Centesimus annus

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The encyclical Centesimus annus (The hundredth year) is a papal teaching letter published on May 1, 1991 by John Paul II. 100 years after the encyclical Rerum novarum on the end of communist forms of government in Europe .

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Two years after the collapse of the totalitarian planned economy systems in Central and Eastern Europe, it justified the change of course in Catholic social doctrine in the recognition of a free and socially ordered market economy : Market to be the most effective instrument for the use of resources and for the best satisfaction of needs. ” Private property is seen as an important right of the individual so that the individual does not become“ completely dependent on the social mechanisms and on those who control them ” .

The relationship between the state and the economy is described in terms of ordoliberalism : “The economy, especially the market economy, cannot take place in an institutional, legal and political void; on the contrary, it establishes the security of individual freedom and property as well as a stable one Currency and efficient public services . The main task of the state is therefore to guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the fruits of their labor and feel encouraged to do their work efficiently and honestly. "

The papal position on socialist tendencies in social policy is restrictive: "The supply state, which intervenes directly and robs society of its responsibility, anticipates the loss of human energy and the inflation of the state apparatus, which is governed more by bureaucratic logic than by the effort to to serve the recipients; Hand in hand with this goes an enormous increase in spending. " And " The historical experience of socialist countries has shown sadly that collectivism does not eliminate the alienation but still increases because of the lack of basic necessities and the economic failure added. " .

At the same time, the Pope criticizes capitalism sharply and warns against the “idolization of the market”. The claim that the defeat of so-called real socialism leaves capitalism as the only model of economic organization is "untenable". There is "the danger that a radical capitalist ideology will spread that leaves its solution in a blind belief to the free development of market forces." There are limits of the market, "important human requirements that evade its logic, goods that give up." Due to their nature, they cannot and may not be sold and bought. "

Private ownership of the means of production is "justified if it serves useful work". On the other hand, it becomes unlawful if it serves to generate a profit that arises from inadmissible exploitation, from speculation and from the breakdown of solidarity in the world of work. Such ownership has no justification.

The obligation to earn one's bread in the sweat of one's brow also implies a right. A society in which economic policy measures do not enable workers to obtain satisfactory employment can neither achieve their moral justification nor just social peace. The state could not limit itself to caring for only a part of the citizens - namely the wealthy and fortunate - while neglecting the other part, who undoubtedly represented the great majority of society.

The Pope also expresses his criticism of capitalism with a view to the ecological problem: “Instead of realizing his task as God's collaborator in the work of creation, man takes the place of God and thereby ultimately provokes the rebellion of nature, which he tyrannizes more than administers becomes ”, said the Pope (item 37.1 of the encyclical). For John Paul II, however, the question of the “natural environment” remains tied back to the preservation of the “human environment”: “While one rightly, albeit much less than necessary, cares about the natural living conditions of the various threatened with extinction To preserve animal species, [...] one is far too little committed to maintaining the moral conditions of a credible 'human ecology'. Not only the earth was given by God to man [...] man was given to himself by God; therefore he has to respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed. ”(Zf. 38,1). The concept of human ecology , the first time here in the papal social teaching emerges is of John Paul II. As a corrective of a purely biocentric aligned Ecology understanding used. However, the encyclical does not provide a precise definition of the term .

structure

  • blessing
  • introduction
  • Chapter I - Characteristics of " Rerum novarum "
  • Chapter II - On the way to the “new thing” of today
  • III. Chapter - The year 1989
  • Chapter IV - Private property and the universal destination of goods
  • Chapter V - State and Culture
  • VI. Chapter - Man is the way of the Church

Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP)

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch with members of CAPP Germany (2010)
Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck with members of CAPP Germany (2012)

Pope John Paul II promulgated the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) foundation on May 1, 1991 and established it with the Chirograph on June 5, 1993. He was supported by a group of 65 Catholic personalities, mainly from the Union of Catholic Entrepreneurs in Italy (UCID), with an initial capital of just under two million euros. Initially, the foundation was headed by Cardinal Rosalio José Castillo Lara , from 2006 by Attilio Cardinal Nicora and since 2011 by Cardinal Domenico Calcagno . The appointed legal representative was Lorenzo Rossi di Montelera from 2002 , and Domingo Sugranyes Bickel from 2009. Since 2002 Massimo Gattamelata has been Secretary General; In 2015, Eutimio Tiliacos became his successor.

The aim of the Pontifical Foundation "Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice" is to make the Catholic social teaching better known, especially the encyclical Centesimus annus . Therefore it works together with other church associations. The CAPP promotes initiatives to develop the presence and activity of the Catholic Church in various areas of society, including Germany. The foundation also promotes the search for donations to directly support the activities of the Apostolic See .

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary, Pope Francis addressed the members of the foundation on May 25, 2013 and underlined the importance of Catholic social teaching.

The Centesimus annus - Pro Pontifice foundation has announced a donation-based international scientific and journalistic prize to promote the social teaching of the Catholic Church. The prize is endowed with 50,000 euros and has been awarded every two years since 2013. The previous winners are:

Web links

bibliography

  • Centesimus annus. Encyclical Pope John Paul II twenty years after the encyclical Populorum Progressio (December 30, 1987). German version: Texts on Catholic social teaching: the social circulars of the popes and other church documents. Published by the Federal Association of the Catholic Workers' Movement (KAB) in Germany. Kevelaer 1976. ISBN 978-3766608970 . Pp. 619-687.
  • Karl Gabriel / Wolfgang Klein / Werner Krämer (eds.), The social responsibility of the church: On the encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis. Düsseldorf 1988. ISBN 978-3491777026 .
  • Johannes Paulus II./Wilhelm Korff / Alois Baumgartner , Solidarity - the answer to the misery in today's world. Encyclical SOLLICITUDO REI SOCIALIS Pope John Paul II. Freiburg 1988. ISBN 978-3451213106 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Further: Thorsten Philipp, Green Zones of a Learning Community: Environmental Protection as a Place of Action, Effect and Experience of the Church. Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3865811776 , p. 108 f.
  2. ↑ Fondazione Centesimus annus: Storia ( Memento of March 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) from centesimusannus.org , accessed on March 26, 2016 (it.)
  3. ^ "Vatican: Pope for strong democracy and social justice for all" , Vatican Radio / kipa, May 20, 2006
  4. ^ "Newsletter 2011 (German)" , CAPP, March 19, 2012
  5. ↑ Address by Pope Francis [1]
  6. ↑ Economy and Society International award: Press conference announces the winners of the Award's 1st edition ( Memento from June 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), on centesimusannus.org , April 11, 2013 (English)
  7. ↑ Economy and Society International award: Press conference announces the winners of the Award's 2nd edition ( Memento from June 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), on centesimusannus.org , March 22, 2015 (English)
  8. ↑ Deborah Castellano Lubov: Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Award Winners Announced , Zenit (news agency) , February 26, 2015 (English)
  9. ↑ Jacopo Scaramuzzi: Il premio Centesimus Annus all'opera sulla finanza dal medioevo alla globalizzazione , La Stampa , February 26, 2015 (English)