CONGREGATION FOR THE"DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
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CONGREGATION FOR THE"DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
INSTRUCTIONS OF
CHRISTIAN FREEDOM AND LIBERATION
Printed and distributed by the
Catholic Hospital Association of India
to all those who are interested in
people's freedom and liberation.
CATHOLIC* ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
CBCI Centre, Goldakkhana,
New Delhi-110001. (India)
Tel. : 310694
CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
INSTRUCTION ON
CHRISTIAN FREEDOM AND LIBERATION
The truth makes us free
INTRODUCTION
The yearning
for Liberation
1. Awareness of man’s freedom and dignity,
together with the affirmation of the inalienable
rights of individuals and peoples, is one of the
major characteristics of our time. But freedom demands conditions
of an economic, social, political and cultural kind which make possible
its full exercise. A clear perception of the obstacles which hinder its
development and which offend human dignity is at the source of the
powerful aspirations to liberation which are at work in our world.
The Church of Christ makes these aspirations her own, while
exercising discernment in the light of the Gospel which is by its very
nature a message of freedom and liberation. Indeed, on both the theor
etical and practical levels, these aspirations sometimes assume expres
sions which are not always in conformity with the truth concerning
man as it is manifested in the light of his creation and redemption. For
this reason the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has considered
it necessary to draw attention to “deviations, or risks of deviation,
damaging to the faith and to Christian living”.1 Far from being out
moded, these warnings appear ever more timely and relevant.
1 Congregation ' for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Certain Aspects of the
“Theology of Liberation" (Libertatis Nuntius), Introduction! AAS 76 (1984), pp. 867-877.
3
Purpose
of the Instruction
2. The Instruction "Libertatis Nuntius” on
Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation
stated the intention of the Congregation to
publish a second document which would highlight the main elements
of the Christian doctrine on freedom and liberation. The present
Instruction responds to that intention. Between the two documents
there exists an organic relationship. They are to be read in the light
of each other.
With regard to their theme, which is at the heart of the Gospel
message, the Church’s Magisterium has expressed itself on many oc
casions.2 The present document limits itself to indicating its principal
theoretical and practical aspects. As regards applications to different
local situations, it is for the local Churches, in communion with one
another and with the See of Peter, to make direct provision for them?
The theme of freedom and liberation has an obvious ecumenical
dimension. It belongs in fact to the traditional patrimony of the
Churches and ecclesial communities. Thus the present document can
assist the testimony' and action of all Christ’s disciples, called to respond
to the great challenges of our times.
The truth
that makes us free
3. The words of Jesus: “The truth will make
you free” (J» 8:32) must enlighten and guide
all theological reflection and all pastoral de-
cisions in this area.
This truth which comes from God has its centre in Jesus Christ,
the Saviour of the world? From him, who is “the way, and the truth,
2 Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes and
the Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Htitnanae of the Second Vatican Council;
the Encyclicals Mater et Magistra, Pacern in Terris, Poptdorum Progressio, Redernptor Hominis
and Laborem Exercens; The Apostolic Exortations Evangelii Nuntiandi and Reconcilialio et
Paenitentia; the Apostolic Letter Oclogcsbna Adveniens. Pope John Paul II dealt with this
theme in his Opening Address to the Third General Conference of the Latin-American Episco
pate at Puebla: AAS 71 (1979), pp. 187-205. He has returned to it on numerous other occasions.
The theme has Jsn been dealt with at the Synod of Bishops in 1971 and 1974. The LatinAmerican Episcopal Conferences have made it the immediate object of their reflections. It has
also attracted the attention of other Episcopal Conferences, as for example the French:
Liberation des hommes et saltit en Jesus-Christ, 1975.
3 Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 1-4: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 401-404.
* Cf. ]n 4, 42; 1 ]n 4, 14.
4
and the life” (Jn 14:6), the Church receives all that she has to offer
to mankind. Through the mystery of the Incarnate Word and Redeemer
of the world, she possesses the truth regarding the Father and his
love for us, and also the truth concerning man and his freedom.
Through his Cross and Resurrection, Christ has brought about our
Redemption, which is liberation in the stronger sense of the word, since
it has freed us from the most radical evil, namely sin and the power
of death. When the Church, taught by her Lord, raises to the Father
her prayer: “Deliver us from evil”, she asks that the mystery of
salvation may act with power in our daily lives. The Church knows
that the redeeming Cross is truly the source of light and life and the
centre of history. The charity which burns in her impels her to proclaim
the Good News and to distribute its life-giving fruits through the
sacraments. It is from Christ the Redeemer that her thought and
action originate when, as she contemplates the tragedies affecting the
world, she reflects on the meaning of liberation and true freedom and'
on the paths leading to them.
Truth beginning with the truth about redemption, which is at the
heart of the mystery of faith, is thus the root and the rule of freedom,
the foundation and the measure of all liberating action.
Truth,
the condition
for freedom
4. Man’s moral conscience is under an obli
gation to be open to the fullness of truth;
he must seek it out and readily accept it when
it presents itself to him.
According to the command of Christ the Lord,5 the truth of the
Gospel must be presented to all people, and they have a right to have
it presented to them. Its proclamation, in the power of the Spirit,
includes full respect for the freedom of each individual and the exclusion
of every form of constraint or pressure.6
The Holy Spirit guides the Church and the disciples of Jesus Christ
“into the full truth” (J// 16: 13). The Spirit directs the course of the
s Cf. Mt 28, 18-20; Mk 16, 15.
6 Cf. Dignitatis Hurnanae, 10.
5
centuries and “renews the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30). It is he
who is present in the maturing of a more respectful awareness of the
dignity of the human person.7 The Holy Spirit is at the root of courage,
boldness and heroism: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”
(2 Cor 2>: 17).
Chapter I
THE STATE OF FREEDOM IN THE WORLD TODAY
I. Achievements and dangers of the modern liberation process
5. By revealing to man his condition as a
free person caHecI to enter into communion
with God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has
evoked an awareness of the hitherto unsuspected depths of human
freedom.
Thus the quest for freedom and the aspiration to liberation, which
are among the principal signs of the times in the modern world, have
their first source in the Christian heritage. This remains true even
in places where they assume erroneous forms and even oppose the
Christian view of man and his destiny. Without this reference to the
Gospel, the history of the recent centuries in the West cannot be
understood.
The heritage
of Christianity
Thus it is that from the dawn of modern
times, at the Renaissance, it was thought that
by a return to antiquity in philosophy and
through the natural sciences man would be able to gain freedom of thought
and action, thanks to his knowledge and control of the laws of nature.
The modern age
’ Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 78-80: AAS 68 (1976), pp. 70-75,
Dignitatis Humanae, 3; John Paul II, Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, 12: AAS 71 (1979),
pp. 278-281.
6
Luther, for his part, basing himself on his reading of Saint Paul,
sought to renew the struggle for freedom from the yoke of rhe Law,
which he saw as represented by the Church of his time.
But it was above all in the Age of the Englightenment and at the
French Revolution that the call to freedom rang out with full force.
Since that time, many have regarded future history as an irresistible
process of liberation inevitably leading to an age in which man, totally
free at last, will enjoy happiness on this earth.
Toward
the mastery
of nature
7. Within the perspective of such an ideology
of progress, man sought to become master of
nature. The servitude which he had experi
enced up to that point was based on ignorance and prejudice. By wresting
from nature its secrets, man would subject it to his own service. The
conquest of freedom thus constituted the goal pursued through the
development of science and technology. The efforts expended have led
to remarkable successes. While man is not immune from natural
disasters, many natural dangers have been removed. A growing number
of individuals is ensured adequate nourishment. New means of trans
port and trade facilitate the exchange of food resources, raw materials,
labour and techcnical skills, so that a life of dignity with freedom from
poverty can be reasonably envisaged for mankind.
8. The modern liberation movement had set
itself a political and social objective. It was
to put an end to the domination of man by
man and to promote the equality and brotherhood of all. It cannot
be denied that in this sphere, too, positive results have been obtained.
Legal slavery and bondage have been abolished. The right of all to
share in the benefits of culture has made significant progress. In many
countries the law recognizes the equality of men and women, the
participation of all citizens in political life, and equal rights for all.
Racism is rejected as contrary to law and justice. The formulation
of human rights implies a clearer awareness of the dignity of all human
Social and polititcal
achievements
7
beings. By comparison with previous systems of domination, the ad
vances of freedom and equality in many societies are undeniable.
9. Finally and above all, the modern liberation movement was supposed to bring man
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
r
inner freedom, in the form of freedom of
thought and freedom of decision. It sought to free man from super
stition and atavistic fears, regarded as so many obstacles to his de
velopment. It proposed to give man the courage and boldness to use
his reason without being held back by fear before the frontiers of the
unknown. Thus, notably in the historical and human sciences, there
developed a new notion of man, professedly to help him gain a better
self-understanding in matters concerning his personal growth or the
fundamental conditions for the formation of the community.
Freedom
of thought
and of decision
10. With regard to the conquest of nature,
or socjaj anJ political life, or man’s selfof liberation
mastery on both the individual and collective
level, anyone can see that the progress achieved is far from fulfilling
the original ambitions. It is also obvious that new dangers, new forms
of servitude and new terrors have arisen at the very time that the
modern liberation movement was spreading. This is a sign that serious
ambiguities concerning the very meaning of freedom have from the very
beginning plagued this movement from within.
Ambiguities
in the modem process
11. So it is that the more man freed himself
from the dangers of nature, the more he ex■L‘‘“
perienced a growing fear confronting him.
As technology gains an ever greater control of nature, it threatens to
destroy the very foundations of our future in such a way that mankind
living today becomes the enemy of the generations to come. By using
blind power to subjugate the forces of nature, are we not on the way
to destroying the freedom of the men and women of tomorrow? What
forces can protect man from the slavery of his own domination? A
Man threatened
by his domination
8
wholly new capacity for freedom and liberation, demanding an entirely
renewed process of liberation, becomes necessary.
12. The liberating force of scientific knowledge is objectively expressed in the great
pOWCr
achievements of technology. Whoever pos
sesses technology has power over the earth and men. As a result of
this, hitherto unknown forms of inequality have arisen between those
who possess knowledge and those who are simple users of technology.
The new technological power is linked to economic power and leads
to a concentration of it. Thus, within nations and between nations,
relationships of dependence have grown up which within the last twenty
years have been the occasion for a new claim to liberation. How can
the power of technology be prevented from becoming a power of
oppression over human groups or entire peoples?
Dangers
of technological
Individualism
and collectivism
13. In the field of social and political
achievements, one of the fundamental ambi
guities of the affirmation of freedom in the
age of the Enlightenment had to do with the concept of the subject
of this freedom as an individual who is fully self-sufficient and whose
finality is the satisfaction of his own interests in the enjoyment of
earthly goods. The individualistic ideology inspired by this concept
of man favoured the unequal distribution of wealth at the beginning
of the industrial era to the point that workers found themselves excluded
from access to the essential goods which they had helped to produce
and to which they had a right. Hence the birth of powerful liberation
movements from the poverty caused by industrial society.
Certain Christians, both lay persons and pastors, have not failed
to fight for a just recognition of the legitimate rights of workers. On
many occasions the Magisterium of the Church has raised its voice in
support of this cause.
But more often than not the just demands of the worker movement
have led to new forms of servitude, being inspired by concepts which
ignored the transcendental vocation of the human person and attributed
9
to man a purely earthly destiny. These demands ha/e sometimes been
directed towards collectivist goals, which have then given rise to injus
tices just as grave as the ores which they were meant to eliminate.
New forms
of oppression
14. Thus it is that our age has seen the birth
of totalitarian systems and forms of tyranny
which would not have been possible in the
time before the technological leap forward. On the one hand, technical
expertise has been applied to acts of genocide. On the other, various
minorities try to hold in thrall whole nations by the practice of ter
rorism. Today control can penetrate into the innermost life of indivi
duals, and even the forms of dependence created by the early-warning
systems can represent potential threats of oppression.
A false liberation from the constraints of society is sought in recourse
to drugs which have led many young people from all over the world
to the point of self-destruction and brought whole families to sorrow
and anguish.
Danger
of total destruction
15. The recognition of a juridical order as
a guarantee of relationships within the great
family of peoples is growing weaker and
weaker. When confidence in the law no longer seems to offer sufficient
protection, security and peace are sought in mutual threats, which
become a danger for all humanity. The forces which ought to serve
the development of freedom serve instead the increase of threats. The
weapons of death drawn up against each other today are capable of
destroying all human life on earth.
16. New relationships of inequality and oppression have been established between the
nations endowed with power and those with
out it. The pursuit of one’s own interest seems to be the rule for
international rclalkns, without the common good of humanity being
New relationships
of inequality
taken into coiisidera'ion.
The inter-?! h.d.mce of the poor nations is upset by the importation
10
of arms, which introduces among them a divisive element leading to
the domination of one group over another. What powers could elim
inate systematic recourse to arms and restore authority to law?
Emancipation
of young nations
17. It is in the context of the inequality of
power relationships that there have appeared
movements for the emancipation, of young
nations, generally the poor ones, until recently subjected to colonial
domination. But too often the people are frustrated in their hard-won
independence by unscrupulous regimes or tyrannies which scoff at human
rights with impunity. The people thus reduced to powerlessness merely
have a change of masters.
It remains true that one of the major phenomena of our time,
of continental proportions, is the awakening of the consciousness of
people who, bent beneath the weight of age-old poverty, aspire to a
life in dignity and justice and are prepared to fight for their freedom.
18. With reference to the modern liberation
movement within man himself, it has to be
stated that the effort to free thought and will
from their limits has led some to consider that morality as such consti
tutes an irrational limit. It is for man, now resolved to become his own
master, to go beyond it.
For many more, it is God himself who is the specific alienation of
man. There is said to be a radical incompatibility between the affir
mation of God and of human freedom. By rejecting belief in God, they
say, man will become truly free.
Morality and God:
obstacles to liberation?
19. Here is the root of the tragedies accompanying the modern history of freedom.
Why does this history, in spite of great
achievements, which also remain always fragile, experience frequent
relapses into alienation and see the appearance of new forms of sla*. c:; ?
Why do liberation movements which had roused great hopes result in
Some agonizing
questions
COMMUNITY’iT-’lTU
4711 (Fitst Ucor ; -
Be
- r_
regimes for which tire citizens’ freedom,3 beginning with the first of
these freedoms which is religious freedom,9 becomes enemy number one?
When man wishes to free himself from the moral law and become
independent of God, far from gaining his freedom he destroys it.
Escaping the measuring rod of truth, he falls prey to the arbitrary;
fraternal relations between people are abolished and give place to terror,
hatred and fear.
Because it has been contaminated by deadly errors about man’s
condition and his freedom, the deeply-rooted modern liberation move
ment remains ambiguous. It is laden both with promises of true freedom
and threats of deadly forms of bondage.
II. Freedom in the experience of the People of God
Church
and freedom
20. It is because of her awareness of this
deadly ambiguity that through her Magisterium the Church has raised her voice over the
centuries to warn against aberrations that could easily bring enthusiasm
for liberation to a bitter disillusionment. She has often been misun
derstood in so doing. With the passage of time however it is possible
to do greater justice to the Church’s point of view.
It is in the name of the truth about man, created in the image of
God, that the Church has intervened.” Yet she is accused of thereby
setting herself up as an obstacle on the path to liberation. Her hierar
chical constitution is said to be opposed to equality, her Magisterium
to be opposed to freedom of thought. It is true that there have been
errors of judgment and serious omissions for which Christians have
been responsible in the course of the centuries;" but these objections
disregard the true nature of things. The diversity of charisms in the
• Cf. Libertatis Nn-.'ius, XI, 10: AAS 76 (1984). pp. 905-906.
Cf. John r- . II. Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, 17: AAS 71 -'1979), pp. 296-297;
Discanr.se or !C .’.larch 19S4 to the Fifth Conference of Jurists: L'OsscitMore Romano. 11
?vlarch 1984, p. 8.
10 Of '. \r!j:-r
XT. 5: AAS 76 (1984). p. 904. John Paul II. Opening Address
at Sue'ola: .4/15 71 (1979), p. 189.
Cf. Gandinn: et Spes, 36.
12
people of God, which are charisms of service, is not opposed to the
equal dignity of persons and to their common vocation to holiness.
Freedom of thought, as a necessary condition for seeking the truth
in all the fields of human knowledge, does not mean that human reason
must cease to function in the light of the Revelation which Christ
entrusted to his Church. By opening itself to divine truth, created
reason experiences a blossoming and a perfection which are an eminent
form of freedom. Moreover, the Second Vatican Council has recognized
fully the legitimate autonomy of the sciences,12 as well as of activities
of a political nature.13
The freedom
of the little
ones and the poor
21. One of the principal errors that has se
riously burdened the process of liberation since
the Age of the Enlightenment comes from the
widely held conviction that it is the progress achieved in the fields of
the sciences, technology and economics which should serve as a basis
for achieving freedom. This was a misunderstanding of the depths of
freedom and its needs.
The reality of the depth of freedom has always been known to the
Church, above all through the lives of a multitude of the faithful, espe
cially among the little ones and the poor. In their faith, these latter
know that they are the object of God’s infinite love. Each of them
can say: “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me” (Gal 2:20b). Such is the dignity which none of the
powerful can take away from th
such is the "' .rating joy present
in them. They know that to ti . .n too are addressed Jesus’ words:
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what
his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have
heard from my Father I have made known to you” (]n 15: 15). This
sharing in the knowledge of God is their emancipation from the domi
nating claims of the learned: “You all know ... and you have no need
that any one should teach you” (1 Ju 2:20b, 27b). They arc also aware
Cf. ibid.
Cf. op. cit., 41.
of sharing in the highest knowledge to which humanity is called.14 They
know that they are loved by God, the same as all other people and
more than all other people. They thus live in the freedom which flows
from truth and love.
22. The same sense of faith, possessed by the
people of God in its hope-filled devotion to
the Cross of Jesus, perceives the power con
tained in the mystery of Christ the Redeemer. Therefore, far from
despising or wishing to suppress the forms of popular piety which
this devotion assumes, one should take and deepen all its meaning
and implications.15 Here we have a fact of fundamental theological and
pastoral significance: it is the poor, the object of God’s special love,
who understand best and as it were instinctively that the most radical
"liberation, which is liberation from sin and death, is the liberation
accomplished by the Death and Resurrection of Christ.
Resources
of popular piety
23. The power of this liberation penetrates
an<J profouncQy transforms man and his history
o.
;n jts present reality and animates his eschato
logical yearning. The first and fundamental meaning of liberation
which thus manifests itself is the salvific one: man is freed from the
radical bondage of evil and sin.
In this experience of salvation, man discovers the true meaning
of his freedom, since liberation is the restoration of freedom. It is
also education in freedom, that is to say, education in the right use of
freedom. Thus to the salvific dimension of liberation is linked its
ethical dimension.
Salvific
and ethical dimension
24. To different degrees, the sense of faith,
which is at the origin of a radical experience
of liberation and freedom, has imbued the
culture and the customs of Christian peoples.
A new phase
in the history
of freedom
’• Cf. Mt .11, 25; Lk 10, 21.
15 Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 48: AAS 68 (1976), pp. 37-38.
14
But today, because of the formidable challenges which humanity
must face, it is in a wholly new way that it has become necessary
and urgent that the love of God and freedom in truth and justice should
mark relations between individuals and peoples and animate the life
of cultures.
For where truth and love are missing, the process of liberation
results in the death of a freedom which will have lost all support.
A new phase in the history of freedom is opening before us. The
liberating capacities of science, technology, work, economics and
political activity will only produce results if they find their inspiration
and measure in the truth and love which are stronger than suffering:
the truth and love revealed to men by Jesus Christ.
Chapter II
MAN’S VOCATION TO FREEDOM
AND THE TRAGEDY OF SIN
I.
Preliminary approaches to freedom
25. The spontaneous response to the question: “What does being free mean?” is this:
a person is free when he is able to do whatever
he wishes without being hindered by an exterior constraint and thus
enjoys complete independence. The opposite of freedom would there
fore be the dependence of our will upon the will of another.
But does man always know what he wants? Can he do everything
he wants? Is closing in on oneself and cutting oneself off from the will
of others in conformity with the nature of man? Often the desire of
a particular moment is not what a person really wants. And in one
and the same person there can exist contradictory wishes. But above
all man comes up against the limits of his own nature: his desires are
greater than his abilities. Thus the obstacle which opposes his will does
not always come from outside, but from the limits of his own being. This
A spontaneous
response
15
is why, under pain of destroying himself, man must learn to harmonize
his will with his nature.
Truth
and justice,
rules of freedom
26. Furthermore, every individual is orient
ed toward other people and needs their com
pany. It is only by learning to unite his will
to the others for the sake of true good that he will learn rectitude of
will. It is thus harmony with the exigencies of human nature which
makes the will itself human. This in fact requires the criterion of
truth and a right relationship to the will of others. Truth and justice
are therefore the measure of true freedom. By discarding this foundation
and taking himself for God, man falls into deception, and instead of
realizing himself he destroys himself.
Far from being achieved in total self-sufficiency and an absence of
relationships, freedom only truly exists where reciprocal bonds, govern
ed by truth and justice, link people to one another. But for such bonds
to be possible, each person must live in the truth.
Freedom is not the liberty to do anything whatsoever. It is the
freedom to do good, and in this alone happiness is to be found. The
good is thus the goal of freedom. In consequence man becomes free
to the extent that he comes to a knowledge of the truth, and to the
extent that this truth—and not any other forces—guides his will.
Liberation for the sake of a knowledge of the truth which alone directs
the will is the necessary condition for a freedom worthy of the name.
II.
Freedom and liberation
Freedom
for the creature
27. In other words, freedom which is interior
mastery of one’s own acts and self-determi
nation immediately entails a relationship with
the ethical order. It finds its true meaning in the choice of moral good.
It then manifests itself as emancipation from moral evil.
By his free action, man must tend toward the supreme good
through lesser goods which conform to the exigencies of his nature
and his divine vocation.
16
In exercising his freedom, he decides for himself and forms him
self. In this sense man is his own cause. But he is this only as a crea
ture and as God’s image. This is the truth of his being which shows
by contrast how profoundly erroneous are the theories which think
they exalt the freedom of man or his “historical praxis” by making this
freedom the absolute principle o<: his being and becoming. These theories
are expressions of atheism or tend toward atheism by their own logic.
Indifferentism and deliberate agnosticism go in the same direction. It
is the image of God in man which underlies the freedom and dignity
of the human person.16
The ca,l
By creating man free, God imprinted on
hjs own image anj likeness.17 Man hears
the call of his Creator in the inclination and
aspiration of his own nature toward the Good, and still more in the
word of Revelation, which was proclaimed in a perfect manner in the
Christ. It is thus revealed to man that God created him free so that
by grace man could enter into friendship with God and share his life.
28.
of the Creator
29. Man does not take his origin from his
own individual or collective action, but from
the gift of God who created him. This is the
first confession of our faith, and it confirms the loftiest insights of
human thought.
The freedom of man is a shared freedom. His capacity for self
realization is in no way suppressed by his dependence on God. It is
precisely the characteristic of atheism to believe in an irreducible
opposition between the causality of a divine freedom and that of man’s
freedom, as though the affirmation of God meant the negation of man,
or as though God’s intervention in history rendered vain the endeavours
of man. In reality, it is from God and in relationship with him that
human freedom takes its meaning and consistency.
A shared freedom
“ Cf. Uberlatis Nuntius, VII, 9; VIII, 1-9: 71/15 76 (1984), pp. 892 and 894-895.
" Cf. Gen 1, 26.
17
Man's free choice
30. Man’s history unfolds on the basis of the
nature which he has received from God and in
the free accomplishment of the purpose toward
which the inclinations of this nature and of divine grace orient and
direct him.
But man’s freedom is finite and fallible. His desire may be drawn
to an apparent good: in choosing a false good, he fails in his vocation
to freedom. By his free will, man is master of his own life: he can act
in a positive sense or in a destructive one.
By obeying the divine law inscribed in his conscience and received
as an impulse of the Holy Spirit, man excercises true mastery ever him
self and thus realizes his royal vocation as a child of God. “By the
service of God he reigns”.15 Authentic freedom is the “service of
justice”, while the choice of disobedience and evil is the “slavery
of sin”.19
Temporal liberation
and freedom
31. This notion of freedom clarifies the scope
of temporal liberation: it involves all the pro
cesses which aim at securing and guaranteeing
the conditions needed for the exercise of an authenic human freedom.
Thus it is not liberation which in itself produces human freedom.
Common sense, confirmed by Christian sense, knows that even when
freedom is subject to forms of conditioning it is not thereby completely
destroyed. People who undergo terrible constraints succeed in manifest
ing their freedom and taking steps to secure their own liberation. A
process of liberation which has been achieved can only create better
conditions for the effective exercise of freedom. Indeed a liberation
which does not take into account the personal freedom of those who
fight for it is condemned in advance to defeat.
11 John- Paul II, Encyclical R.edemptor Hominis, 21: AAS 71 (1979), p. 316.
” Cf. Rom 6, 6; 7, 23.
18
III.
Freedom and human society
32. God did not create man as a “solitary
being” but wished him to be a “social being”.20
Social life therefore is not exterior to man: he
can only grow and realize his vocation in relation with others. Man
belongs to different communities: the family and professional and
political communities, and it is inside these communities that he must
exercise his responsible freedom. A just social order offers man ir
replaceable assistance in realizing his free personality. On the other
hand, an unjust social order is a threat and an obstacle which can com
promise his destiny.
In the social sphere, freedom is expressed and realized in actions,
structures and institutions, thanks to which people communicate with
one another and organize their common life. The blossoming of a
free personality, which for every individual is a duty and a right, must
be helped and not hindered by society.
Here we have an exigency of a moral nature which has found its
expression in the formulation of the Rights of Man. Some of these
have as their object what are usually called "the freedoms", that is to
say, ways of recognizing every human being’s character as a person
responsible for himself and his trascendent destiny, as well as the
inviolability of his conscience.21
The rights of man
and Ms
freedoms
The social dimension of the human being
only the vast
numbers and rich diversity of people can ex
press something of the infinite richness of God.
Finally, this dimension is meant to find its accomplishment in
Man’s social dimension
and the glory of God
33
also ukes on another meaning:
a Cf. Gen 2, 18. 23, “It is not good that man should be alone” ... “This is flesh of my flesh
and bone of my bones”: in these words of Scripture, which refer directly to the relationship
between man and woman, one can discern a more universal meaning. Cf. Lev 19, 18.
21 Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Pacem in Terris, 5-15: AAS 55 (1963), pp. 259-265; John
Paul II, Letter to Dr Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United Nations, on the oc
casion of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights: /L4S 71
(1979), p. 122; The Pope’s Speech to the United Nations, 9: AAS 71 (1979), p. 1149.
19
the Body of Christ which is the Church. This is why social life, in the
variety of its forms and to the extent that it is in conformity with the
divine law, constitutes a reflection of the glory of God in the world.22
IV.
Human freedom and dominion over nature
Man’s call
to master nature
34. As a consequence of his bodily di
mension, man needs the resources of the ma
terial world for his personal and social fulfil
ment. In this vocation to exercise dominion over the earth by putting
it at his service through work, one can see an aspect of the image
of God.*' But human intervention is not “creative”; it encounters a
material nature which like itself has its origin in God the Creator and
of which man has been constituted the “noble and wise guardian”.24
Man, the master
of his works
35. Technical and economic transformations
influence the organization of social life; they
cannot help but affect to some extent cultural
and even religious life.
However, by reason of his freedom man remains the master of his
activity. The great and rapid transformations of the present age face
him with a dramatic challenge: that of mastering and controlling by
the use of his reason and freedom the forces which he puts to work in
the service of the true purposes of human existence.
ft is the task of freedom then, when it
t0 ensure that scientific and
technical achievements, the quest for their
effectiveness, and the products of work and the very structures of eco
nomic and social organization are not made to serve projects which
would deprive them of their human purposes and turn them against
man himself.
Scientific discoveries
and moral progress
36.
js wey orcJerec])
“ Cf. St. Augustine, Ad Macedonian, II, 7-17 (PL 33, 669-673); CSEL 44, 437-447).
” Cf. Gen 1, 27-28.
!l Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Redempior Honinis, 15: AAS 71 (1979), p. 286.
20
Scientific activity and technological activity each involve specific
exigencies. But they only acquire their properly human meaning and
value when they are subordinated to moral principles. These exigencies
must be respected; but to wish to attribute to them an absolute and
necessary autonomy, not in conformity with the nature of things, is
to set out along a path which is ruinous for the authentic freedom
of man.
V.
Sin, the source of division and oppression
37 God calls man to freedom. In each
person there lives a desire to be free. And
yet this desire almost always tends towards
slavery and oppression. All commitment to liberation and freedom
therefore presupposes that this tragic paradox has been faced.
Man’s sin, that is to say his breaking away from God, is the
radical reason for the tragedies which mark the history of freedom.
In order to understand this, many of our contemporaries must first
rediscover a sense of sin.
In man’s desire for freedom there is hidden the temptation to
deny his own nature. Insofar as he wishes to desire everything and
to be able to do everything and thus forget that he is finite and a
created being, he claims to be a god. “You will be like God” (Gen 3: 5).
These words of the serpent reveal the essence of man’s temptation;
they imply the perversion of the meaning of his own freedom. Such
is the profound nature of sin: man rejects the truth and places his
own will above it. By wishing to free himself from God and be a
god himself, he deceives himself and destroys himself. He becomes
alienated from himself.
In this desire to be a god and to subject everything to his own
good pleasure, there is hidden a perversion of the very idea of God.
God is love and truth in the fullness of the mutual gift of the Divine
Persons. It is true that man is called to be like God. But he becomes
like God not in the arbitrariness of his own good pleasure but to the
Sin, separation
from God
21
extent that he recognizes that truth and love are at the same time the
principle and the purpose of his freedom.
Sin,
the root of human
alienation
38. By sinning, man lies to himself and se
parates himself from his own truth. But seek
ing total autonomy and self-sufficiency, he
denies God and denies himself. Alienation from the truth of his being
as a creature loved by God is the root of all other forms of alienation.
By denying or trying to deny God, who is his Beginning and End,
man profoundly disturbs his own order and interior balance and also
those of society and even of visible creation.25
It is in their relationship to sin that Scripture regards all the dif
ferent calamities which oppress man in his personal and social existence.
Scripture shows that the whole course of history has a mysterious
link with tire action of man who, from the beginning, has abused his
freedom by setting himself up against God and by seeking to gain his
ends without God.26 Genesis indicates the consequences of this original
sin in the painful nature of work and childbirth, in man’s oppression of
woman and in death. Human beings deprived of divine grace have thus
inherited a common mortal nature, incapable of choosing what is good
and inclined to covetousness.77
Idolatry
and disorder
39. Idolatry is an extreme form of disorder
produced by sin. The replacement of ador
ation of the living God by worship of created
things falsifies the relationships between individuals and brings with
it various kinds of oppression.
Culpable ignorance of God unleashes the passions, which are causes
of imbalance and conflicts in the human heart. From this there ine
vitably come disorders which affect the sphere of the family and society:
“ Cf. Gaudiutn et Spes, 13 § 1.
24 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 13: AAS 77
(1985), pp. 208-211.
” Cf. Gen 3, 16-19; Rom 5, 12; 7, 14-24; Paul VI, Sollemnis Pro/essio fidei, 3« June
1968, 16: AAS 60 (1968), p. 439.
22
sexual license, injustice and murder. It is thus that Saint Paul describes
the pagan world, carried away by idolatry to the worst aberrations which
ruin the individual and society.2’
Even before Saint Paul, the Prophets and wise men of Israel saw
in the misfortunes of the people a punishment for their sin of idolatry;
and in the “heart full of evil” {Eccles 9: 3),29 they saw the source of
man’s radical slavery and of the forms of oppression which he makes
his fellowmen endure.
40. The Christian tradition, found in tire
Fathers and Doctors of the Church, has made
....
. .
, r
,
explicit this teaching of Scripture about sin.
It sees sin as contempt for God {conlemptus Dei). It is accompanied
by a desire to escape from the dependent relationship of the servant
to his Lord, or still more of the child to its Father. By sinning, man
seeks to free himself from God. In reality he makes himself a slave.
For by rejecting God he destroys the momentum of his aspiration to
the infinite and of his vocation to share in the divine life. This is why
his heart is a prey to disquiet.
Sinful man who refuses to accept God is necessarily led to become
attached in a false and destructive way to creatures. In this turning
toward creatures {conversio ad creaturam) he focuses on the latter
his unsatisfied desire for the infinite. But created goods are limited;
and so his heart rushes from one to another, always searching for an
impossible peace.
In fact, when man attributes to creatures an infinite importance, he
loses the meaning of his created being. He claims to find his centre
and his unity in himself. Disordered love of self is the other side of
contempt for God. Man then tries to rely on himself alone; he wishes
to achieve fulfilment by himself and to be self-sufficient in his own
immanence.30
Contempt for God
and a turning
toward creatures
” Cf. Rom 1, 18-32.
” Cf. Jer 5, 23; 7, 24; 17, 9; IS, 12.
” Cf. St. Augusine, De Civitate Dei, XIV, 28 (PL 41. 435; CSEL 40/2, 56-57; CCL 14/2.
451-452).
23
41
This becomes more particularly obvious
when the sinner thinks that he can only assert
his own freedom by explicitly denying God.
Dependence of the creature upon the Creator, and the dependence of
the moral conscience upon the divine law, are regarded by him as an
intolerable slavery. Thus he sees atheism as the true form of emanci
pation and of man’s liberation, whereas religion or even the recognition
of a moral law constitute forms of alienation. Man then wishes to make
independent decisions about what is good and what is evil, or decisions
about values; and in a single step he rejects both the idea of God and
the idea of sin. It is through the audacity of sin that he claims to become
adult and free, and he claims this emancipation not only for himself
but for the whole of humanity.
Atheism,
false ^emancipation
42. Having become his own centre, sinful
man tenjs t0 assert himself and to satisfy his
desire for the infinite by the use of things:
wealth, power and pleasure, despising other people and robbing them
unjustly and treating them as objects or instruments. Thus he makes
his own contribution to the creation of those very structures of exploi
tation and slavery which he claims to condemn.
sin
and unjust structures
Chapter III
LIBERATION AND CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
Gospel, freedom
and liberation
43. Human history, marked as it is by the
experience of sin, would drive us to despair
if God had abandoned his creation to itself.
But the divine promises of liberation, and their victorious fulfilment
in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, are the basis of the “joyful hope”
from which the Christian community draws the strength to act re
solutely and effectively in the service of love, justice and peace. The
24
Gospel is a message of freedom and a liberating force 31 which fulfills
the hope of Israel based upon the words of the Prophets. This hope
relied upon the action of Yahweh, who even before he intervened as
the “goel”,32 liberator, redeemer and saviour of his People had freely
chosen that People in Abraham.33
I.
Liberation in the Old Testament
44, Jn the Old Testament, the liberating
action of Yahweh which serves as model and
r
r
,,
.
•
t
tt
r
reference for all others is the Jbxodus from
Egypt, “the house of bondage”. When God rescues his.People from
hard economic, political and cultural slavery, he does so in order to
make them, through the Covenant on Sinai, “a kingdom of priests and
a holy nation” (Ex 19:6). God wishes to be adored by people who
are free. All the subsequent liberations of the people of Israel help
to lead them to this full liberty that they can only find in communion
with their God.
The major and fundamental event of the Exodus therefore has a
meaning which is both religious and political. God sets his People
free and gives them descendants, a land and a law, but within a Covenant
and for a Covenant. One cannot therefore isolate the political aspect
for its own sake; it has to be considered in the light of a plan of a
religious nature within which it is integrated.3’
The Exodus
and the liberating
acts of Yaweh
45 Jn hjs p]an of salvation, God gave Israel
its Law. This contained, together with the
universal moral precepts of the Decalogue, re
ligious and civil norms which were to govern the life of the people
chosen by God to be his witness among the nations.
The law of God
31 Cf. Libertatis Nuntius, Introduction: AAS 76 (1984), p. 876.
” Cf. Is 41, 14; Jer 50, 34. “Goel”: this word implies the idea of a bond of kinship
between the one who frees and the one who is freed. Cf. Leu 25, 25. 47-49; Rth 3, 12; 4, 1.
“Padah" means “to obtain for oneself". Cf. Ex 13, 13; Dent 9, 26; 15, 15; Ps 130, 7-8.
” Cf. Gen 12, 1-3.
M Cf. Libertatis Nuntius, IV, 3: AAS 76 (1984), p. 882.
25
Of this collection of laws, love of God above all things 35 and of
neighbour as oneself34 already constitute the centre. But the justice
which must govern relations between people, and the law which is
its juridical expression, also belong to the sum and substance of the
biblical law. The Codes and the preaching of the Prophets, as also
the Psalms, constantly refer to both of them, very often together.37 It
is in this context that one should appreciate the biblical law’s care
for the poor, the needy, the widow and the orphan: they have a right
to justice according to the juridical ordinances of the People of God.33
Thus there already exist the ideal and the outline of a society centered
upon worship of the Lord and based upon justice and law inspired
by love.
The teaching
of the Prophets
46. Prophets constantly remind Israel of the
demands made by the Law of the Covenant.
They condemn man’s hardened heart as the
source of repeated transgressions, and they foretell a New Covenant in
which God will change hearts by writing on them the Law of his Spirit.39
In proclaiming and preparing for this new age, the Prophets vigor
ously condemn injustice done to the poor: they make themselves God’s
spokesmen for the poor. Yahweh is the supreme refuge of the little
ones and the oppressed, and the Messiah will have the mission of
taking up their defence.40
The situation of the poor is a situation of injustice contrary to the
Covenant. This is why the Law of the Covenant protects them by
means of precepts which reflect the attitude of God himself when he
liberated Israel from the slavery of Egypt.41 Injustice to the little ones
and the poor is a grave sin and one which destroys communion with God.
” Cf. Deut 6, 5.
“ Cf. Ln 19, 18.
” Cf. Deut 1, 16-17; 16, 18-20; ]er 22, 3-15; 23, 5; Ps 33, 5; 72, 1; 99, 4.
“ Cf. Ex 22, 20-23; Deut 24, 10-22.
” Cf. Jer 31, 31-34; Ez 36, 25-27.
w Is 11, 1-5; Ps 72, 4. 12-14; Libertatis Nuntius, IV, 6: AAS 76 (1984), p. 883.
*' Cf. Ex 23, 9; Deut 24, 17-22.
26
47 Whatever the forms of poverty, injustice
and affliction they endure, the “just” and the
“poor of Yahweh” offer up their supplications
to him tn the Psalms.42 In their hearts they suffer the servitude to
which the “stiff-necked” people are reduced because of their sins. They
endure persecution, martyrdom and death; but they live in hope of de
liverance. Above all, they place their trust in Yahweh, to whom they
commend their cause.43
The “poor of Yahweh” know that communion with him 44 is the
most precious treasure and the one in which man finds his true freedom.43
For them, the most tragic misfortune is the loss of this communion.
Hence their fight against injustice finds its deepest meaning and its
effectiveness in their desire to be freed from the slavery of sin.
The “Poor of Yahweh”
On the threshold
of the New Testament
48. On the threshold of the New Testament,
the “poor of Yahweh” make up the first-fruits
of a “people humble and lowly” who live in
hope of the liberation of Israel.46
Mary, personifying this hope, crosses the threshold from the Old
Testament. She proclaims with joy the coming of the Messiah and
praises the Lord who is preparing to set his People free.47 In her
hymn of praise to the divine mercy, the humble Virgin, to whom the
people of the poor turn spontaneously and so confidently, sings of the
mystery of salvation and its power to transform. The sensus fidei, which
is so vivid among the little ones, is able to grasp at once all the
salvific and ethical treasures of the Magnificat*
" Cf. Ps 25; 31; 35; 55; Libertalis Nuntius, IV, 5: /W 76 (1984), p. 883.
" Cf. Jer 11, 20; 20, 12.
" Cf. Ps 73, 26-28.
“Cf. Ps 16; 62; 84.
“ Cf. Zeph 3, 12-20; Libertalis Nuntius, IV, 5: AAS 76 (1984), p. 883.
" Cf. Lk 1, 46-55.
“ Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, 37: AAS 66 (1974), pp. 148-149.
27
II.
Christological significance of the Old Testament
49. The Exodus, the Covenant, the Law, the
voices of the Prophets and the spirituality of
the “poor of Yahweh” only achieve their full
significance in Christ. The Church reads the Old Testament in the light
of Christ who died and rose for us. She sees a prefiguring of herself in
the People of God of the Old Covenant, made incarnate in the concrete
body of a particular nation, politically and culturally constituted as
such. This people was part of the fabric of history as Yahweh’s witness
before the nations until the fulfilment of the time of preparation and
prefigurement. In the fullness of time which came with Christ, the
children of Abraham were invited to enter, together with all the nations,
into the Church of Christ in order to form with them one People of
God, spiritual and universal.45
In the light
or Christ
III.
Christian liberation
The Good
News proclaimed
to the poor
50. Jesus proclaims the Good News of the
Kingdom of God and calls people to conversion.“ “The poor have the good news preached
to them” (Mt 11:5). By quoting the expression of the Prophet,51 Jesus
manifests his messianic action in favour of those who await God’s
salvation.
Even more than this, the Son of God who has made himself poor
for love of us 52 wishes to be recognized in the poor, in those who
suffer or are persecuted:53 “As you did it to one of the least of these
my brethren, you did it to me”.54
" Cf. Acts 2, 39; Rrn 10, 12; 15, 7-12; Eph 2, 14-18.
” Cf. Mk 1, 15.
” Cf. Is 61, 9.
» Cf. 2 Cor 3, 9.
” Cf. Mt 25, 31-46; Acts 9, 4-5.
“ Cf. Liberlatis Nuhtius, IV, 9:AAS 76 (1984), p. 884.
28
51. But js jt above all by the power of his
Paschal Mystery that Christ has set us free.55
Through his perfect obedience on the Cross
and through the glory of his Resurrection, the Lamb of God has taken
away the sin of the world and opened for us the way to definitive
liberation.
By means of our service and love, but also by the offering up of
our trials and sufferings, we share in the one redeeming sacrifice of
Christ, completing in ourselves “what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions
for the sake of his body, that is, the church” {Col 1:24), as we look
forward to the resurrection of the dead.
The Paschal Mystery
52. The heart of the Christian experience of
freedom is in justification by the grace r ceived through faith and the Church’s sacrrm_nts.
This grace frees us from sin and places us in communion with God.
Through Christ’s Death and Resurrection we are offered forgiveness.
The experience of our reconciliation with the Father is the fruit of the
Holy Spirit. God reveals himself to us as the Father of mercy, before
whom we can come with total confidence.
Flaving been reconciled with him,56 and receiving this peace of
Christ which the world cannot give,57 we are called to be peacemakers
among all men.5*
In Christ, we can conquer sin, and death no longer separates us
from God; death will finally be destroyed at our resurrection, which
will be like that of Jesus.5’ The “cosmos” itself, of which man is the
centre and summit, waits to be “set free from its bondage to decay and
to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God” {Rom 8:21).
Even now Satan has been checked; he who has the power of death
Grace, reconciliation
and freedom
” Cf. John Paul II, Opening Address al Puebla, I, 5: AAS 71 (1979), p. 191.
” Cf. Rm 5, 10; 2 Cor 5, 18-20.
n Cf. Jn 14, 27.
Cf. Mt 5, 9; Rm 12, 18; Heb 12. 14.
” Cf. 7 Cor 15, 26.
29
has been reduced to impotence by the death of Christ?0 Signs are given
which are a foretaste of the glory to come.
53 The freedom brought by Christ in the
Holy Spirit has restored to us the capacity,
which sin had taken away from us, to love
God above all things and remain in communion with him.
We are set free from disordered self-love, which is the source of
contempt of neighbour and of human relationships based on domination.
Nevertheless, until the Risen One returns in glory, the mystery of
iniquity is still at work in the world. Saint Paul warns us of this:
“For freedom Christ has set us free” {Gal 5:1). We must therefore
persevere and fight in order not to fall once more under the yoke of
slavery. Our existence is a spiritual struggle to live according to the
Gospel and it is waged with the weapons of God.61 But we have re
ceived the power and the certainty’ of our victory over evil, the victory
of the love of Christ whom nothing can resist.62
Struggle against
the slavery of sin
The Spirit
and the Law
54. Saint Paul proclaims the gift of the New
Law of the Spirit in opposition to the law of
the flesh or of covetousness which draws man
toward evil and makes him powerless to choose what is good.6’ This lack
of harmony and this inner weakness do not abolish man’s freedom
and responsibility, but they do have a negative effect on their exercise
for the sake of whet, is good. This is what causes the Apostle to say:
“I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do”
{Rom 7:19). Thus he rightly speaks of the “bondage of sin” and the
“slavery of the law”, for to sinful man the law, which he cannot make
part of himself, seems oppressive.
However, Saint Paul recognizes that the Law still has value for
man and for the Christian, because it “is holy and what it commands
“ Cf. /« 12, 31; Heb 2, 14-15.
•' Cf. Eph 6, 11-17.
“ Cf. Rom 8, 37-39.
« Cf. Rom 8, 2.
30
.
'
is sacred, just and good” (Rom 7:12).m He reaffirms the Decalogue,
while putting it into relationship with that charity which is its true
fullnessFurthermore, he knows well that a juridical order is neces
sary for the development of life in society.66 But the new thing he
proclaims is God’s giving us Flis Son “so that the Law’s just demands
might be satisfied in us” (Rm 8:1).
The Lord Jesus himself spelled out the precepts of the New Law
in the Sermon on the Mount: by the sacrifice he offered on the Cross
and by his glorious Resurrection he conquered the power of sin and
gained for us the grace of the Holy Spirit which makes possible the
perfect observance of God’s law 67 and access to forgiveness if we fall
again into sin. The Spirit who dwells in our hearts is the source of
true freedom.
Through Christ’s sacrifice, the cultic regulations of the Old Testa
ment have been rendered obsolete. As for the juridical norms govern
ing the social and political life of Israel, the Apostolic Church, inas
much as it marked the beginning of the reign of God on earth, was aware
that it was no longer held to their observance. This enabled the
Christian community to understand the laws and authoritative acts of
various peoples. Although lawful and worthy of being obeyed,68 they
could never, inasmuch as they have their origin in such authorities, claim
to have a sacred character. In the light of the Gospel, many laws and
structures seem to bear the mark of sin and prolong its oppressive influence in society.
IV.
The New Commandment
Love, the gift
of the Spirit
55. God’s love, poured out into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit, involves love of neighbour.
Recalling the first commandment, Jesus im-
M Ct. 1 Tim 1, 8.
*’ Cf. Rom 13, 8-10.
“ Cf. Rom 13, 1-7.
•’ Cf. Rom 8, 2-4.
“ Cf. Rom 13, 1.
NlTY IE tLTH CELL
*-7/t. rust Hoot) St. M.-,rks Rcac
Banaaloro - " ’ ""1
has been reduced to impotence by the death of Christ.60 Signs are given
which are a foretaste of the glory to come.
53 The freedom brought by Christ in the
Holy Spirit has restored to us the capacity,
which sin had taken away from us, to love
God above all things and remain in communion with him.
We are set free from disordered self-love, which is the source of
contempt of neighbour and of human relationships based on domination.
Nevertheless, until the Risen One returns in glory, the mystery of
iniquity is still at work in the world. Saint Paul warns us of this:
“For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1). We must therefore
persevere and fight in order not to fall once more under the yoke of
slavery. Our existence is a spiritual struggle to live according to the
Gospel and it is waged with the weapons of God.61 But we have re
ceived the power and the certainty of our victory over evil, the victory
of the love of Christ whom nothing can resist.62
Struggle against
the slavery of sin
The Spirit
and the Law
54. Saint Paul proclaims the gift of the New
Law of the Spirit in opposition to the law of
the flesh or of covetousness which draws man
toward evil and makes him powerless to choose what is good.61 This lack
of harmony and this inner weakness do not abolish man’s freedom
and responsibility, b it they do have a negative effect on their exercise
for the sake of whc>. is good. This is what causes the Apostle to say:
“I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do”
(Row 7:19). Thus he rightly speaks of the “bondage of sin” and the
“slavery7 of the law”, for to sinful man the law, which he cannot make
part of himself, seems oppressive.
However, Saint Paul recognizes that the Law still has value for
man and for the Christian, because it “is holy and what it commands
“ Cf. Jn 12, 31; Heb 2. 14-15.
•' Cf. Eph 6, 11-17.
“ Cf. Rom 8. 37-39.
Cf Rom 8, 2.
30
is sacred, just and good” (Rom 7:12).M He reaffirms the Decalogue,
while putting it into relationship with that charity which is its true
fullness.65 Furthermore, he knows well that a juridical order is neces
sary for the development of life in society.66 But the new thing he
proclaims is God’s giving us His Son “so that the Law’s just demands
might be satisfied in us" (Rm 8:1).
The Lord Jesus himself spelled out the precepts of the New Law
in the Sermon on the Mount: by the sacrifice he offered on the Cross
and by his glorious Resurrection he conquered the power of sin and
gained for us the grace of the Holy Spirit which makes possible the
perfect observance of God’s law 67 and access to forgiveness if we fall
again into sin. The Spirit who dwells in our hearts is the source of
true freedom.
Through Christ’s sacrifice, the cultic regulations of the Old Testa
ment have been rendered obsolete. As for the juridical norms govern
ing the social and political life of Israel, the Apostolic Church, inas
much as it marked the beginning of the reign of God on earth, was aware
that it was no longer held to their observance. This enabled the
Christian community to understand the laws and authoritative acts of
various peoples. Although lawful and worthy of being obeyed,66 they
could never, inasmuch as they have their origin in such authorities, claim
to have a sacred character. In the light of the Gospel, many laws and
structures seem to bear the mark of sin and prolong its oppressive in
fluence in society.
IV. The New Commandment
Love, the gift
of the Spirit
55. God’s love, poured out into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit, involves love of neighbour.
Recalling the first commandment, Jesus im-
" Cf. 1 Tim 1, 8.
« Cf. Rom 13, 8-10.
“ Cf. Rom 13, 1-7.
*’ Cf. Rom 8. 2-4.
“ Cf. Rom 13, 1.
PJM.'TY HEALTH CELL
47, :
>%First Hoot) St. M >rks Road
mediately adds: “And the second is like it, You shall love your neigh
bour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and
the prophets” (Mt 22: 39-40). And Saint Paul says that love is the ful
filment of the Law.69
Love of neighbour knows no limits and includes enemies and
persecutors. The perfection which is the image of the Father’s perfec
tion and for which the disciple must strive is found in mercy.'0 The
parable of the Good Samaritan shows that compassionate love, which
puts itself at the service of neighbour, destroys the prejudices which
set ethnic or social groups against one another.71 All the New Testament
witnesses to the inexhaustible richness of the sentiments which are
included in Christian love of neighbour.72
Love
of neighbour
56. Christian love, which seeks no reward
and includes everyone, receives its nature from
the love of Christ who gave his life for us:
“Even as I have loved you ..., you also love one another” (Jn 13:3435). This is the “ new commandment” for the disciples.
In the light of this commandment, Saint James severely reminds
the rich of their duty,74 and Saint John says that a person who possesses
the riches of this world but who shuts his heart to his brother in need
cannot have the love of God dwelling in him.75 Fraternal love is the
touchstone of love of God: “He who does not love his brother whom
he has seen cannot love God whom he has-not seen” (1 Jn 4:20).
Saint Paul strongly emphasizes the link between sharing in the Sacra
ment of the Body and Blood of Christ and sharing with one’s neigh
bour who is in need.76
*’ Cf. Rom 13, 8-10; Gal 5, 13-14.
» Cf. Mt 5, 43-48; Lk 6, 27-38.
” Cf. Lk 10, 25-37.
r- Cf. for example 1 Th 2, 7-12; Ph 2, 1-4; Gal 2, 12-20; 1 Cor 13, 4-7; 2 Jn 12; 3 Jn 14;
Jn 11, 1-5. 35-36; Mk 6, 34; Mt 9, 36; 18, 21 S.
” Cf. Jn 15, 12-13; 2 Jn 3, 16.
” Cf. Jas 5, 1-4.
” Cf. 1 Jn 3, 17.
76 Cf. 2 Cor 11, 17-34; Libertalis Nuntius, IV, 11: AAS 76 (1984), p. 884. St. Paul himself
organizes a collection for the “poor among the saints at Jerusalem" (Rm 15, 26).
32
57. Evangelical love, and the vocation to be
children of God to which all are called, have
as a consequence the direct and imperative
requirement of respect for all human beings in their rights to life and
to dignity. There is no gap between love of neighbour and desire for
justice. To contrast the two is to distort both love and justice. Indeed,
the meaning of mercy completes the meaning of justice by preventing
justice from shutting itself up within the circle of revenge.
The evil inequities and oppression of every kind which afflict mil
lions of men and women today openly contradict Christ’s Gospel and
cannot leave the conscience of any Christian indifferent.
The Church, in her docility to the Spirit, goes forward faithfully
along the paths to authentic liberation. Her members are aware of
their failings and their delays in this quest. But a vast number of
Christians, from the time of the Apostles onwards, have committed their
powers and their lives to liberation from every form of oppression and
to the. promotion of human dignity. The experience of the saints and
the example of so many works of service to one’s neighbour are an
incentive and a beacon for the liberating undertakings that are needed
today.
Justice
and chanty
V.
The Church, People of God of the New Covenant
58. The People of God of the New Covenant
js
church of Christ. Her law is the com
mandment of love. In the hearts of her mem
bers the Spirit dwells as in a temple. She is the seed and the beginning
of the Kingdom of God here below, which will receive its completion
at the end of time with the resurrection of the dead and the renewal
of the whole of creation.77
Thus possessing the pledge of the Spirit,78 the People of God is
led towards the fullness of freedom. The new Jerusalem which we
Toward the fullness
of freedom
” Cf. Ro,„ 8, 11-21.
” Cf. 2 Cor 1, 22.
33
fervently await is rightly called the city of freedom in the highest sense.”
Then, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall
be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any
more, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4). Hope is
the certain expectation “of new heavens and of a new earth where
justice will dwell” (2 Pet 3:13).
59. The transfiguration by the Risen Christ
of
Church at the end of her pilgrimage in
no way cancels out the personal destiny of each
individual at the end of his or her life. All those found worthy before
Christ’s tribunal for having, by the grace of God, made good use of
their free will are to receive the reward of happiness.80 They will be
made like to God, for they will see him as he is.81 The divine gift of
eternal happiness is the exaltation of the greatest freedom which can
be imagined.
The final meeting
with Christ
Eschatological hope
and the commitment
for temporal liberation
60. This hope does not weaken commit
ment to the progress of the earthly city, but
rather gives it meaning and strength. It is of
course important to make a careful distinction between earthly progress
and the growth of the Kingdom, which do not belong to the same
order. Nonetheless, this distinction is not a separation; for man’s vo
cation to eternal life does not suppress but confirms his task of using
the energies and means which he has received from the Creator for
developing his temporal life.82
Enlightened by the Lord’s Spirit, Christ’s Church can discern in the
signs of the times the ones which advance liberation and those that
are deceptive and illusory. She calls man and societies to overcome situ
ations of sin and injustice and to establish the conditions for true free-
” Cf. Gal 4, 26.
“ Cf. 1 Cor 13, 12; 2 Cor 5, 10.
•' Cf. 1 Jn 3, 2.
“ Cf. Gauditim et Spes, 39, § 2.
34
dom. She knows that we shall rediscover all these good things—human
dignity, fraternal union and freedom—which are the result of efforts
in harmony with God’s will, “washed clean of all stain, illumined and
transfigured when Christ will hand over to the Father the eternal and
universal kingdom”,83 which is a Kingdom of freedom.
The vigilant and active expectation of the coming of the Kingdom
is also the expectation of a finally perfect justice for the living and the
dead, for people of all times and places, a justice which Jesus Christ,
installed as supreme Judge, will establish.84 This promise, which sur
passes all human possibilities, directly concerns our life in this world.
For true justice must include everyone; it must bring the answer to the
immense load of suffering borne by all the generations. In fact, without
the resurrection of the dead and the Lord’s judgment, there is no justice
in the full sense of the term. The promise of the resurrection is freely
made to meet the desire for true justice dwelling in the human heart.
Chapter IV
THE LIBERATING MISSION OF THE CHURCH
gl. The Church is firmly determined to respond to the anxiety of contemporary man as
,
,
.
,
r
c
j
he endures oppression and yearns tor freedom.
The political and economic running of society is not a direct part of
her mission.85 But the Lord Jesus has entrusted to her the word of
truth which is capable of enlightening consciences. Divine love, which
is her life, impels her to a true solidarity with everyone who suffers.
If her members remain faithful to this mission, the Holy Spirit, the
source of freedom, will dwell in them, and they will bring forth fruits
of justice and peace in their families and in the places where they work
and live.
The Church
and the anxieties
of mankind
u Cf. ibid., 39, § 3.
M Cf. Ml 24, 29-44. 46; Acts 10, 42; 2 Cor 5, 10.
c Cf. Gaudium el Spes, 42, § 2.
35
I. For the integral salvation of the world
The Beatitudes
and the power
of the Gospel
62. The Gospel is the power of eternal life,
given even now to those who receive it.86 But
by begetting people who are renewed,” this
power penetrates the human community and its history, thus purifying
and giving life to its activities. In this way it is a “root of culture”.53
The Beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus express the perfection of evan
gelical love, and they have never ceased to be lived throughout the
history of the Church by countless baptized individuals, and in an
eminent manner by the saints.
The Beatitudes, beginning with the first, the one concerning the
poor, form a whole which itself must not be separated from the entirety
of the Sermon on the Mount.” In this Sermon, Jesus, who is the
new Moses, gives a commentary on the Decalogue, the Law of the
Covenant, thus giving it its definitive and fullest meaning. Read and
interpreted in their full context, the Beatitudes express the spirit of the
Kingdom of God which is to come. But, in the light of the definitive
destiny of human history thus manifested, there simultaneously appear
with a more vivid clarity the foundations of justice in the temporal
order.
For the Beatitudes, by teaching trust which relies on God, hope of
eternal life, love of justice, and mercy which goes as far as pardon and
reconciliation, enable us to situate the temporal order in relation to
a transcendent order which gives the temporal order its true measure
but without taking away its own nature.
In the light of these things, the commitment necessary in temporal
tasks of service to neighbour and the human community is both urgently
demanded and kept in its right perspective. The Beatitudes prevent us
from worshipping earthly goods and from committing the injustices
“ Cf. Jn 17, 3.
" Cf. Rm 6, 4; 2 Cor 5, 17; Col 3, 9-11.
“ Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18 and 20: AAS 68 (1976),
pp. 17 and 19.
" Cf. Afr 5, 3.
36
which their unbridled pursuit involves.90 They also divert us from an
unrealistic and ruinous search for a perfect world, “for the form of
this world is passing away” (I Cor 7:31).
63. The Church’s essential mission, followjng t}jat
Christ, is a mission of evangeliza
tion and salvation.91 She draws her zeal from
the divine love. Evangelization is the proclamation of salvation, which
is a gift of God. Through the word of God and the Sacraments, man
is freed in the first place from the power of sin and the power of the
Evil One which oppress him; and he is brought into a communion of
love with God. Following her Lord who “came into the world to
save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15), the Church desires the salvation of all
people.
In this mission, the Church teaches the way which man must follow
in this world in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Her teaching
therefore extends to the whole moral order, and notably to the justice
which must regulate human relations. This is part of the preaching
of the Gospel.
But the love which impels the Church to communicate to all people
a sharing in the grace of divine life also causes her, through the effective
action of her members, to pursue people’s true temporal good, help
them in their needs, provide for their education and promote an integral
liberation from everything that hinders the development of individuals.
The Church desires the good of man in all his dimensions, first of all
as a member of the city of God, and then as a member of the earthly city.
The proclamation
of salvation
Evangelization
and the promotion
of justice
64. Therefore, when the Church speaks
about the promotion of justice in human societies, or when she urges the faithful laity to
work in this sphere according to their own vocation, she is not going
90 Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 37.
’* Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium 17; Church’s Decree on
Missionary Activity Ad Gentes, 1; Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14:
AAS 68 (1976), p. 13.
37
beyond her mission. She is however concerned that this mission should
not be absorbed by preoccupations concerning the temporal order or
reduced to such preoccupations. Hence she takes great care to maintain
clearly and firmly both the unity and the distinction between evangeliza
tion and human promotion: unity, because she seeks the good of the
whole person; distinction, because these two tasks enter, in different
ways, into her mission.
65. It js thus by pursuing her own finality
that
Church sheds the light of the Gospel
on earthly realities in order that human beings
may be healed of their miseries and raised in dignity. The cohesion
of society in accordance with justice and peace is thereby promoted
and strengthened.’2 Thus the Church is being faithful to her mission
when she condemns the forms of deviation, slavery and oppression of
which people are victims.
She is being faithful to her mission when she opposes attempts to
set up a form of social life from which God is absent, whether by deli
berate opposition or by culpable negligence.”
She is likewise being faithful to her mission when she exercises her
judgment regarding political movements which seek to fight poverty
and oppression according to theories or methods of action which are
contrary to the Gospel and opposed to man himself.”
It is of course true that, with the energy of grace, evangelical moral
ity brings man new perspectives and new duties. But its purpose is
to perfect and elevate a moral dimension which already belongs to
human nature and with which the Church concerns herself in the
knowledge that this is a heritage belonging to all people by their very
nature.
The Gospel
and earthly realities
n Gaudium el Spes, 40, § 3.
” Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Reconcilialio el Paenilenlia, '4: AAS 77
(1985), pp. 211-212.
« Cf. Liberlalis Nuntius, XI, 10: AAS 76 (1984), p. 901.
38
II. A love of preference for the poor
Christ Jesus, although he was rich,
became poor in order to make us rich by
means of his poverty.95 Saint Paul is speaking
here of the mystery of the Incarnation of the eternal Son, who came
to take on mortal human nature in order to save man from the misery
into which sin had plunged him. Furthermore, in the human condition
Christ chose a state of poverty and deprivation 94 in order to show in
what consists the true wealth which ought to be sought, that of com
munion of life with God. He taught detachment from earthly riches
so that we might desire the riches of heaven.97 The Apostles whom
he chose also had to leave all things and share his deprivation.98
Christ was foretold by the Prophets as the Messiah of the poor; 99
and it was among the latter, the humble, the “poor of Yahweh”, who
were thirsting for the justice of the Kingdom, that he found hearts
ready to receive him. But he also wished to be near to those who,
though rich in the goods of this world, were excluded from the com
munity as “publicans and sinners”, for he had come to call them to
■
100
conversion.
It is this sort of poverty, made up of detachment, trust in God,
sobriety and a readiness to share, that Jesus declared blessed.
Jesus and poverty
67. But Jesus not only brought the grace
and peace of God; he also healed innumer
able sick people; he had compassion on the
crowd who had nothing to eat and he fed them; with the disciples
who followed him he practised almsgiving.101 Therefore the Beatitude
of poverty which he proclaimed can never signify that Christians are
Jesus and the poor
” Cf. 2 Cor 8, 9.
“ Cf. Lk 2, 7; 9, 58.
" Cf. Mt 6, 19-20; 24-34; 19, 21.
“ Cf. Lk 5, 11. 28; Mt 19, 27.
” Cf. Is 11, 4; 61, 1; Lk 4, 18.
“ Cf. Lk 19, 1-10; Mk 2, 13-17.
Cf. Mt 8, 6; 14, 13-21; Jrt 13, 29.
39
permitted to ignore the poor who lack what is necessary for human
life in this world. This poverty is the result and consequence of people’s
sin and natural frailty’, and it is an evil from which human beings must
be freed as completely as possible.
£8. In its various forms—material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psy
chological illnesses, and finally death—human
misery is the obvious sign of the natural condition of weakness in
which man finds himself since original sin and the sign of his need
for salvation. Hence it drew the compassion of Christ the Saviour
to take it upon himself 102 and to be identified with the least of his
brethren (cf. Mt 25:40, 45). Hence also those who are oppressed by
poverty are the object of a love of preference on the part of the Church,
which since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her
members has not ceased to work for their relief, defence and liberation.
She has done this through numberless works of charity which remain
always and everywhere indispensable.103 In addition, through her social
doctrine which she strives to apply, she has sought to promote structural
changes in society so as to secure conditions of life worthy of the human
person.
By detachment from riches, which makes possible sharing and opens
the gate of the Kingdom,104 the disciples of Jesus bear witness through
love for the poor and unfortunate to the love of the Father himself
manifested in the Saviour. This love comes from God and goes to God.
The disciples of Christ have always recognized in the gifts placed on the
altar a gift offered to God himself.
In loving the poor, the Church also witnesses to man’s dignity.
She clearly affirms that man is worth more for what he is than for
what he has. She bears witness to the fact that this dignity cannot be
destroyed, whatever the situation of poverty, scorn, rejection or power-
Love of preference
for the poor
Cf. Mt 8, 17.
,0J Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Populorum Progressio, 12 and 46: AAS 59 (1967), pp. 262-263
and p. 280; Document of the Third General Conference of the Latin-American Episcopate at
Puebla, 476.
,M Cf. Acts 2, 44-45.
40
lessness to which a human being has been reduced. She shows her soli
darity with those who do not count in a society by which they are
rejected spiritually and sometimes even physically. She is particularly
drawn with maternal affection toward those children who, through
human wickedness, will never be brought forth from the womb to
the light of day, as also for the elderly, alone and abandoned.
The special option for the poor, far from being a sign of particu
larism or sectarianism, manifests the universality of the Church’s being
and mission. This option excludes no one.
This is the reason why the Church cannot express this option by
means of reductive sociological and ideological categories which would
make this preference a partisan choice and a source of conflict.
69. The new basic communities or other
groups of Christians which have arisen to be
, .
, ,
witnesses to this evangelical love are a source
of great hope for the Church. If they really live in unity with the local
Church and the universal Church, they will be a real expression of
communion and a means for constructing a still deeper communion.105
Their fidelity to their mission will depend on how careful they are to
educate their members in the fullness of the Christian faith through
listening to the Word of God, fidelity to the teaching of the Magisterium, to the hierarchical order of the Church and to the sacramental
life. If this condition is fulfilled, their experience, rooted in a commit
ment to the complete liberation of man, becomes a treasure for the
whole Church.
Basic communities
and othc.
Christian groups
70. Similarly, a theological reflection de
veloped from a particulat experience can consti
tute a very positive contribution, inasmuch as
it makes possible a highlighting of aspects of the Word of God, the
richness of which had not yet been fully grasped. But in order that
Theological reflection
105 Cf. Second Extraordinary Synod, Relatio Finalis, II, C, 6: L'Osservatore Romano,
10 December 1985, p. 7; Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nnntiandi, 58: /1/1S 68
(1976), pp. 46-49.
41
this reflection may be truly a reading of the Scripture and not a pro
jection on to the Word of God of a meaning which it does not contain,
the theologian will be careful to interpret the experience from which
he begins in the light of the experience of the Church herself. This
experience of the Church shines with a singular brightness and in all
its purity in the lives of the saints. It pertains to the pastors of the
Church, in communion with the Successor of Peter, to discern its
authenticity.
Chapter V
THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH:
FOR A CHRISTIAN PRACTICE OF LIBERATION
yj The salvific dimension of liberation cannot
recJuceJ to tfoe socio-ethical dimension,
which is a consequence of it. By restoring
man’s true freedom, the radical liberation brought about by Christ
assigns to him a task: Christian practice, which is the putting into
practice of the great commandment of love. The latter is the supreme
principle of Christian social morality, founded upon the Gospel and the
whole of tradition since apostolic times and the age of the Fathers
of the Church up to and including the recent statements of the
Magisterium.
The considerable challenges of our time constitute an urgent appeal
to put into practice this teaching on how to act.
The Christian practice
of liberation
I. Nature of the social doctrine of the Church
72. The Church’s social teaching is born of
the encounter of the Gospel message and of
its demands summarized in the supreme com
mandment of love of God and neighbour in justice 106 with the problems
The Gospel message
and social life
Cf. Mt 22, 37^}0; Rm 13, 8-10.
42
emanating from the life of society. This social teaching has established
itself as a doctrine by using the resources of human wisdom and the
sciences. It concerns the ethical aspect of this life. It takes into
account the technical aspects of problems but always in order to judge
them from the moral point of view.
Being essentially orientated toward action, this teaching develops
in accordance with the changing circumstances of history. This is
why, together with principles that are always valid, it also involves
contingent judgments. Far from constituting a closed system, it remains
constantly open to the new questions which continually arise; it re
quires the contribution of all charisms, experiences and skills.
As an “expert in humanity”, the Church offers by her social doctrine
a set of principles for reflection and criteria for judgment 107*and also
directives for action103 so that the profound changes demanded by
situations of poverty and injustice may be brought about, and this in
a way which serves the true good of humanity.
Fundamental
principles
73. The supreme commandment of love
leads to the full recognition of the dignity of
each individual, created in God’s image. From
this dignity flow natural rights and duties. In the light of the image
of God, freedom, which is the essential prerogative of the human person,
is manifested in all its depth. Persons are the active and responsible
subjects of social life.109
Intimately linked to the foundation, which is man’s dignity, are
the principle of solidarity and the principle of subsidiarity.
By virtue of the first, man with his brothers is obliged to contribute
to the common good of society at all its levels.'10 Hence the Church’s
doctrine is opposed to all the forms of social or political individualism.
By virtue of the second, neither the State nor any society must
ever substitute itself for the initiative and responsibility of individuals
107 Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Oclogesirna Adveniens, 4: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 403-404;
John Paul II, Opening Address at Puebla, III, 7: AAS 71 (1979), p. 203.
,M Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater el Magistra, 235: AAS 53 (1961), p. 461.
Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 25.
Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, 132-133: AAS 53 (1961), p. 437.
43
and of intermediate communities at the level on which they can func
tion, nor must they take away the room necessary for their freedom."1
Hence the Church’s social doctrine is opposed to all forms of collectivism.
74. These principles are the basis of criteria
for making judgments on social situations,
structures and systems.
Thus the Church does not hesitate to condemn situations of life
which are injurious to man’s dignity and freedom.
These criteria also make it possible to judge the value of structures.
These are the sets of institutions and practices which people find al
ready existing or which they create, on the national and international
level, and which orientate or organize economic, social and political
life. Being necessary in themselves, they often tend to become fixed
and fossilized as mechanisms relatively independent of the human will,
thereby paralysing or distorting social development and causing in
justice. However, they always depend on the responsibility of man,
who can alter them, and not upon an alleged determinism of history.
Institutions and laws, when they are in conformity with the natural
law and ordered to the common good, are the guarantees of people’s
freedom and of the promotion of that freedom. One cannot condemn
all the constraining aspects of law, nor the stability of a lawful State
worthy of the name. One can therefore speak of structures marked by
sin, but one cannot condemn structures as such.
The criteria for judgment also concern economic, social and political
systems. The social doctrine of the Church does not propose any
particular system; but, in the fight of other fundamental principles, she
makes it possible at once to see to what extent existing systems con
form or do not conform to the demands of human dignity.
Criteria for judgment
Primacy of persons
over structures
75. The Church is of course aware of the
complexity of the problems confronting society
and of the difficulties in finding adequate
*” Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Quadragesima Anno, 79-80: AAS 23 (1931), p. 203; John XXIII,
Encyclical Mater et Magislra, 138: AAS 53 (1961), p. 439; Encyclical Pacem in Terris, 74:
AAS 55 (1963), pp. 294-295.
44
solutions to them. Nevertheless she considers that the first thing to
be done is to appeal to the spiritual and moral capacities of the individual
and to the permanent need for inner conversion, if one is to achieve
the economic and social changes that will truly be at the service of man.
The priority given to structures and technical organization over
the person and the requirements of his dignity is the expression of
a materialistic anthropology and is contrary to the construction of a
just social order."2
On the other hand, the recognized priority of freedom and of con
version of heart in no way eliminates the need for unjust structures
to be changed. It is therefore perfectly legitimate that those who
suffer oppression on the part of the wealthy or the politically powerful
should take action, through morally licit means, in order to secure
structures and institutions in which their rights will be truly respected.
It remains true however that structures established for people’s
good are of themselves incapable of securing and guaranteeing that
good. The corruption which in certain countries affects the leaders
and the State bureaucracy, and which destroys all honest social life,
is a proof of this. Moral integrity is a necessary condition for the
health of society. It is therefore necessary to work simultaneously for
the conversion of hearts and for the improvement of structures. For
the sin which is at the root of unjust situations is, in a true and im
mediate sense, a voluntary act which has its source in the freedom of
individuals. Only in a derived and secondary sense is it applicable to
structures, and only in this sense can one speak of “social sin”.113
Moreover, in the process of liberation, one cannot abstract from
the historical situation of the nation or attack the cultural identity of
the people. Consequently, one cannot passively accept, still less ac
tively support, groups which by force or by the manipulation of public
opinion take over the State apparatus and unjustly impose on the
1,2 Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18: AAS 68 (1976), pp. 17-18;
Libertatis Nuntius, XI, 9: AAS 76 (1984), p. 901.
,,J Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio ct Paenitentia, 16: AAS 77
(1985), pp. 213-217.
45
collectivity an imported ideology contrary to the culture of the people."4
In this respect, mention should be made of the serious moral and
political responsibility of intellectuals.
Guidelines
for action
76. Basic principles and criteria for judgment
inspire guidelines for action. Since the com
mon good of human society is at the service
of people, the means of action must be in conformity with human
dignity and facilitate education for freedom. A safe criterion for
judgment and action is this: there can be no true liberation if from
the very beginning the rights of freedom are not respected.
Systematic recourse to violence put forward as the necessary path
to liberation has to be condemned as a destructive illusion and one
that opens the way to new forms of servitude. One must condemn
with equal vigour violence exercised by the powerful against the poor,
arbitrary action by the police, and any form of violence established as
a system of government. In these areas one must learn the lessons
of tragic experiences which the history of the present century has
known and continues to know. Nor can one accept the culpable
passivity of the public powers in those democracies where the social
situation of a large number of men and women is far from correspond
ing to the demands of constitutionally guaranteed individual and social
rights.
A struggle
for justice
77. When the Church encourages the cre
ation and activity of associations such as trade
unions which fight for the defence of the
rights and legitimate interests of the workers and for social justice,
she does not thereby admit the theory that sees in the class
struggle the structural dynamism of social life. The action which she
sanctions is not the struggle of one class against another in order to
eliminate the foe. She does not proceed from a mistaken acceptance
of an alleged law of history. This action is rather a noble and reasoned
Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 25: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 419-420.
46
struggle for justice and social solidarity.“s The Christian will always
prefer the path of dialogue and joint action.
Christ has commanded us to love our enemies.116 Liberation in the
spirit of the Gospel is therefore incompatible with hatred of others,
taken individually or collectively, and this includes hatred of one’s enemy.
78. Situations of grave injustice require the
courage to make far-reaching reforms and to
suppress unjustifiable privileges. But those
who discredit the path of reform and favour the myth of revolution
not only foster the illusion that the abolition of an evil situation is in
itself sufficient to create a more humane society; they also encourage
the setting up of totalitarian regimes.117 The fight against injustice is
meaningless unless it is waged with a view to establishing a new social
and political order in conformity with the demands of justice. Justice
must already mark each stage of the establishment of this new order.
There is a morality of means.11’
The myth
of revolution
79 These principles must be especially ap
plied in the extreme case where there is re
course to armed struggle, which the Church’s
Magisterium admits as a last resort to put an end to an obvious and
prolonged tyranny which is gravely damaging the fundamental rights
of individuals and the common good.11’ Nevertheless, the concrete ap
plication of this means can not be contemplated until there has been
a very rigorous analysis of the situation. Indeed, because of the continual
development of the technology of violence and the increasingly serious
dangers implied in its recourse, that which today is termed "passive
A last resort
1,3 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 20: AAS 73 (1981), pp. 629-632;
Lihcrtatis Nuntius, VII, 8; VIII, 5-9; XI, 11-14: AAS 16 (1984), pp. 891-892, 894-895 and
901-902.
114 Cf. Mt 5, 44; Lk 6, 27-28. 35.
1,7 Cf. Libertatis Nuntius, XI, 10: AAS 76 (1984), pp. 905-906.
“* Cf. Document of the Third General Conference of the Latin-American Episcopate at
Puebla, 533-534. Cf. John Paul II, Homily at Drogheda, Sept. 30, 1979: AAS 71 (1979).
pp. 1076-1085.
Paul VI, Encyclical Populorum Progressio, 31: AAS 59 (1967), pp. 272-273. Cf. Pius XI,
Encyclical Nos es muy conocida: /IAS" 29 (1937), pp. 208-209.
47
resistance” shows a way more conformable to moral principles and
having no less prospects for success. One can never approve, whether
perpetrated by established power or insurgents, crimes such as reprisals
against the general population, torture, or methods of terrorism and
deliberate provocation aimed at causing deaths during popular de
monstrations. Equally unacceptable are detestable smear campaigns
capable of destroying a person psychologically or morally.
The role
of the laity
80. It is not for the pastors of the Church
to intervene directly in the political con
struction and organization of social life. This
task forms part of the vocation of the laity acting on their own initiative
with their fellow-citizens.120 They must fulfil this task conscious of
the fact that the purpose of the Church is to spread the Kingdom of
Christ so that all men may be saved and that through them the world
may be effectively ordered to Christ.121 The work of salvation is thus
seen to be indissolubly linked to the task of improving and raising the
conditions of human life in this world.
The distinction between the supernatural order of salvation and
the temporal order of human life must be seen in the context of God’s
singular plan to recapitulate all things in Christ. Hence in each ot
these spheres the layperson, who is at one and the same time a member
of the Church and a citizen of his country, must allow himself to
be constantly guided by his Christian conscience.122
Social action, which can involve a number of concrete means, will
always be exercised for the common good and in conformity with the
Gospel message and the teaching of the Church. It must be ensured
that the variety of options does not harm a sense of collaboration,
or lead to a paralysis of efforts or produce confusion among the Christian
people.
The orientation received from the social doctrine of the Church
should stimulate an acquisition of the essential technical and scientific
Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 76, § 3; Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Aposlolicam
Actuositatcm, 7.
121 Cf. op. cit., 20.
,a Cf. op. cit., 5.
48
skills. The social doctrine of the Church will also stimulate rhe seek
ing of moral formation of character and a deepening of the spiritual
life. While it offers principles and wise counsels, this doctrine does
not dispense from education in the political prudence needed for guid
ing and running human affairs.
II.
Evangelical requirements for an indepth transformation
Need for a cultural
transformation
81. Christians working to bring about that
"civilization of love” which will include the
entire ethical and social heritage of the Gospel
are today faced with an unprecedented challenge. This task calls for
renewed reflection on what constitutes the relationship between the
supreme commandment of love and the social order considered in all
its complexity.
The immediate aim of this indepth reflection is to work out and
set in motion ambitious programmes aimed at the socio-economic liber
ation of millions of men and women caught in an intolerable situation
of economic, social and political oppression.
This action must begin with an immense effort at education: edu
cation for the civilization of work, education for solidarity, access to
culture for all.
g2. The life of Jesus of Nazareth, a real
“Gospel of work”, offers us the living
example and principle of the radical cultural
transformation which is essential for solving the grave problems which
must be faced by the age in which we live. He, who, though he was
God, became like us in all things, devoted the greater part of his
earthly life to manual labour.123 The culture which our age awaits will
be marked by the full recognition of the dignity of human work, which
appears in all its nobility and fruitfulness in the light of the mysteries
The Gospel of work
Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Laborem Exerccns, 6: A/15 73 (1981). pp. 5S9-592.
49
of Creation and Redemption.124 Recognized as a form of the person,
work becomes a source of creative meaning and eSort.
A true civilization
of work
83. Thus the solution of most of the serious
problems related to poverty is to be found in
the promotion of a true civilization of work.
In a sense, work is the key to the whole social question.
It is therefore in the domain of work that priority must be given
to the action of liberation in freedom. Because the relationship be
tween the human person and work is radical and vital, the forms and
models according to which this relationship is regulated will exercise
a positive influence for the solution of a whole series of social and
political problems facing each people. Just work relationships will be
a necessary precondition for a system of political community capable
of favouring the integral development of every individual.
If the system of labour relations put into effect by those directly
involved, the workers and employers, with the essential support of the
public powers succeeds in bringing into existence a civilization of work,
then there will take place a profound and peaceful revolution in people’s
outlooks and in institutional and political structures.
84. A work culture such as this will necessarily presuppose and put into eHect a certain
«
• 1
i
t
• 1i
i
i
number or essential values, it will acknowledge that the person of the worker is die principle, subject and purpose
of work. It will affirm the priority of work over capital and the fact
that material goods are meant for all. It will be animated by a sense
of solidarity involving not only rights to be defended but also the duties
to be performed. It will involve participation, aimed at promoting the
national and international common good and not just defending indi
vidual or corporate interests. It will assimilate the methods of con
frontation and of frank and vigorous dialogue.
National
and international
common good
114 Cf. op. cit., ch. V: ibid., pp. 637-647.
125 Cf. op. cit, 3: ibid., pp. 583-584; Address at Loreto on 10 May 1985: AAS 77 (1985),
pp. 967-969.
50
As a result, the political authorities will become more capable of
acting with respect for the legitimate freedoms of individuals, families
and subsidiary groups; and they will thus create the conditions necessary
forman to be able to achieve his authentic and integral welfare, includ
ing his spiritual goal.126
The value
of human work
85.
A culture which recognizes the eminent
dignity of the worker will emphasize the sub
jective dimension of work.177
The value of any human work does not depend on the kind of
work done; it is based on the fact that the one who does it is a person.13
There we have an ethical criterion whose implications cannot be
overlooked.
Thus every person has a right to work, and this right must be reco
gnized in a practical way by an effective commitment to resolving the
tragic problem of unemployment. The fact that unemployment keeps
large sectors of the population and notably the young in a situation
of marginalization is intolerable. For this reason the creation of jobs
is a primary social task facing individuals and private enterprise, as
well as the State. As a general rule, in this as in other matters, the
State has a subsidiary function; but often it can be called upon to
intervene directly, as in the case of international agreements between
different States. Such agreements must respect the rights of immigrants
and their families
Promoting
participation
86. Wages, which cannot be considered as
a mere commodity, must enable the worker
and his family to have access to a truly human
standard of living in the material, social, cultural and spiritual orders.
It is the dignity of the person which constitutes the criterion for judging
124 Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 46: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 633-635.
,n Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 6: /1/15 73 (1981), pp. 589-592.
Cf. ibid.
Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Coasortio, 46: AAS 74 (1982),
pp. 137-139; Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 23: /L45 73 (1981), pp. 635-637. Cf. Holy See,
Charter of Rights of the Family, art. 12, L'Osservatore Romano, Nov. 25, 1983.
51
work, not the other way round. Whatever the type of work, the worker
must be able to perform it as an expression of his personality. There
follows from this the necessity of a participation which, over and
above a sharing in the fruits of work, should involve a truly communi
tarian dimension at the level of projects, undertakings and responsi
bilities.130
Priority of work
over capital
87. The priority of work over capital places
an obligation in justice upon employers to con
sider the welfare of the workers before the
increase of profits.
f have a moral obligation not to keep capital
unproductive and in making investments to think first of the common
good. The latter requires a prior effort to consolidate jobs or create
new ones in the production of goods that are really useful.
The right to private property is inconceivable without responsi
bilities to the common good. It is subordinated to the higher principle
which states that goods are meant for all.131
88. This teaching must inspire reforms be
fore it is too late. Access for everyone to the
goods needed for a human, personal and fa
mily life worthy of the name is a primary demand of social justice.
It requires application in the sphere of industrial work and in a par
ticular way in the area of agricultural work.132 Indeed, rural peoples,
especially in the third world, make up the vast majority of the poor.’33
Indepth reforms
,w Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 68; John Paul II, Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 15: A/15 73
(1981), pp. 616-618; Discourse of 3 July 1980: L’Osservatore Pomano, 5 July 1980, pp. 1-2.
U1 Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 69; John Paul II, Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 12 and 14:
AAS 73 (1981), pp. 605-608 and 612-616.
1U Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, 72: AAS 23 (1931), p- 200; John Paul II,
Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 19: AAS 73 (1981), pp. 625-629.
,u Cf. Document of the Second General Conference of the Latin-American Episcopate at
Medellin, Justice, I, 9; Document of the Third General Conference of the Latin-American
Episcopate at Puebla, 31. 35. 1245.
52
III.
Promotion of solidarity
89. Solidarity is a direct requirement of
human and supernatural brotherhood. The
serious socio-economic problems which occur
today cannot be solved unless new fronts of solidarity are created: soli
darity t>f the poor among themselves, solidarity with the poor to which
the rich are called, solidarity among the workers and with the workers.
Institutions and social organizations at different levels, as well as the
State, must share in a general movement of solidarity. When the
Church appeals for such solidarity, she is aware that she herself is con
cerned in a quite special way.
A new solidarity
90. The principle that goods are meant for
all, together with the principle of human and
supernatural brotherhood, express the re
sponsibilities of the richer countries toward the poorer ones. These
responsibilities include solidarity in aiding the developing countries,
social justice through a revision in correct terms of commercial rela
tionships between North and South, the promotion of a more human
world for all, a world in which each individual can give and receive,
and in which the progress of some will no longer be an obstacle to the
development of others, nor a pretext for their enslavement.IM
Goods are meant for all
9J
International solidarity is a necessity of
the moral order. It is essential not only in
cases of extreme urgency but also for aiding
true development. This is a shared task, which requires a concerted
and constant effort to find concrete technical solutions and also to
create a new mentality among our contemporaries. World peace de
pends on this to a great extent.135
Aid for development
,M Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, 163: AAS 55 (1961), p. 443: Paul VI,
Encyclical Populorum Progressio, 51: AAS 59 (1967), p. 282; John Paul II, Discourse to the
Diplomatic Corps of 11 January 1986: L'.Osservatore Romano, 12 January 1986, pp. 4-5.
us Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Populorum Progressio, 55: AAS 59 (1967), p. 284.
53
IV.
Cultural and educational tasks
Right to education
and culture
92. The unjust inequalities in the possession
and use of material goods are accompanied
and aggravated by similarly unjust inequalities
in the opportunity for culture. Every human being has a right to cul
ture, which is the specific mode of a truly human existence to which
one gains access through the development of one’s intellectual capacities,
moral virtues, abilities to relate with other human beings, and talents
for creating things which are useful and beautiful. From this flows
the necessity of promoting and spreading education, to which every
individual has an inalienable right. The first condition for this is the
elimination of illiteracy.136
93. The right of each person to culture is
only assured if cultural freedom is respected.
Too often culture is debased by ideology, and
education is turned into an instrument at the service of political or eco
nomic power. It is not within the competence of the public authori
ties to determine culture. Their function is to promote and protect
the cultural life of everyone, including that of minorities.137
Respect
for cultural freedom
94 The task of educating belongs fundamentally and primarily to the family. The
function of the State is subsidiary: its role is
to guarantee, protect, promote and supplement. Whenever the State
lays claim to an educational monopoly, it oversteps its rights and offends
justice. It is parents who have the right to choose the school to which
they send their children and the right to set up and support educational
centres in accordance with their own beliefs. The State cannot without
The educational task
of the family
Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 60; John Paul II, Discourse to UNESCO of 2 June 1980, 8:
AAS 72 (1980), pp. 739-740.
1X1 Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 59.
54
injustice merely tolerate so-called private schools. Such schools render
a public service and therefore have a right to financial assistance.133
95, The education which gives access to
culture is also education in the responsible
exercise of freedom. That is why there can
only be authentic development in a social and political system which
respects freedoms and fosters them through the participation of everyone.
This participation can take different forms; it is necessary in order to
guarantee a proper pluralism in institutions and in social initiatives.
It ensures, notably by the real separation between the powers of the
State, the exercise of human rights, also protecting them against possible
abuses on the part of the public powers. No one can be excluded from
this participation in social and political life for reasons of sex, race,
colour, social condition, language or religion.13’ Keeping people on the
margins of cultural, social and political life constitutes in many nations
one of the most glaring injustices of our time.
When the political authorities regulate the exercise of freedoms,
they cannot use the pretext of the demands of public order and security
in order to curtail those freedoms systematically. Nor can the alleged
principle of national security, or a narrowly economic outlook, or a
totalitarian concept of social life, prevail over the value of freedom
and its rights.140
Freedoms
and sharing
96. Faith inspires criteria of judgment, determining values, lines of thought and patterns
of living which are valid for the whole human
community.141 Hence the Church, sensitive to the anxieties of our
age, indicates the lines of a culture in which work would be recognized
The challenge
of Inculturation
,M Cf. Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum Educations, 3 and 6; Pius XI,
Encyclical Diuini Illius Magistri, 28, 38 and 66: AAS 22 (1930), pp. 59, 63 and 68. Cf. Holy See,
Charter of Rights of the Family, art. 5: L'Osservatore Romano, Nov. 25, 1983.
u* Cf. Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 29; John XXIII, Encyclical Pacem in Terris,
73-74 and 79: 7L45 55 (1963), pp. 294-296.
,w Cf. Dignitatis Humanae, 7; Gaudium et Spes, 75. Document of the Third General
Conference of the Latin-American Episcopate at Puebla, 311-314; 317-318; 548.
M1 Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 19: AAS 68 (1976), p. 18.
55
in its full human dimension and in which all would find oppor
tunities for personal self-fulfilment. The Church does this by virtue of
ner missionary outreach for the integral salvation of the world, with
respect for the identity of each people and nation.
The Church, which is a communion which unites diversity and unity
through its presence in the whole world, takes from every culture the
positive elements which she finds there. But inculturation is not simply
an outward adaptation; it is an intimate transformation of authentic
cultural values by their integration into Christianity and the planting
of Christianity in the different human cultures.142 Separation between
the Gospel and culture is a tragedy of which the problems mentioned
are a sad illustration. A generous effort to evangelize cultures is there
fore necessary. These cultures will be given fresh life by their encounter
with the Gospel. But this encounter presupposes that the Gospel is
truly proclaimed.1" Enlightened by the Second Vatican Council, the
Church wishes to devote all her energies to this task, so as to evoke
an immense liberating effort.
CONCLUSION
97. Blessed is she who believed (Lk 1:45).
At Elizabeth’s greeting, the heart of the Mother
of God would burst into the song of the
Magnificat. It tells us that it is by faith and in faith like that of Mary
that the People of God express in words and translate into life the
mysterious plan of salvation with its liberating effects upon individual
and social existence. It is really in the light of faith that one comes
to understand how salvation history is the history of liberation from
evil in its most radical form and of the introduction of humanity into
the true freedom of the children of God. Mary is totally dependent
on her Son and completely directed towards him by the impulse of
The canticle
of the Magnificat
,4J Cf. Second Extraordinary Synod, Kelatio Finalis, II, D, 4. L’Osserualore Romano, 10
December 1985, p. 7.
,4J Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangclii Nunliandi, 20: AAS 68 (1976), pp. 18-19.
56
her faith; and, at his side, she is the most perfect image of freedom
and of the liberation of humanity and of the universe. It is to her
as Mother and Model that the Church must look in order to understand
in its completeness the meaning of her own mission.
It is altogether remarkable that the sense of faith found in the
poor leads not only to an acute perception of the mystery of the re
deeming Cross but also to a love and unshakable trust in the Mother
of the Son of God, who is venerated in so many shrines.
9g Pastors and all those who, as priests,
laity, or men and women religious, often work
under very difficult conditions for evangel
ization and integral human advancement, should be filled with hope
when they think of the amazing resources of holiness contained in the
living faith of the people of God. These riches of the sensus fidei
must be given the chance to come to full flowering and bear abundant
fruit. To help the faith of the poor to express itself clearly and to be
translated into life, through a profound meditation on the plan of
salvation as it unfolds itself in the Virgin of the Magnificat—this is a
noble ecclesial task which awaits the theologian.
Thus a theology of freedom and liberation which faithfully echoes
Mary’s Magnificat preserved in the Church’s memory is something need
ed by the times in which we are living. But it would be criminal to
take the energies of popular piety and misdirect them toward a purely
earthly plan of liberation, which would very soon be revealed as no
thing more than an illusion and a cause of new forms of slavery. Those
who in this way surrender to the ideologies of the world and to the
alleged necessity of violence are no longer being faithful to hope, to
hope’s boldness and courage, as they are extolled in the hymn to the
God of mercy which the Virgin teaches us.
The “sensus fidei”
of the People of God
Dimensions
of an authentic
liberation
99. The sensus fidei grasps the very core of
the liberation accomplished by the Redeemer.
It is from the most radical evil, from sin and
the power of death, that he has delivered us in order to restore freedom
57
to itself and to show it the right path. This path is marked out by
the supreme commandment, which is the commandment of love.
Liberation, in its primary meaning which is salvific, thus extends
into a liberating task, as an ethical requirement. Here is to be found
the social doctrine of the Church, which illustrates Christian practice
on the level of society.
The Christian is called to act according to the truth,144 and thus to
work for the establishment of that “civilization of love” of which Pope
Paul VI spoke.145 The present document, without claiming to be
complete, has indicated some of the directions in which it is urgently
necessary to undertake indepth reforms. The primary task, which is a
condition for the success of all the others, is an educational one. The
love which guides commitment must henceforth bring into being new
forms of solidarity. To the accomplishment of these tasks urgently
facing the Christian conscience, all people of good will are called.
It is the truth of the mystery of salvation at work today in order
to lead redeemed humanity towards the perfection of the Kingdom
which gives true meaning to the necessary efforts for liberation in
the economic, social and political orders and which keeps them from
falling into new forms of slavery.
The task
that lies ahead
100. It is true that before the immensity
and the complexity of the task, which can re
quire the gift of self even to an heroic degree,
many are tempted to discouragement, scepticism or the recklessness of
despair. A formidable challenge is made to hope, both theological and
human. The loving Virgin of the Magnificat, who enfolds the Church
and humanity in her prayer, is tire firm support of hope. For in her
we contemplate the victory’ of divine love which no obstacle can hold
■“ Cf. Jn 3, 21.
Cf. Paul VI, General Audience of 31 December 1975: L'Osscrualore Romano, 1 January
1976, p. 1. John Pau! II took up this idea again in the Discourse to the "Meding lor Friendship
Between People" of 29 August 1982: L’Osseruatore Romano, 30-31 August 1982. The LatinAmerican Bishops also alluded to this idea in the Message to the Peoples o/ Latin-America,
8, and in the Puebla Document, 1188 and 1192.
58
back, and we discover to what sublime freedom God raises up the
lowly. Along the path which she shows us, the faith which works
through love must go forward with great resolve.'*5
During an audience granted to the undersigned Prefect, His Holiness,
Pope John Paul II, approved this Instruction, adopted in an ordinary
session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and ordered
it to be published.
Given at Rome, from the Congregation, March 22, 1986, the So
lemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord.
Joseph Card. Ratzinger
Prefect
8B Alberto Bovone
Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Numidia
Secretary
Cf. Gal 5, 6.
COM? LORD
"Do not smile and say
You are already with us
Millions do not know you
and to us who do.
What is the difference ?
What is the point of your presence
if our lives do not alter ?
Change our lives, shatter
our complacency,
Make youi word
flesh of our flesh
blood of our blood
and our life's purpose-
Take away the quietness
of a clear conscience.
Press us uncomfortably
For only thus
that other peace is made
YOUR PEACE".
— Helder Camara
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