Papal Encyclicals
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Papal Encyclicals 1 Encyclical (Latin: Litterae Encyclicae)—According to its etymology, an encyclical (from the Greek enkuklios, kuklos meaning a circle) is nothing more than a circular letter. A “circular letter” is a letter sent to a closed group of people with the intention being widely circulated to inform about important matters Initially Presented August 18, 2018 2 Encyclical Overview Overview Magisterium Selection To Our Venerable Brethren the To the Venerable Brethren, To the Bishops, Priests, Religious, Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries having Bishops and other Local Ordinaries the Faithful, and to all men of Grace and Communion with the enjoying Peace and Communion good will Apostolic See with the Apostolic See Pope Leo XIII 1891 Pope Pius XI 1930 Pope Paul VI 1967 Octobri Mense Casti Connubii Popularum Progressio On the Rosary On Christian Marriage On the Development of Peoples To the Bishops, Priests and Deacons, Consecrated Persons, and the Lay Faithful Encyclical 3 Pope Francis 2013 Lumen Fidei On the Light of Faith Salutations To the Bishops of the Catholic To the Bishops, Priests and Deacons, Men and Women Church religious, lay Faithful, and all People of Good Will Pope John Paul II 1998 Fides et Ratio Pope John Paul II 1995 Evangelium Vitae On Faith and Reason Of Human Life 4 Encyclicals issued 1740 to 2018 Number of Encyclicals Issued by Pope 90 81 80 70 60 50 41 40 38 30 30 16 20 14 13 12 9 8 10 6 7 4 3 3 2 1 1 2 0 1740 1758 1769 1775 1800 1823 1829 1831 1846 1878 1903 1914 1922 1939 1958 1963 1978 2005 2013 ─1758 ─1769 ─1774 ─1799 ─1823 ─1829 ─1830 ─1846 ─1878 ─1903 ─1914 ─1922 ─1939 ─1958 ─1963 ─1978 ─2005 ─2013 ─____ • Rites Range of General & • Nations, other Religions specific 5 Churches • Practices (celibacy, usury, training, etc.) topics • Relationships Tone Exhort • Marian Doctrine & Rosary, May/October Faith & • Trinity, Eucharist, Faith/Hope/Charity Commemorate Virtues • Marriage, Family, Human Life Condemn • Catechesis, errors, heresies, reason Guide • Evils of the day, Persecutions Praise • Socialism, Communism, Fascism Social • Democracy, Capitalism, Materialism Order Proclaim • Labor, Slavery, Rights, Justice • Education, Modernism, Evolution Request Style • Church Fathers, Great Saints • Missionary Warnings & Inspiration Instruct & Apply Condemnations • Holy Years, Indulgences • Previous Church Practices •Before Leo XIII (1875) •Leo XIII to Francis 6 How are we to receive an encyclical? “In modern times, the encyclical letter has been the instrument for popes to express their most important teaching….This teaching has lasting importance and value for the Church, and often for the whole world.”1 “Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me",49 the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.”2 Credo: I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church: The Church is apostolic. She is built on a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev 21:14). She is indestructible (cf. Mt 16:18). She is upheld infallibly in the truth: Christ governs her through Peter and the other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops. 3 “The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him.”4 Magisterium—the living teaching 7 office of the Church Overview Magisterium Selection 8 God comes to meet man: transmission of Divine Revelation Magisterium God reveals Himself speaking to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and the prophets. Sacred Scripture records those words— images of God’s voice to man—his word, Divine fulfilled in the Word—Jesus Christ, the Revelation perfect image of the Father.5 “Christ the Lord…command[s] the Sacred apostles to preach the Gospel…the Tradition Scripture Revelation of the most high God… fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips.”6 9 Divine Revelation continued in Tradition, in the Holy Spirit The apostles handed on what they received—first from the lips and example of Christ and later from the promptings of the Holy Spirit They preached, set examples, wrote, established institutions They left bishops as their successors This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is Tradition.7 An artist’s impression of St Paul commissioning Timothy 10 Magisterium: Interpreting the Word of God Interpreting the Word of God, whether in written form or in the form of Tradition, is entrusted to the Magisterium, the Pope and the bishops in communion with him.8 No new revelation: The Magisterium is a servant of the Word of God, teaching only what has been handed on Church councils and documents Father’s of the Church Papal communications In a 19th-century illustration, Pope Pius IX Angelus / Regina Coeli / Apostolic Constitutions / convenes the First Vatican Council on Dec. 8, Apostolic Exhortations / Apostolic Letters 1869, in St. Peter's Basilica. (Credit: RNS.) Audiences / Books / Encyclicals / Homilies / Jubilee / Motu Proprio / Prayers / Speeches All encyclicals cite Church council documents, Church Fathers, prior papal communications— including encyclicals—forming one continuous line of teaching 11 Selection of an Encyclical to Study 18th/19th/20th/21st Centuries 12 Relevant Encyclicals: 21st&20th Centuries Lumen Fidei (Light of Faith) ❖ Pope Francis, June 29, 2013 Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) ❖ Pope Benedict XVI, December 25, 2005 Redemptoris Missio (On Evangelization) ❖ Pope John Paul II, December 7, 1990 Humanae Vitae (On the Regulation of Human Births) ❖ Pope Paul VI, July 25, 1968 Pacem In Terris (Peace on Earth) ❖ Pope John XXIII, April 11, 1963 13 Relevant Encyclicals: 20th Century Deiparae Virginis Mariae (On the possibility of defining the Assumption as a Dogma of the Church) ❖ Pope Pius XII, May 1, 1956 Mystici Corporis Christi (Mystical Body of Christ) ❖ Pope Pius XII, June 29, 1943 Casti Connubii (On Christian Marriage) ❖ Pope Pius XI, December 31, 1930 In Praeclara Summorum (On Dante) ❖ Pope Benedict XV, April 30, 1921 14 Relevant Encyclicals: Turn of 19th Century Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On Modernist Doctrine) ❖ Pope Pius X, September 8, 1907 Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception) ❖ Pope Pius X, February 2, 1904 Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labor) ❖ Pope Leo XIII, May 15, 1891 Diuturnum (On the Origin of Civil Power) ❖ Pope Leo XIII, June 29, 1881 15 Relevant Encyclicals: 18th Century Ubi Primum (On the Immaculate Conception) ❖ Pope Pius IX, February 2, 1849 Cum Summi (Draw on Scripture and Tradition) ❖ Pope Clement XIV, December 12, 1769 Ubi Primum (Duties of Bishops) ❖ Pope Benedict XIV, December 3, 1740 16 Appendices Encyclical Listing, Line of Popes, Church Council Listing, Line of Church Fathers 17 Listing: 291 Encyclicals 1740 to 2015 AD 18 Encyclicals: 1740 to 1832 AD Encyclical Encyclical No. Pope Encyclical (Latin) (English) Year No. Pope Encyclical (Latin) (English) Year 1 Benedict XIV Ubi Primum Duties of Bishops 1740 Christianae On...Anti-Christian 2 Benedict XIV Quanta Cura Traffic in Alms 1741 18 Clement XIII Reipublicae, Writings 1766 Validity of On the Church in 3 Benedict XIV Nimiam Licentiam Marriages 1743 19 Clement XIII Summa quae, Poland 1768 4 Benedict XIV Vix Pervenit On Usury 1745 Decet quam On Abuses in Taxes On Marriage 20 Clement XIV maxime & Benefices 1769 5 Benedict XIV Magnae Nobis Impediments 1748 Proclaiming a 6 Benedict XIV Peregrinantes 1750: Holy Year 1749 21 Clement XIV Cum Summi Universal Jubilee 1769 Apostolica Preparation for Inscrutabili Divinae Proclaiming a 7 Benedict XIV Constitutio Holy Year 1749 22 Clement XIV Sapientiae Universal Jubilee 1769 8 Benedict XIV A Quo Primum Jews and Christians 1751 Proclaiming a 9 Benedict XIV Cum Religiosi On Catechesis 1754 23 Clement XIV Salutis nostrae Universal Jubilee 1774 Mohammedan On the Problems of 10 Benedict XIV Quod Provinciale Names 1754 24 Pius VI Inscrutabile the Pontificate 1775 Observance of On the Civil Oath in 11 Benedict XIV Allatae Sunt Oriental Rites 1755 25 Pius VI Charitas France 1791 12 Benedict XIV Ex Quo On the Euchologion 1756 On a Return to On the Ap.Const. 26 Pius VII Diu satis. Gospel Principles 1800 13 Benedict XIV Ex Omnibus Unigenitus 1756 Proclaiming a On Unity among 27 Leo XII Quod hoc ineunte Universal Jubilee 1824 14 Clement XIII A quo die, Christians 1758 On His Assuming On Observing 28 Leo XII Ubi primum the Pontificate 1824 15 Clement XIII Cum primum, Canonical Sanctions 1759 Extending Jubilee to On the Spiritual 29 Leo XII Charitate Christi Entire Church 1825 Advantages of On His Program for 16 Clement XIII Appetente Sacro, Fasting 1759 30 Pius VIII Traditi humilitati. the Pontificate 1829 On Instruction in Summo iugiter On Mixed 17 Clement XIII In Dominico agro, the Faith 1761 31 Gregory XVI studio Marriages 1832 32 Gregory XVI Cum primum On Civil Obedience 1832 19 Encyclicals: 1832 to 1863 AD Encyclical Encyclical No. Pope Encyclical (Latin) (English) Year No. Pope Encyclical (Latin) (English) Year On Liberalism & On the Persecution 33 Gregory XVI Mirari vos Indifferentism 1832 48 Pius IX Neminem vestrum. of the Armenians 1854 On the 'Pragmatic On the Cath. 34 Gregory XVI Quo graviora Constitution' 1833 University of On the Errors of 49 Pius IX Optime noscitis. Ireland 1854 35 Gregory XVI Singulari nos Lammenais 1834 Apostolicae nostrae Urging Prayers for Commissum On Church and 50 Pius IX caritatis. Peace 1854 36 Gregory XVI divinitus State 1835 On Episcopal On the Propogation 51 Pius IX Optime noscitis. Meetings 1855 37 Gregory XVI Probe nostis of the Faith 1840 On the Church in On Mixed 52 Pius IX Singulari quidem. Austria 1856 38 Gregory XVI Quas vestro Marriages 1841 53 Pius IX Cum nuper.