Catholic Social Thought This series focuses on Catholic social thought and its application to current so- cial, political, economic, and cultural issues. The titles in this series are written and edited by members of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists. They survey and analyze Catholic approaches to politics, sociology, law, economics, history, and other disciplines. Within these broad themes, authors explore the Church's role and influence in contemporary society. The Society of Catholic Social Scientists was formed in 1992 to rejuvenate a distinctively Catholic scholarship in the social sciences. 1. Tlie Publlc Order and the Sacred Order, by Stephen M. Krason, 2009. 2. Bloethlc~,Law, and Human Lfe Issues, by D. Brian Scarnecchia, 2010. 3. Pope Plus XII on the Econo~nlcOrder, by Rupert J. Ederer, 201 1. 4. Ecoriomzcs As If God Matters, by Rupert J. Ederer, 201 1. Pope Pius XI1 on the Economic Order Rupert J. Ederer Catholic Social Thought, No. 3 THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Lanham Toronto Plymouth, UK 201 1 Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 http:/l~~~v.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright 0 201 1 by Rupert J. Ederer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ederer, Rupert J. Pope Pius XI1 on the economic order 1 Rupert J. Ederer. p. cm. - (Catholic social thought ; no. 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8108-7797-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Pius XII, Pope, 1876- 1958. 2. Economics-Religious aspects-Catholic Church-History of doctrines-20th century. 3. Catholic Church-Doctrines- History-20th century. I. Title. 11. Title: Pope Pius the Twelfth on the economic order. BX1795.E27E34 201 1 261.8'5-dc22 2010052700 QNThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSIINISO 239.48-1 992. Printed in the United States of Amerlca THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY BROTHER BAVARIAN POPE BENEDICT XVI The time has come to repudiate empty phrases, and to attempt to organize the forces of the people on a new basis; to raise them above the distinction between employers and would-be-workers, and to realize that higher unity which is a bond between all those who cooperate in production, formed by their solidarity in the duty of working together for the common good and filling together the needs of the community. If this solidarity is extended to all branches of production, if it becomes the foundation for a better economic system, it will lead the working classes to obtain honestly their share of responsibility in the direction of the national econ- omy [Italics added]. The Future of Trade Unions-An Address by Pius XI1 to Delegates to the Con- vention of the Italian Catholic Workers' Association on 11 March 1945 Contents Foreword by Sr. Margherita Marchione xi Acknowledgments xiii 1. An Age of Great Popes 1 2. Encyclicals 9 3. The Christmas Messages 23 4. On Economics and the Economic Order 5 3 5. Pius XI1 on the World of Work 109 6. On Agriculture and Farmers 171 7. Pius XI1 on Food and Population 195 8. The Middle Class 207 9. The World of Money and Finance 22 1 10. Various Topics 235 11. Conclusion: A Springtime of History 263 Bibliography 269 X Index About the Author Foreword Few historians have the expertise that may be attributed to Rupert J. Ederer. Undoubtedly his new book, Pope Pius XII on the Economic Order, will be hailed as a great contribution to the science of economics and the study of Pope Pius XII. Following his birth in Rome, Italy to Filippo and Virginia Pacelli on 2 March 1876, Eugenio Pacelli was immediately christened. Also on March 2, 1938, his 64th birthday, he became Pope Pius XII. Although his family name suggests "peace," his lifetime, including his years as the temporal head of the Roman Catholic Church, involved some of the most devastating events in the history of the world. These included World War I and 11, the deadliest wars of all times, and violent revolutions which assured that even the intervals between wars would not be genuinely peaceful. In fact, after his death in 1958 there were those who created turbulence by their false and unhistorical accusations about his character and actions. Unjustly such accusations continue to be propagated. Many writers published works about Pope Pius XI1 during the years after his death, especially after the play, The Deputy, presented by the German play- wright Rolf Hochhuth in 1963. These directed their energies largely to undoing the harm done to the image of a truly great and saintly pope. In a certain sense, the need to do that was unfortunate. Pius XI1 was a holy man. The Catholic Church has acknowledged his sanctity publicly by advancing his cause toward eventual canonization with the title Venerable. In a scholastic sense, he was also brilliant and intensely productive. The forty illustrious encyclicals by Pius XI1 take up one entire volume of the five published by Sister Claudia Carlen IHM in 1981-a work that covers all papal encyclicals from 1740 until 1981. The Christmas Messages presented by him each year from 1939 through 1957 rank as legendary masterpieces. (They were published in English in one of a two-volume work by Father Vincent Yz- ermans in 1961). During his 19-year pontificate there were also countless radio messages and addresses before various groups of faithful. An indication of the great volume and extent of his many presentations is found in the expansive three-volume work (4038 pp.) by two Swiss Dominican scholars, Arthur- xii Foreword Fridolin Utz and Joseph Fulko Groner. Presented as Soziale Summe Pius XII, this collection is confined to his social thinking. Beyond that, Pius XI1 has often been presented as the most frequently cited reference, after Sacred Scripture, throughout the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Regrettably, amid all of the tumult caused by the falsification of the actions of Pius XI1 during the critical time in world history that he was pope, not enough attention has been directed to that highly productive aspect of his papacy. It is time now therefore that scholars like Dr. Rupert J. Ederer, convinced of the out- standing character and brilliance of Pius XII, may proceed with their analysis of what Pius XI1 had to say in their various areas of expertise. Clearly the great pope had a keen interest in certain aspects of the social order that had been ad- dressed in earlier social encyclicals. Nor is it unlikely that his successors also built on some of his wisdom. Blessed John XXIII referred to him in Mater et Magistra, as did Pope Paul VI in Populorum Progressio, and also Pope John Paul I1 in his own great trilogy of social encyclicals. The social teachings of the Catholic Church are a work-in-progress, and Pius XI1 was a very important link in that magisterial enterprise. Since the time of Blessed John XXIII they are addressed to "All People of Good Will," but they need to be applied to the prob- lems in various countries by persons who have expertise in their specific fields, like the author of this work. Margherita Marchione, MPF Acknowledgments I am indebted to many persons who were helpful and instrumental in various ways for the inspiration and preparation of this work for publication. These in- clude especially Dr. Stephen Krason, President and Founder of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists. It was he who presented this work to the Scarecrow Press as meriting publication. My very special thanks are in order to persons here spanning the genera- tions from my parents, the late John and Frances Ederer, to my son, Dr. Martin Ederer. It was my parents who aroused my early interest in and admiration for Eugenio Pacelli who, as Papal Nuncio to Bavaria and then to all of Germany, resided in my native city Munich when I was born there in 1923. After I came of age, they told me stories about his perilous encounters with the Communists who were contending with the Nazis for control of Bavaria and eventually all of Germany in that city during those desperate and climactic years. My son, Dr. Martin Ederer, is already of the cybernetic generation. His computer skills far exceed those of his father who was never that good even with the old-fashioned typewriter or, for that matter, with pen and ink. His help dur- ing my very senior years has been indispensable for getting my messy manu- scripts publication-ready. I am deeply grateful also to Sister Margherita Marchione, of the Religious Teachers Filippini, who is of my generation, and who has been kind enough to provide a Foreword. She has valiantly and tirelessly defended the reputation of Pope Pius XI1 against groundless unhistorical accusations over a period of many years. This misrepresentation of history may well have discouraged potential scholarship directed toward demonstrating how valuable the teachings of Pius XI1 were in so many areas including the social one addressed by this book. Great respect and gratitude are owed to the two Dominican friars Fridolin Utz and Joseph Groner at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.