weaken commitment to the progress of
the earthly city, but rather gives it meaning and strength. It
is of course important to make a careful distinction between
earthly progress and the growth of the kingdom, which do not
belong to the same order. Nonetheless, this distinction is not a
separation; for man's vocation to eternal life does not suppress
but confirms his task of using the energies and means which he
has received from the Creator for developing his temporal life.
Enlightened by the Lord's Spirit, Christ's Church can
discern which signs of the times advance liberation and those
that are deceptive and illusory. She calls man and societies to
overcome situations of sin and injustice and to establish the
conditions for true freedom. She knows that we shall rediscover
all these good things--human dignity, fraternal union and
freedom--which are the result of efforts in harmony with God's
will, "washed clean of all stain, illuminated and transfigured
when Christ will hand over to the Father the eternal and
universal kingdom," which is a kingdom of freedom.
The vigilant and active expectation of the coming of the
kingdom is also the expectation of a finally perfect justice for
the living and the dead, for people of all times and places, a
justice which Jesus Christ, installed as supreme Judge, will
establish. This promise, which surpasses all human
possibilities, directly concerns our life in this world. For
true justice must include everyone; it must bring the answer to
the immense load of suffering borne by all generations. In fact,
without the resurrection of the dead and the Lord's judgment,
there is no justice in the full sense of the term. The promise
of the resurrection is freely made to meet the desire for true
justice dwelling in the human heart.
CHAPTER IV
The Liberating Mission of the Church
The Church and the anxieties of mankind
61. The Church is firmly determined to respond to the
anxiety of contemporary man as he endures oppression and yearns
for freedom. The political and economic running of society is
not a direct part of her mission. But the Lord Jesus has
entrusted to her the word of truth which is capable of
enlightening consciences. Divine love, which is her life, impels
her to a true solidarity with everyone who suffers. If her
members remain faithful to this mission, the Holy Spirit, the
source of freedom, will dwell in them, and they will bring forth
fruits of justice and peace in their families and in the places
where they work and live.
I. For the Integral Salvation of the World
The beatitudes and the power of the Gospel
62. The Gospel is the power of eternal life, given even now
to those who receive it. But by begetting people who are
renewed, this power penetrates the human community and its
history, thus purifying and giving life to its activities. In
this way it is a "root of culture."
The beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus express the perfection of
evangelical love, and they have never ceased to be lived
throughout the history of the Church by countless baptized
individuals, and in an eminent manner by the saints.
The beatitudes--beginning with the first, the one concerning
the poor--form a whole which itself must not be separated from
the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon, Jesus,
who is the new Moses, gives a commentary on the Decalogue, the
Law of the Covenant, thus giving it its definitive and fullest
meaning. Read and interpreted in their full context, the
beatitudes express the spirit of the kingdom of God which is to
come. But, in the light of the definitive destiny of human
history thus manifested, there simultaneously appear with a more
vivid clarity the foundations of justice in the temporal order.
For the beatitudes--by teaching trust which relies on God,
hope of eternal life, love of justice, and mercy which goes as
far as pardon and reconciliation--enables us to situate the
temporal order in relation to a transcendent order which gives
the temporal order its true measure but without taking away its
own nature.
In the light of these things, the commitment necessary in
temporal tasks of service to neighbor and the human community is
both urgently demanded and kept in its right perspective. The
beatitudes prevent us from worshipping earthly goods and from
committing the injustices which their unbridled pursuit involves.
They also divert us from an unrealistic and ruinous search for a
perfect world, "for the form of this world is passing away" (1
Cor. 7:31).
The proclamation of salvation
63. The Church's essential mission, following that of
Christ, is a mission of evangelization and salvation. She draws
her zeal from the divine love. Evangelization is the
proclamation of salvation, which is a gift of God. Through the
Word of God and the sacraments, man is freed in the first place
from the power of sin and the power of the Evil One which
oppresses him; and he is brought into a communion of love with
God. Following her Lord who "came into the world to save
sinners" (1 Tm. 1:15), the Church desires the salvation of all
peoples.
In this mission, the Church teaches the way which man must
follow in this world in order to enter the kingdom of God. Her
teaching therefore extends to the whole moral order, and notably
to the justice which must regulate human relations. This is part
of the preaching of the Gospel.
But the love which impels the Church to communicate to all
people a sharing in the grace of divine life also causes her,
through the effective action of her members, to pursue people's
true temporal good, help them in their needs, provide for their
education and promote an integral liberation from everything that
hinders the development of individuals. The Church desires the
good of man in all his dimensions, first of all as a member of
the city of God, and then as a member of the earthly city.
Evangelization and the promotion of justice
64. Therefore, when the Church speaks about the promotion
of justice in human societies, or when she urges the faithful
laity to work in this sphere according to their own vocation, she
is not going beyond her mission. She is however concerned that
this mission should not be absorbed by preoccupations concerning
the temporal order, or reduced to such preoccupations. Hence she
takes great care to maintain clearly and firmly both the unity
and the distinction between evangelization and human promotion:
unity because she seeks the good of the whole person;
distinction, because these two tasks enter, in different ways,
into her mission.
The Gospel and earthly realities
65. It is thus by pursuing her own finality that the Church
sheds the light of the Gospel on earthly realities in order that
human beings may be healed of their miseries and raised in
dignity. The cohesion of society in accordance with justice and
peace is thereby promoted and strengthened. Thus the Church is
being faithful to her mission when she condemns the forms of
deviation, slavery and oppression of which people are victims.
She is being faithful to her mission when she opposes
attempts to set up a form of social life from which God is
absent, whether by deliberate opposition or by culpable
negligence.
She is likewise being faithful to her mission when she
exercises her judgment regarding political movements which seek
to fight poverty and oppression according to theories or methods
of action which are contrary to the Gospel and opposed to man
himself.
It is of course true that, with the energy of grace,
evangelical morality brings man new perspectives and new duties.
But its purpose is to perfect and elevate a moral dimension which
already belongs to human nature and with which the Church
concerns herself in the knowledge that this is a heritage
belonging to all people by their very nature.
II. A Love of Preference for the Poor
Jesus and poverty
66. Christ Jesus, although He was rich, became poor in
order to make us rich by means of His poverty. St. Paul is
speaking here of the mystery of the Incarnation of the eternal
Son, who came to take on mortal human nature in order to save man
from the misery into which sin had plunged him. Furthermore, in
the human condition Christ chose a state of poverty and
deprivation in order to show in what consists the true wealth
which ought to be sought, that of communion of life with God. He
taught detachment from earthly riches so that we might desire the
riches of heaven. The Apostles whom He chose also had to leave
all things and share His deprivation.
Christ was foretold by the prophets as the Messiah of the
poor; and it was among the latter, the humble, the "poor of
Yahweh," who were thirsting for the justice of the kingdom, that
He found hearts ready to receive Him. But He also wished to be
near to those who, though rich in the goods of this world, were
excluded from the community as "publicans and sinners," for He
had come to call them to conversion.
It is this sort of poverty, made up of detachment, trust in
God, sobriety and a readiness to share, that Jesus declared
blessed.
Jesus and the poor
67. But Jesus not only brought the grace and peace of God;
He also healed innumerable sick people; He had compassion on the
crowd who had nothing to eat and He fed them; with the disciples
who followed Him He practiced almsgiving. Therefore the
beatitude of poverty which He proclaimed can never signify that
Christians are permitted to ignore the poor who lack what is
necessary for human life in this world. This poverty is the
result and consequence of people's sin and natural frailty, and
it is an evil from which human beings must be freed as completely
as possible.
Love of preference for the poor
68. In its various forms--material deprivation, unjust
oppression, physical and psychological illnesses, and finally
death--human misery is the obvious sign of the natural condition
of weakness in which man finds himself since original sin and the
sign of his need for salvation. Hence it drew the compassion of
Christ the Savior to take it upon Himself and to be identical
with the least of His brethren (cf. Mt. 25:40, 45). Hence also
those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a love of
preference on the part of the Church, which since her origin and
in spite of the failings of many of her members has not ceased to
work for their relief, defense and liberation. She has done this
through numberless works of charity which remain always and
everywhere indispensable. In addition, through her social
doctrine which she strives to apply, she has sought to promote
structural changes in society so as to secure conditions of life
worthy of the human person.
By detachment from riches, which makes possible sharing and
opens the gate of the kingdom, the disciples of Jesus bear
witness through love for the poor and unfortunate to the love of
the Father Himself manifested in the Savior. This love comes
from God and goes to God. The disciples of Christ have always
recognized in the gifts placed on the altar a gift offered to God
Himself.
In loving the poor, the Church also witnesses to man's
dignity. She clearly affirms that man is worth more for what he
is than for what he has. She bears witness to the fact that this
dignity cannot be destroyed, whatever the situation of poverty,
scorn, rejection or powerlessness to which a human being has been
reduced. She shows her solidarity with those who do not count in
a society by which they are rejected spiritually and sometimes
even physically. She is particularly drawn with maternal
affection towards those children who, through human wickedness,
will never be brought forth from the womb to the light of day, as
also for the elderly, alone and abandoned.
The special option for the poor, far from being a sign of
particularism or sectarianism, manifests the universality of
Church's being and mission. This option excludes no one.
This is the reason why the Church cannot express this option
by means of reductive sociological and ideological categories
which would make this preference a partisan choice and a source
of conflict.
Basic communities and other Christian groups
69. The new basic communities or other groups of Christians
which have arisen to be witnesses to this evangelical love are a
source of great hope for the Church. If they really live in
unity with the local Church and the universal Church, they will
be a real expression of communion and a means for constructing a
still deeper communion. Their fidelity to their mission will
depend on how careful they are to educate their members in the
fullness of the Christian Faith through listening to the Word of
God, fidelity to the teaching of the Magisterium, to the
hierarchical order of the Church and to the sacramental life. If
this condition is fulfilled, their experience, rooted in a
commitment to the complete liberation of man, becomes a treasure
for the whole Church.
Theological reflection
70. Similarly, a theological reflection developed from a
particular experience can constitute a very positive
contribution, inasmuch as it makes possible a highlighting of
aspects of the Word of God, the richness of which has not yet
been fully grasped. But in order that this reflection may be
truly a reading of the Scripture and not a projection onto the
Word of God of a meaning which it does not contain, the
theologian will be careful to interpret the experience from which
he begins in the light of the experience of the Church herself.
This experience of the Church shines with a singular brightness
and in all its purity in the lives of the saints. It pertains to
the pastors of the Church, in communion with the Successor of
Peter, to discern its authenticity.
CHAPTER V
The Social Doctrine of the Church
for a Christian Practice of Liberation
The Christian practice of liberation
71. The salvific dimension of liberation cannot be reduced
to the socio-ethical dimension, which is a consequence of it. By
restoring man's true freedom, the radical liberation brought
about by Christ assigns to him a task: Christian practice, which
is the putting into practice of the great commandment of love.
The latter is the supreme principle of Christian social morality,
founded upon the Gospel and the whole of tradition since
apostolic times and the age of the Fathers of the Church up to
and including the recent statements of the Magisterium.
The considerable challenges of our time constitute an urgent
appeal to put into practice this teaching on how to act.
I. Nature of the Social Doctrine of the Church
The Gospel message and social life
72. The Church's social teaching is born of the encounter
of the Gospel message and of its demands summarized in the
supreme commandment of love of God and neighbor in justice with
the problem emanating from the life of society. This social
teaching has established itself as a doctrine by using the
resources of human wisdom and the sciences. It concerns the
ethical aspect of this life. It takes into account the technical
aspects of problems but always in order to judge them from the
moral point of view.
Being essentially oriented towards action, this teaching
develops in accordance with the changing circumstances of
history. This is why, together with principles that are always
valid, it also involves contingent judgments. Far from
constituting a closed system, it remains constantly open to the
new questions which continually arise; it requires the
contribution of all charisms, experiences and skills.
As an "expert in humanity," the Church offers by her social
doctrine a set of principles for reflection and criteria for
judgment and also directives for action so that the profound
changes demanded by situations of poverty and injustice may be
brought about, and this in a way which serves the true good of
humanity.
Fundamental principles
73. The supreme commandment of love leads to the full
recognition of the dignity of each individual, created in God's
image. From this dignity flow natural rights and duties. In the
light of the image of God, freedom, which is the essential
prerogative of the human person, is manifested in all its depth.
Persons are the active and responsible subjects of social life.
Intimately linked to the foundation, which is man's dignity,
are the principle of solidarity and the principle of
subsidiarity.
By virtue of the first, man with his brothers is obliged to
contribute to the common good of society at all its levels.
Hence the Church's doctrine is opposed to all forms of social or
political individualism.
By virtue of the second, neither the state nor any society
must ever substitute itself for the initiative and responsibility
of individuals and of intermediate communities at the level on
which they can function, nor must they take away the room
necessary for their freedom. Hence the Church's social doctrine
is opposed to all forms of collectivism.
Criteria for judgment
74. These principles are the basis of criteria for making
judgments on social situations, structures and systems.
Thus the Church does not hesitate to condemn situations of
life which are injurious to man's dignity and freedom.
These criteria also make it possible to judge the value of
structures. These are the sets of institutions and practices
which people find already existing or which they create, on the
national and international level, and which orientate or organize
economic, social and political life. Being necessary in
themselves, they often tend to become fixed and fossilized as
mechanisms relatively independent of the human will, thereby
paralyzing or distorting social development and causing
injustice. However, they always depend on the responsibility of
man, who can alter them, and not upon an alleged determinism of
history.
Institutions and laws, when they are in conformity with the
natural law and ordered to the common good, are the guarantees of
people's freedom and of the promotion of that freedom. One
cannot condemn all the constraining aspects of law, nor the
stability of a lawful state worthy of the name. One can
therefore speak of structures marked by sin, but one cannot
condemn structures as such.
The criteria for judgment also concerns economic, social and
political systems. The social doctrine of the Church does not
propose any particular system; but, in the light of other
fundamental principles, she makes it possible at once to see to
what extent existing systems conform or do not conform to the
demands of human dignity.
Primacy of persons over structures
75. The Church is of course aware of the complexity of the
problems confronting society and of the difficulties in finding
adequate solutions to them. Nevertheless she considers that the
first thing to be done is to appeal to the spiritual and moral
capacities of the individual and to the permanent need for inner
conversion, if one is to achieve the economic and social changes
that will truly be at the service of man.
The priority given to structures and technical organization
over the person and the requirements of his dignity is the
expression of a materialistic anthropology and is contrary to the
construction of a just social order.
On the other hand, the recognized priority of freedom and of
conversion of heart in no way eliminates the need for unjust
structures to be changed. It is therefore perfectly legitimate
that those who suffer oppression on the part of the wealthy or
the politically powerful should take action, through morally
licit means, in order to secure structures and institutions in
which their rights will be truly respected.
It remains true however that structures established for
people's good are of themselves incapable of securing and
guaranteeing that good. The corruption which in certain
countries affects the leaders and the state bureaucracy, and
which destroys all honest social life, is a proof of this. Moral
integrity is a necessary condition for the health of society. It
is therefore necessary to work simultaneously for the conversion
of hearts and for the improvement of structures. For the sin
which is at the root of unjust systems is, in a true and
immediate sense, a voluntary act which has its source in the
freedom of individuals. Only in a derived and secondary sense is
it applicable to structures, and only in this sense can one speak
of "social sin."
Moreover, in the process of liberation, one cannot abstract
from the historical situation of the nation or attack the
cultural identity of the people. Consequently, one cannot
passively accept--still less actively support--groups which by
force or by the manipulation of public opinion take over the
state apparatus and unjustly imposed on the collectivity an
imported ideology contrary to the culture of the people. In this
respect, mention should be made of the serious moral and
political responsibility of intellectuals.
Guidelines for action
76. Basic principles and criteria for judgment inspire
guidelines for action. Since the common good of human society is
at the service of people, the means of action must be in
conformity with human dignity and facilitate education for
freedom. A safe criterion for judgment and action is this:
there can be no true liberation if from the very beginning the
rights of freedom are not respected.
Systematic recourse to violence put forward as the necessary
path to liberation has to be condemned as a destructive illusion
and one that opens the way to new forms of servitude. One must
condemn with equal vigor violence exercised by the powerful
against the poor, arbitrary action by the police, and any form of
violence established as a system of government. In these areas
one must learn the lessons of tragic experiences which the
history of the present century has known and continues to know.
Nor can one accept the culpable passivity of the public powers in
those democracies where the social situation of a large number of
men and women is far from corresponding to the demands of
constitutionally guaranteed individual and social rights.
A struggle for justice
77. When the Church encourages the creation and activity of
associations such as trade unions which fight for the defense of
the rights and legitimate interests of the workers and for social
justice, she does not thereby admit the theory that sees in the
class struggle the structural dynamism of social life. The
action which she sanctions is not the struggle of one class
against another in order to eliminate the foe. She does not
proceed from a mistaken acceptance of an alleged law of history.
This action is rather a noble and reasoned struggle for justice
and social solidarity. The Christian will always prefer the path
of dialogue and joint action.
Christ has command us to love our enemies. Liberation in
the spirit of the Gospel is therefore incompatible with hatred of
others, taken individually or collectively, and this includes
hatred of one's enemy.
The my of revolution
78. Situations of grave injustice require the courage to
make far-reaching reforms and to suppress unjustifiable
privileges. But those who discredit the path of reform and favor
the myth of revolution not only foster the illusion that the
abolition of an evil situation is in itself sufficient to create
a more human society; they also encourage the setting up of
totalitarian regimes. The fight against injustice is meaningless
unless it is waged with a view to establishing a new social and
political order in conformity with the demands of justice. Just
must already mark each stage of the establishment of this new
order. There is a morality of means.
A last resort
79. These principles must be especially applied in the
extreme case where there is recourse to armed struggle, which the
Church's Magisterium admits as a last resort to put an end to an
obvious and prolonged tyranny which is gravely damaging the
fundamental rights of individuals and the common good.
Nevertheless, the concrete application of this means cannot be
contemplated until there has been a very rigorous analysis of the
situation. Indeed, because of the continual development of the
technology of violence and the increasingly serious dangers
implied in its recourse, that which today is termed "passive
resistance" shows a way more conformable to moral principles and
having no less prospects for success. One can never approve--
whether perpetrated by an established power or insurgents--crimes
such as reprisals against the general population, torture, or
methods of terrorism and deliberate provocation aimed at causing
deaths during popular demonstrations. Equally unacceptable are
the detestable smear campaigns capable of destroying a person
psychologically or morally.
The role of the laity
80. It is not for the pastors of the Church to intervene
directly in the political construction and organization of social
life. This task forms part of the vocation of the laity acting
on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. They must
fulfill this task conscious of the fact that the purpose of the
Church is to spread the kingdom of Christ so that all men may be
saved and that through them the world may be effectively ordered
to Christ. The work of salvation is thus seen to be indissolubly
linked to the task of improving and raising the conditions of
human life in this world.
The distinction between the supernatural order of salvation
and the temporal order of human life must be seen in the context
of God's singular plan to recapitulate all things in Christ.
Hence in each of these spheres the lay person, who is at one and
the same time a member of the Church and a citizen of his
country, just allow himself to be constantly guided by his
Christian conscience.
Social action, which can involve a number of concrete means,
will always be exercised for the common good and in conformity
with the Gospel message and the teaching of the Church. It must
be ensured that the variety of options does not harm a sense of
collaboration, or lead to a paralysis of efforts or produce
confusion among the Christian people.
The orientation received from the social doctrine of the
Church should stimulate an acquisition of the essential technical
and scientific skills. The social doctrines of the Church will
also stimulate the seeking of moral formation of character and a
deepening of the spiritual life. While it offers principles and
wise counsels, this doctrine does not dispense from education in
the political prudence needed for guiding and running human
affairs.
II. Evangelical Requirements for an In-depth Transformation
Need for a cultural transformation
81. Christians working to bring about that "civilization of
love" which will include the entire ethical and social heritage
of the Gospel are today faced with an unprecedented challenge.
This task calls for renewed reflection on what constitutes the
relationship between the supreme commandment of love and the
social order considered in all its complexity.
The immediate aim of this in-depth reflection is to work out
and set in motion ambitious programs aimed at the socio-economic
liberation of millions of men and women caught in an intolerable
situation of economic, social and political oppression.
This action must begin with an immense effort at education:
education for the civilization of work, education for solidarity,
access to culture for all.
The Gospel of work
82. The life of Jesus of Nazareth, a real "Gospel of work,"
offers us the living example and principle of the radical
cultural transformation which is essential for solving the grave
problems which must be faced by the age in which we live. He,
who, though he was God, became like us in all things, devoted the
greater part of His earthly life to manual labor. The culture
which our age awaits will be marked by the full recognition of
the dignity of human work, which appears in all its nobility and
fruitfulness in the light of the mysteries of creation and
redemption. Recognized as an expression of the person, work
becomes a source of creative meaning and effort.
A true civilization of work
83. Thus the solution of most of the serious problems
related to poverty is to be found in the promotion of a true
civilization of work. In a sense, work is the key to the whole
social question.
It is therefore in the domain of work that priority must be
given to the action of liberation in freedom. Because the
relationship between the human person and work is radical and
vital, the forms and models according to which this relationship
is regulated will exercise a positive influence for the solution
of a whole series of social and political problems facing each
people. Just work relationships will be a necessary pre-
condition for a system of political community capable of favoring
the integral development of every individual.
If the system of labor relations put into effect by those
directly involved--the workers and employers--with the essential
support of the public powers, succeeds in bringing into existence
a civilization of work, then there will take place a profound and
peaceful revolution in people's outlooks and in institutional and
political structures.
National and international common good
84. A work culture such as this will necessarily presuppose
and put into effect a certain number of essential values. It
will acknowledge that the person of the worker is the principle,
subject and purpose of work. It will affirm the priority of work
over capital and the fact that material goods are meant for all.
It will be animated by a sense of solidarity involving not only
rights to be defended but also the duties to be performed. It
will involve participation, aimed at promoting the national and
international common good and not just defending individual or
corporate interests. It will assimilate the methods of
confrontation and of frank and vigorous dialogue.
As a result, the political authorities will become more
capable of acting with respect for the legitimate freedoms of
individuals, families and subsidiary groups; and they will thus
create the conditions necessary for man to be able to achieve his
authentic and integral welfare, including his spiritual goal.
The value of human work
85. A culture which recognizes the eminent dignity of the
worker will emphasize the subjective dimension of work.
The value of any human work does not depend on the kind of
work done; it is based on the fact that the one who does it is a
person. There we have an ethical criterion whose implications
cannot be overlooked.
Thus every person has a right to work, and this right must
be recognized in a practical way by an effective commitment to
resolving the tragic problem of unemployment. The fact that
unemployment keeps large sectors of the population and notably
the young in a situation of marginalization is intolerable For
this reason the creation of jobs is a primary social task facing
individuals and private enterprise, as well as the state. As a
general rule, in this as in other matters, the state has a
subsidiary function; but often it can be called upon to intervene
directly, as in the case of international agreements between
different states. Such agreements must respect the rights of
immigrants and their families.
Promoting participation
86. Wages, which cannot be considered as a mere commodity
must enable the worker and his family to have access to a truly
human standard of living in the material, social, cultural and
spiritual orders. It is the dignity of the person which
constitutes the criterion for judging work, not the other way
around. Whatever the type of work, the worker must be able to
perform it as an expression of his personality. There follows
from this the necessity of a participation which, over and above
a sharing in the fruits of work, should involve a truly
communitarian dimension at the level of projects, undertakings
and responsibilities.
Priority of work over capital
87. The priority of work over capital places an obligation
in justice upon employers to consider the welfare of the workers
before the increase of profits. They have a moral obligation not
to keep capital unproductive and, in making investments, to think
first of the common good. The latter requires a prior effort to
consolidate jobs or create new ones in the production of goods
that are really useful.
The right to private property is inconceivable without
responsibilities to the common good. It is subordinated to the
higher principle which states that goods are meant for all.
In-depth reforms
88. This teaching must inspire reforms before it is too
late. Access for everyone to the goods needed for a human,
person and family life worthy of the name is a primary demand of
social justice. It requires application in the sphere of
industrial work and in a particular way in the area of
agricultural work. Indeed, rural peoples, especially in the
Third World, make up the vast majority of the poor.
III. Promotion of Solidarity
A new solidarity
89. Solidarity is a direct requirement of human and
supernatural brotherhood. The serious socio-economic problems
which occur today cannot be solved unless new fronts of
solidarity are created: solidarity of the poor among themselves,
solidarity with the poor to which the rich are called, solidarity
among the workers and with the workers. Institutions and social
organizations at different levels, as well as the state, must
share in a general movement of solidarity. When the Church
appeals for such solidarity, she is aware that she herself is
concerned in a quite special way.
Goods are meant for all
90. The principle that goods are meant for all, together
with the principle of human and supernatural brotherhood, express
the responsibilities of the richer countries towards the poorer
ones. These responsibilities include: solidarity in aiding the
developing countries, social justice through a revision in
correct terms of commercial relationships between North and
South, a promotion of a more human world for all--a world in
which each individual can give and receive, and in which the
progress of some will no longer be an obstacle to the development
of others, nor a pretext for their enslavement.
Aid for development
91. International solidarity is a necessity of the moral
order. It is essential not only in cases of extreme urgency but
also for aiding true development. This is a shared task, which
requires a concerted and constant effort to find concrete
technical solutions and also to create a new mentality among our
contemporaries. World peace depends on this to a great extent.
IV. Cultural and Educational Tasks
Right to education and culture
92. The unjust inequalities in the possession and use of
material goods are accompanied and aggravated by similarly unjust
inequalities in the opportunity for culture. Every human being
has a right to culture, which is the specific mode of a truly
human existence to which one gains access through the development
of one's intellectual capacities, moral virtues, abilities to
relate with other human beings, and talents for creating things
which are useful and beautiful. From this flows the necessity of
promoting and spreading education, to which every individual has
an inalienable right. The first condition for this is the
elimination of illiteracy.
Respect for cultural freedom
93. The right of each person to culture is assured only if
cultural freedom is respected. Too often culture is debased by
ideology, and education is turned into an instrument at the
service of political and economic power. It is not within the
competence of the public authorities to determine culture. Their
function is to promote and protect the cultural life of everyone,
including that of minorities.
The educational task of the family
94. The task of educating belongs fundamentally and
primarily to the family. The function of the state is
subsidiary: its role is to guarantee, protect, promote and
supplement. Whenever the state lays claim to an educational
monopoly, it oversteps its rights and offends justice. It is
parents who have the right to choose the school to which they
send their children and the right to set up and support
educational centers in accordance with their own beliefs. The
state cannot, without injustice, merely tolerate so-called
private schools. Such schools render a public service and
therefore have a right to financial assistance.
Freedoms and sharing
95. The education which gives access to culture is also
education in the responsible exercise of freedom. That is why
there can be authentic development only in a social and political
system which respects freedoms and fosters them through the
participation of everyone. This participation can take different
forms; it is necessary in order to guarantee a proper pluralism
in institutions and in social initiatives. It ensures, notably
by the real separation between the powers of the state, the
exercise of human rights, also protecting them against possible
abuses on the part of the public powers. No one can be excluded
from this participation in social and political life for reasons
of sex, race, color, social condition, language or religion.
Keeping people on the margins of cultural, social and political
life constitutes in many nations one of the most glaring
injustices of our time.
When the political authorities regulate the exercise of
freedoms, they cannot use the pretext of the demands for public
order and security in order to curtail those freedoms
systematically. Nor can the alleged principle of national
security, or a narrowly economic outlook, or a totalitarian
concept of social life, prevail over the value of freedom and its
rights.
The challenge of inculturation
96. Faith inspires criteria of judgment, determining
values, lines of thought and patterns of living which are valid
for the whole human community. Hence the Church, sensitive to
the anxieties of our age, indicates the lines of a culture in
which work would be recognized in its full human dimension and in
which all would find opportunities for personal self-fulfillment.
The Church does this by virtue of her missionary outreach for the
integral salvation of the world, with respect for the identity of
each people and nation.
The Church, which is a communion that unites diversity and
unity through her presence in the whole world, takes from every
culture the positive elements which she finds there. But
inculturation is not simply an outward adaptation; it is an
intimate transformation of authenic cultural values by their
integration into Christianity and the planting of Christianity in
the different human cultures. Separation between the Gospel and
culture is a tragedy of which the problems mentioned are a sad
illustration. A generous effort to evangelize cultures is
therefore necessary. These cultures will be given fresh life by
their encounter with the Gospel. But this encounter presupposes
that the Gospel is truly proclaimed. Enlightened by the Second
Vatican Council, the Church wishes to devote all her energies to
this task, so as to evoke and immense liberating effort.
CONCLUSION
The canticle of the Magnificat
97. Blessed is she who believed (Lk. 1:45). At Elizabeth's
greeting, the heart of the Mother of God burst into the song of
the Magnificat. It tells us that it is by faith and in faith
like that of Mary that the People of God express in words and
translate into life the mysterious plan of salvation with its
liberating effects upon individual and social existence. It is
really in the light of faith that one comes to understand how
salvation history is the history of liberation from evil in its
most radical form and of the introduction of humanity into the
true freedom of the children of God. Mary is totally dependent
on her Son and completely directed towards Him by the impulse of
her faith; and, at His side, she is the most perfect image of
freedom and of the liberation of humanity and of the universe.
It is to her as Mother and Model that the Church must look in
order to understand in its completeness the meaning of her own
mission.
It is altogether remarkable that the sense of faith found in
the poor leads not only to an acute perception of the mystery of
the redeeming cross but also to a love and unshakable trust in
the Mother of the Son of God, who is venerated in so many
shrines.
The sensus fidei of the people of God
98. Pastors and all those who, as priests, laity or men and
women religious, often work under very difficult conditions for
evangelization and integral human advancement, should be filled
with hope when they think of the amazing resources of holiness
contained in the living faith of the People of God. These riches
of the sensus fidei must be given the chance to come to full
flowering and bear abundant fruit. To help the faith of the poor
to express itself clearly and to be translated into life, through
a profound meditation on the plan of salvation as it unfolds
itself in the Virgin of the Magnificat--this is a noble ecclesial
task which awaits the theologian.
Thus a theology of freedom and liberation with faithfully
echoes Mary's Magnificat preserved in the Church's memory is
something needed by the times in which we are living. But it
would be criminal to take the energies of popular piety and
misdirect them towards a purely earthly plan of liberation, which
would very soon be revealed as nothing more than an illusion and
a cause of new forms of slavery. Those who in this way surrender
to the ideologies of the world and to the alleged necessity of
violence are no longer being faithful to hope, to hope's boldness
and courage, as they are extolled in the hymn of the God of mercy
which the Virgin teaches us.
Dimensions of an authenic liberation
99. The sensus fidei grasps the very core of the liberation
accomplished by the Redeemer. It is from the most radical evil,
from sin and the power of death, that He has delivered us in
order to restore freedom to itself and to show it the right path.
This path is marked out by the supreme commandment, which is the
commandment of love.
Liberation, in its primary meaning which is salvific, thus
extends into a liberating task, as an ethical requirement. Here
is to be found the social doctrine of the Church, which
illustrates Christian practice on the level of society.
The Christian is called to act according to the truth, and
thus to work for the establishment of that "civilization of love"
of which Pope Paul VI spoke. The present document, without
claiming to be complete, has indicated some of the directions in
which it is urgently necessary to undertake in-depth reforms.
The primary task, which is a condition for the success of all the
others, is an educational one. The love which guides commitment
must henceforth bring into being new forms of solidarity. To the
accomplishment of these tasks urgently facing the Christian
conscience, all people of good will are called.
It is the truth of the mystery of salvation at work today in
order to lead redeemed humanity towards the perfection of the
kingdom which gives the true meaning to the necessary efforts for
liberation in the economic, social and political orders and which
keeps them from falling into new forms of slavery.
The task that lies ahead
100. It is true that before the immensity and the complexity
of the task, which can require the gift of self even to an heroic
degree, many are tempted to discouragement, skepticism or the
recklessness of despair. A formidable challenge is made to hope,
both theological and human. The loving Virgin of the Magnificat,
who enfolds the Church and humanity in her prayer, is the firm
support of hope. For in her we contemplate the victory of divine
love which no obstacle can hold back, and we discover to what
sublime freedom God raises up the lowly. Along the path which
she shows us, the faith which works through love must go forward
with great resolve.
During an audience granted to the undersigned Prefect, His
Holiness, Pope John Paul II, approved this instruction, adopted
in an ordinary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, and ordered it to be published.
Given at Rome, from the Congregation, March 22, 1986, the
Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord.
JOSEPH CARDINAL RATZINGER
Prefect
ALBERTO BOVONE
Titular Archbishop of Caesarea