Centesimus Annus
Overview
Written in 1991 on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of Leo XIII's ground-breaking social encyclical Rerum Novarum, John Paul II's Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year) brought the principles of Catholic social teaching to bear on contemporaneous political and economic issues. It emphasizes the dignity and rights of workers, the right to private property, the right to a just wage, and the right to religious freedom. It also articulates that the kingdom of God cannot be confused with temporal political or economic arrangements and seeks to explicate the two over-riding principles of the Church's social teaching: solidarity (which focuses on empathy and human dignity), and subsidiarity (the principle that communities of a higher order should not interfere in the life of communities of a lower order unless necessary). The encyclical is made up of six sections: "Characteristics of Rerum Novarum," "Towards the 'New Things' of Today," "The Year 1989," "Private Property and the Universal Destination of Material Goods," "State and Culture," and "Man Is the Way of the Church."
Top Highlights
“we need to repeat that there can be no genuine solution of the ‘social question’ apart from the Gospel,” (source)
“In our time, in particular, there exists another form of ownership which is becoming no less important than land: the possession of know-how, technology and skill.” (source)
“Malfunctions and defects in the Social Assistance State are the result of an inadequate understanding of the tasks proper to the State. Here again the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.” (source)
“A new form of property had appeared—capital; and a new form of labour—labour for wages, characterized by high rates of production which lacked due regard for sex, age or family situation, and were determined solely by efficiency, with a view to increasing profits.” (source)
“Therefore class struggle in the Marxist sense and militarism have the same root, namely, atheism and contempt for the human person, which place the principle of force above that of reason and law.” (source)