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Re-Living the Memories of Pope Paul VI and His Encyclical Populorum

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Re-Living the Memories of Pope Paul VI and His Encyclical Populorum Year 2, No. 2: 15 September 2007 - English Edition From the General Promoters of Justice and Peace to stimulate contacts, share spirituality and promote networking... Summary  Re-living the Memories of Pope Paul VI and his encyclical Populorum Progressio  IMPORTANT ASPECTS of Populorum Progressio  G8 - protests have been a big success!  Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - Halftime  Wrap the World in Prayer for Peace - 21 September Re-living the Memories of Pope Paul VI and his encyclical Populorum Progressio 40th anniversary of the encyclical he encyclical letter, POPULORUM love hearing about sex. After Humanae Vitae Paul lived PROGRESSIO, was signed by Pope Paul VI another 10 years, but entitled none of his further documents T during the closing stages of the 2nd Vatican Council, ‘encyclical letters’, possibly because the uproar that resulted on Easter Sunday in March 1967, forty years ago. It seems from Humanae Vitae was too disturbing for him. Even he deliberately chose to do it on Easter Sunday to emphasise EVANGELII NUNTIANDI and OCTOGESIMA the new idea that it contains, a kind of resurrection of the ADVENIENS which are popularly referred to as Church. That is what we are remembering today. The ‘encyclicals’ do not have that title on the Vatican website. English translation of the title is THE DEVELOPMENT I think it is very sad that some people remember Paul only OF PEOPLES. In what direction should the church move for Humanae Vitae, because the encyclical we are looking to ensure that nations, and especially Third World nations, at today, Populorum Progressio, will, I think, go down in should develop and make progress? His answer can be history as a far more important document. This is because often summed up under the two headings ‘Justice & Peace’ it moved the Church forward in new directions. and ‘Human Development’. I am not going to give you a lot of quotes from the Paul had become Pope during the Council, in June 1963, document; just a few. You can find other quotes up for and in the first five years of his pontificate he issued 7 yourself on the Internet. And I’m not going into all the detail documents officially called encyclical letters, of which about topics such as colonialism, social unrest, the use of POPULORUM PROGRESSIO was the fifth. The 7th and private property, industrialisation, the world of work, last one was HUMANAE VITAE, which the whole world education, the role of the family, population growth, culture, heard about, probably because it was about sex, and people the gap between rich and poor, free trade, and many other 1 topics that are touched on in this encyclical in separate is our local version of the pontifical commission, and which paragraphs. What I want to give you first is a bit of the is hosting this gathering today, needs to be congratulated. church situation at the time which made this encyclical I want to emphasise that this encyclical was not just necessary, and then quite a bit of Pope Paul’s philosophy part of a plan, it expresses Pope Paul’s personal philosophy and spirituality which underpins the encyclical. Finally I will and spirituality. It is a very personal document, and that is go into some of the effects that it caused. why I talk not just about the text of the encyclical, but also about Paul himself. I said at the beginning that this encyclical The Church Situation POPULORUM PROGRESSIO moved the whole Church forward on new paths. What were these new paths? “Recently, we sought to fulfil the wishes of the Council I am going to divide this part into four sections: and to demonstrate the Holy See’s concern for the developing nations. To do this, we felt it was necessary · This encyclical opened the door for the Church to to add another pontifical commission to the Church’s appreciate much more the philosophy of Humanism. central administration. The purpose of this commission Paul believed in a certain type of Humanism, and in is “to awaken in the People of God full awareness of doing so he revived the use of the word ‘Humanism” their mission today. In this way they can further the in Vatican terminology. progress of poorer nations and international social · Secondly, POPULORUM PROGRESSIO got the justice, as well as help less developed nations to Church to be interested in human development. Today contribute to their own development.” (from the motu there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of development proprio establishing the commission). agencies, large and small, in the Church, doing all kinds The name of this commission, Justice and Peace, of remarkable work. The fact that these agencies exist aptly describes its program and goal. We are sure that is largely due to this encyclical. all people of good will will want to join our fellow · Thirdly, this encyclical introduced a new kind of Catholics and fellow Christians in carrying out this Spirituality in the Church, commonly called “The program. We earnestly urge all to pool their ideas and Spirituality of Justice”. Pope Paul saw the need for their activities for man’s complete development and the Justice and Peace in the world, but to achieve this development of all mankind.” people have to develop an appropriate spirituality. The encyclical was part of a larger plan at that time, to · Finally, a few words about the impact of the promote justice and peace in this troubled world. Part of encyclical on the Church. that plan was the establishment of a church Justice and Peace Commission, and it was set up in January 1967 just 1. A new appreciation of ‘Humanism’ in Church two months before the publication of the encyclical. I will circles. read to you paragraph 5 of the encyclical. He wrote: I am going to deal with this section first because the way “Recently, we sought to fulfil the wishes of the Council that POPULORUM PROGRESSIO is structured, like the and to demonstrate the Holy See’s concern for the way that the Pope approached Justice & Peace, the way developing nations. To do this, we felt it was necessary he approached Development, and the way he approached to add another pontifical commission to the Church’s world bodies like the United Nations, was guided by his central administration. The purpose of this commission philosophy of True Humanism. The words human and is “to awaken in the People of God full awareness of humanism are used 83 times in the encyclical. their mission today. In this way they can further the Many people assume that the world can be divided in progress of poorer nations and international social two, the sacred and the secular. My dictionary defines the justice, as well as help less developed nations to word humanism as being “devotion to human interests, not contribute to their own development.” (from the motu divine interests”. A philosophy that accepts this, the proprio establishing the commission). separation of the human from the divine, would be called The name of this commission, Justice and Peace, aptly ‘Dualism”. The fact that Paul seemed to be in favour of describes its program and goal. We are sure that all Humanism come as a surprise to some people, since sections people of good will will want to join our fellow Catholics of the Church, especially in Italy, had been critical of and fellow Christians in carrying out this program. We Humanism for the previous 500 years, ever since the time earnestly urge all to pool their ideas and their activities of the Renaissance. Was he turning the Church away from for man’s complete development and the development God towards the direction of purely human interests? Of of all mankind.” course he wasn’t, but we need to clarify what he was getting at. First I will just read paragraph 42 to you. So this anniversary (40 years of POPULORUM PROGRESSIO) is not just the anniversary of the encyclical, “The ultimate goal is a full-bodied humanism. And does it is also the 40th birthday of Justice and Peace. The this not mean the fulfilment of the whole man and of Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission, and which every man? 2 “A narrow humanism, closed in on itself and not open traditional theology, but it also seemed to lead people away to the values of the spirit and to God who is their source, from Rome. We must accept that feelings were running could achieve apparent success, for man can set about very high at the time. organising terrestrial realities without God. But, “closed · Thirdly, moral theologians in particular were upset off from God, they will end up being directed against by the Renaissance in Art. In Italy, and especially in man. A humanism closed off from other realities Florence, artists and sculptors, instead of creating religious becomes inhuman.’ (De Lubac – THE DRAMA OF scenes, suddenly began producing works glorifying the ATHEISTIC HUMANISM). human body. This is where Humanism got its bad name for True humanism points the way towards God and these moralists. acknowledges the task to which we are called, the task In Italy, this new form of art coincided with a time of that offers us the real meaning of human life. Man is moral decadence at the Vatican, a time building up to the not the ultimate measure of man. Man becomes truly Reformation, and there were a number of what we call man only by passing beyond himself. In the words of ‘bad popes’, of whom Pope Alexander VI is the most Pascal: “Man infinitely surpasses man”.
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