Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The term “social doctrine” goes back to Pope Pius XI ^{139Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno: AAS 23 (1931), 179; Pius XII, in his Radio Message for the fiftieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum: AAS 33 (1941), 197, speaks of “Catholic social doctrine” and, in the Encyclical Letter Menti Nostrae of 23 September 1950: AAS 42 (1950), 657, of “the Church's social doctrine”. John XXIII retains the expression “the Church's social doctrine” (Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961] , 453; Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 [1963] , 300-301) and also uses “Christian social doctrine” (Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961] , 453) or even “Catholic social doctrine” (Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961] , 454).} and designates the doctrinal “corpus” concerning issues relevant to society which, from the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum ^{140Cf. Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum: Acta Leonis XIII, 11 (1892), 97-144.} of Pope Leo XIII, developed in the Church through the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiffs and the Bishops in communion with them^{141Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens, 3: AAS 73 (1981), 583-584; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 1: AAS 80 (1988), 513-514.}. The Church's concern for social matters certainly did not begin with that document, for the Church has never failed to show interest in society. Nonetheless, the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum marks the beginning of a new path. Grafting itself onto a tradition hundreds of years old, it signals a new beginning and a singular development of the Church's teaching in the area of social matters^{142Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2421.}. In her continuous attention to men and women living in society, the Church has accumulated a rich doctrinal heritage. This has its roots in Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels and the apostolic writings, and takes on shape and body beginning from the Fathers of the Church and the great Doctors of the Middle Ages, constituting a doctrine in which, even without explicit and direct Magisterial pronouncements, the Church gradually came to recognize her competence.

In the nineteenth century, events of an economic nature produced a dramatic social, political and cultural impact. Events connected with the Industrial Revolution profoundly changed centuries-old societal structures, raising serious problems of justice and posing the first great social question — the labour question — prompted by the conflict between capital and labour. In this context, the Church felt the need to become involved and intervene in a new way: the res novae (“new things”) brought about by these events represented a challenge to her teaching and motivated her special pastoral concern for masses of people. A new discernment of the situation was needed, a discernment capable of finding appropriate solutions to unfamiliar and unexplored problems.