Octogesima adveniens

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Octogesima adveniens is one of Pope Paul VI. published apostolic letter .

Pope Paul VI published this letter on May 14, 1971 with the opening words Octogesima adveniens , in which he takes a position on the political and social challenges of the present. The letter was addressed to the Canadian Curia Cardinal Maurice Roy . Cardinal Roy was president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace , whose mission is to promote Catholic social teaching . This social doctrine, which updates older beliefs in the Christian image of society, was adopted by Pope Leo XIII. established with the encyclical Rerum novarum 1891. Pope Paul thus took the 80th anniversary (Octogesima) of this encyclical as an occasion for his remarks on the requirements for a just social order.

At the center of the considerations made by Paul VI. Outlined in his letter, there is a critical assessment of technical, scientific and economic progress . In contrast to the more progressive optimistic attitude of his predecessor Johannes XXIII. says Paul VI. repeatedly worried and skeptical about the developments of the present, for example in view of the rapid growth of urban conurbations (paragraph 8) or the increasing social conflicts as a result of unbridled industrialization ( paragraph 9).

The Pope goes on to delve deeper into a number of topics that have hitherto been marginalized in papal social teaching . In particular, the Pope emphasizes a relative pluralism of political convictions in the Church and grants the laity extensive autonomy in political action in the state; However, the Magisterium reserves the right to draw boundaries for reasons of belief or morals (such as abortion , genocide , terrorism , the mafia ).

Octogesima adveniens is the first letter of ecclesiastical social ethics to discuss the problem of accelerated environmental degradation as a result of industrialization (Zf. 21). The Pope justifies his criticism of the modern practices of the exploitation of nature with the Church's doctrine of the determination of earthly goods for all people (item 43). Paul VI thus follows in principle the church property doctrine set out in Rerum novarum , according to which all private property is subject to the supreme principle of usus communis , of common use, from which no person may be excluded. Unlike Leo XIII. turned Paul VI. This postulate, however, also applies to the natural environment and emphasizes the responsibility towards future generations (Zf. 47). With this, Octogesima adveniens anticipates individual motifs of the sustainability principle .

literature

  • Helga Grebing (Ed.): History of social ideas in Germany: Socialism - Catholic social teaching - Protestant social ethics. A manual. Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-531-14752-8 .
  • Hans J. Münk: Sustainable Development and Social Teaching . In: Voices of the time 04/1998, pp. 231–245.
  • Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice (ed.): Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Freiburg 2006, ISBN 3-451-29078-2 .
  • Octogesima adveniens. Apostolic Letter from Pope Paul VI to His Eminence Cardinal Maurice Roy (May 14, 1971). In: Texts on Catholic Social Doctrine: 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 3-7666-0897-5 , pp. 457-493.
  • Thorsten Philipp: Green zones of a learning community: Environmental protection as a place of action, effect and experience of the church. Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-86581-177-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Further: Christian Spieß : Social Ethics of Property. Münster 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7467-2 , pp. 144-180. See Franz Klüber: Catholic doctrine of property. Osnabrück 1968. Cf. Anton Rauscher : Property - personal freedom right and social regulatory institution. Cologne 1982, ISBN 3-7616-0661-3 .
  2. ↑ 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 978-3-86581-177-6 , p. 94 f.