Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, April 27, 1963
TEXT OF ENCYCLICAL PACEM
The following is the first in a series
of installments of the text of the ency
clical Pacem in Terris (Peace on
Earth) of His Holiness Pope John XXIII.
Dated Holy Thursday, April 11th, it was
released by the Vatican Press Office
on April 10th.
To Our Venerable Brothers
The Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops,
Bishops And Other Local Ordinaries
In Peace And Communion
With The Apostolic See
To The Clergy And Faithful
Of The Whole World And
To All Men Of Good Will
Pope John XXIII
Venerable Brothers
And Beloved Children,
Health And Apostolic Benediction
Introduction
Order in the
Universe
Peace on earth, which men of
every era have most eagerly
yearned for, can be firmly es
tablished only if the order laid
down by God is dutifully observ
ed.
The progress of learning and
the inventions of technology
clearly show that, both in living
things and in the forces of na
ture, an astonishing order
reigns, and they also bear wit
ness to the greatness of man,
who can understand that order
and create suitable instruments
to harness those forces of
nature and use them to his bene
fit.
But the progress of science
and the inventions of technology
show above all the infinite great
ness of God, who created the
universe and man himself. He
created all things out of nothing,
pouring into them the abundance
of His wisdom and goodness,
so that the holy psalmist prais
es God in these words: “O
Lord, our Lord, how glorious
is your name over all the
earth.” Elsewhere he says:
"How manifold are your works,
O Lord! In wisdom you have
wrought them all.”
God also created man in His
own “image and likeness,” en
dowed him with intelligence and
freedom, and made him lord of
creation, as the same psalmist
declares in the words: “You
have made him little less than
the angels, and crowned him
with glory and honor. You have
given him rule over the works
of your hands, putting all things
under his feet.”
Order in
Human Beings
How strongly does the turmoil
of individual men and peoples
contrast with the perfect order
of the universe! It is as if the
relationships which bind them
together could be controlled
only by force. But the Creator
of the world has imprinted in
man’s heart an order which his
conscience reveals to him and
enjoins him to obey: “They
show the work of the Law writ
ten in their hearts. Their con
science bears witness to them.”
And how could it be other
wise? For whatever God has
made shows forth His infinite
wisdom, and it is manifested
more clearly in the things
which gave greater perfection.
But fickleness of opinion often
produces this error, that many
think that the relationships be
tween men and States can be
governed by the same laws as
the forces and irrational ele
ments of the universe, whereas
the laws governing them are of
quite a different kind and are
to be sought elsewhere, namely,
where the Father of all things
wrote them, that is, in the na
ture of man.
By these laws men are most
admirably taught, first of all
how they should conduct their
mutual dealings among them
selves, then how the relation
ships between the citizens and
the public authorities of each
State should be regulated, then
how States should deal with one
another, and finally how, on the
one hand individual men and
States, and on the other hand
the community of all peoples,
should act toward each other,
the establishment of such a
world community of peoples
being urgently demanded today
by the requirements of univer
sal common good. »
Part I
Order Between Men
Every Man Is
a Person with
Rights and Duties
First of all, it is necessary
to speak of the order which
should exist between men. Any
human society, if it is to be
well ordered and productive,
must lay down as a foundation
this principle, namely, that
every human being is a per
son, that is, his nature is en
dowed with intelligence and free
will. By virtue of this, he has
rights and duties of his own,
flowing directly and simultan
eously from his very nature,
which are therefor universal,
inviolable and inalienable.
If we look upon the dignity
of the human person in the light
of divinely revealed truth, we
cannot help but esteem it far
more highly. For men are re
deemed by the blood of Jesus
Christ, They are by grace the
Children and friends of God
and heirs of eternal glory.
Rights
The Right to Life
and a Worthy
Standard of Living
Beginning our discussion of
the rights of man, we see that
every man has the right to life,
to bodily integrity, and to the
means which are necessary and
suitable for the proper devel
opment of life. These are pri
marily food, clothing, shelter,
rest, medical care, and finally
the necessary social services.
Therefore a human being also
has the right to security in
cases of sickness, inability to
work, widowhood, old age, un
employment, or in any other
case in which he is deprived
of the means of subsistence
through no fault of his own.
Rights Pertaining
to Moral and
Cultural Values
By the natural law every
human being has the right to
respect for his person, to his
good reputation; the right to
freedom in searching for truth
and in expressing and commun
icating his opinions, and in
pursuit of art, within the limits
laid down by the moral order
and the common good; and he
has the right to be informed
truthfully about public events.
The natural law also gives
man the right to share in the
benefits of culture, and there
fore the right to a basic edu
cation and to technical and
professional training in keeping
with the stage of educational
development in the country to
which he belongs. Every effort
should be made to ensure that
persons be enabled, on the basis
of merit, to go on to higher
studies, so that, as far as
possible, they may occupy posts
and take on responsibilities in
human society in accordance
with their natural gifts and the
skills they have acquired.
The Right to Worship
God According
to One’s Conscience
Every human being has the
right to honor God according to
the dictates of an upright con
science, and therefore the right
to worship God privately and
publicly. For, as Lactantius so
clearly taught: “We were
created for the purpose of show
ing to the God who bore us the
submission we owe Him, of re
cognizing Him alone, and of
serving Him. We are obliged
and bound by this duty to God;
from this religion itself re
ceives its name.”
And on this point Our pre
decessor of immortal memory
Leo XIII, declared: * 'This genu
ine, this honorable freedom of
the sons of God, which most
nobly protects the dignity of the
human person, is greater than
any violence or injustice; it has
always been sought by the
Church, and always most dear
to her. This was the freedom
which the Apostles claimed with
intrepid constancy, which the
apologists defended with their
writings, and which the martyrs
in such numbers consecrated
with their blood.”
The Right to Choose
Freely One’s
State of Life
Human beings have the right
to choose freely the state of
life which they prefer, and
therefore the right to set up
a family, with equal rights and
duties for man and woman, and
also the right to follow a voca
tion to the priesthood or the
religious life.
The family, grounded on mar
riage freely contracted, mono
gamous and indissoluble, is
and must be considered the first
and essential cell of human so
ciety. To it must be given every
consideration of an economic,
social, cultural and moral na
ture which will strengthen its
stability and facilitate the ful
filment of its specific mission.
Parents, however, have a pri
or right in the support and edu
cation of their children.
Economic Rights
Human beings have the
natural right to free initiative
in the economic field and the
right to work.
Indissolubly linked with those
rights is the right to working
conditions in which physical
health is not endangered,
morals are safeguarded and
young people’s normal develop
ment is not impaired. Women
have the right to working condi
tions in accordance with their
requirements and their duties
as wives and mothers.
From the dignity of the human
person there also arises the
right to carry on economic ac
tivities according to the degree
of responsibility of which one
is capable. Furthermore—and
this must be specifically em
phasized—there is the right
to a working wage, determined
according to criterions of
justice, and therefore sufficient
in proportion to the available
resources, to give the worker
and his family a standard of
living in keeping with the dignity
of the human person. In this
regard, Our predecessor Pius
XII said:
“To the personal duty to
work imposed by nature, there
corresponds and follows the
natural right of each individual
to make of his work the means
to provide for his own life and
the lives of his children; so
profoundly is the empire of na
ture ordained for the preserva
tion of man.”
The right to private property,
even of productive goods, also
derives from the nature of man.
This right, as We have else
where declared, “is a suitable
means for safeguarding the dig
nity of the human person and
for the exercise of responsi
bility in all fields; it stren
gthens and gives serenity to
family life, thereby increasing
the peace and prosperity of the
State.”
However, it is opportune to
point out that there is a social
duty essentially inherent in the
right of private property.
The Right of Meeting
and Association
From the fact that human
beings are by nature social,
there arises the right of as
sembly and association. They
have also the right to give the
societies of which they are
members the form they con
sider most suitable for the aim
they have in view, and to act
within such societies on their
own initiative and on their own
responsibility in order to
achieve their desired objec
tives.
We Ourselves stated in the
encyclical “Mater et Magistra”
that for the achievement of ends
which individual human beings
cannot attain except by associa
tion, it is necessary and indis
pensable to set up a great varie
ty of such intermediate groups
and societies in order to gua
rantee for the human person a
sufficient sphere of freedom and
responsibility.
The Right to
Emigrate
and Immigrate »
Every human being has the
right to freedom of movement
and of residence within the con
fines of his own country, and,
when there are just reasons for
it, the right to emigrate to other
countries and take up residence
there. The fact that one is a
citizen of a particular State
does not detract in any way from
his membership of the human
family as a whole, nor from his
citizenship of the world com
munity.
Political Rights
The dignity of the human per
son involves the right to take
an active part in public affairs
and to contribute one’s part
to the common good of the citi
zens. For, as Our predecessor
of happy memory, Pius XII,
pointed out: “The human indi
vidual, far from being an ob
ject and, as it were, a merely
passive element in the social
order, is in fact, must be and
must continue to be, its sub
ject, its foundation and its end.”
The human person is also en
titled to a juridical protection
of his rights, a protection that
should be efficacious, impartial
and inspired by the true norms
of justice.
As Our predecessor Pius XII
teaches: "That perpetual privi
lege proper to man, by which
every individual has a claim
to the protection of his rights,
and by which there is assigned
to each a definite and particular
sphere of rights, immune from
all arbitrary attacks, is the
logical consequence of the or
der of justice willed by God.
Duties
Rights and Duties
Necessarily Linked
in the One Person
The natural rights with which
We have been dealing are, how
ever, inseparably connected, in
the very person who is their
subject, with just as many re
spective duties. And rights as
well as duties find their source,
their sustenance and their in
violability in the natural law
which grants or enjoins them.
For example, the right of
every man to life is correlative
with the duty to preserve it;
his right to a decent standard
of living with the duty of living
it becomingly; and his right to
investigate the truth freely, with
the duty of seeking it and of
possessing it ever more com
pletely and profoundly.
Reciprocity of
Rights and Duties ,
Between Persons
Once this is admitted, it is
also clear that inhuman society
to one man’s right there
corresponds a duty in all other
persons: the duty, namely, of
acknowledging and respecting
the right in question. For every
fundamental human right draws
its indestructible moral force
from the natural law, which in
granting it imposes a corres
ponding obligation. Those,
therefore, who claim their own
rights, yet altogether forget or
neglect to carry out their re
spective duties, are people who
build with one hand and destroy
with the other.
Mutual Collaboration
Since men are social by na
ture, they are meant to live with
others and to work for one ano
ther’ s welfare. A well ordered
human society requires that
men recognize and observe
their mutual rights and duties.
It also demands that each con
tribute generously to the estab
lishment of a civic order in
which rights and duties are pro
gressively more sincerely and
effectively acknowledged and
fulfilled.
It is not enough, for example,
to acknowledge and respect
every man’s right to the means
of subsistence. One must also
strive to obtain that he actually
has enough in the way of food
and nourishment.
The society of men must not
only be organized but must also
provide them with abundant re
sources. This certainly re
quires that they observe and
recognize their mutual rights
and duties. It also requires
that they collaborate together
in the many enterprises that
modern civilization either al
lows or encouraged or even
demands.
An Attitude of
Responsibility
The dignity of the human per
son also requires that every
man enjoy the right to act freely
and responsibility. For this
reason, therefore, in social re
lations man should exercise his
rights, fulfill his obligations
and, in the countless forms of
collaboration with others, act
chiefly on his own responsibili
ty and initiative. This is to be
done in such a way that each one
acts on his own decision, of
set purpose and from a con
sciousness of his obligation,
without being moved by force or
pressure brought to bear on him
externally.
For any human society that is
established on relations of force
must be regarded as inhuman,
inasmuch as the personality of
its members is repressed or
restricted, when in fact tfre>
should be provided with appro
priate incentives and means
for developing and perfecting
themselves.
Social Life in Truth
Justice, Charity
and Freedom
A political society is to be
considered well ordered, bene
ficial and in keeping with human
dignity if it is grounded on
truth. As the Apostle Paul ex
horts us; “Wherefore, put away
lying and speak truth each one
with his neighbor, because we
are members of another.” This
demands that reciprocal rights
and duties be sincerely recog
nized.
Furthermore, human society
will be such as We have just
described it, if the citizens,
guided by justice, apply them
selves seriously to respecting
the rights of others and dis
charging their own duties; if
they are moved by such fervor
of charity as to make their own
the needs of others and share
with others their own goods;
if, finally, they work for a
progressively closer fellowship
in the world of spiritual values.
Human society is realized in
freedom, that is to say, in ways
and means in keeping with the
dignity of its citizens, who ac
cept the responsibility of their
actions precisely because they
are by nature rational beings.
Human society, venerable
brothers and beloved citizens
ought to be regarded above all
as a spiritual reality in which
men communicate knowledge to
each other in the light of truth,
in which they can enjoy their
rights and fulfill their duties,
and are inspired to strive for
moral good. Society should en
able men to share in and enjoy
every legitimate expression of
beauty, and encourage them
constantly to pass on to others
all that is best in themselves,
while 'they strive to make their
own the spiritual achievements
of others. These are the spiri
tual values which continually
give life and basic orientation
to cultural expressions, econo
mic and social institution,
political movements and forms,
laws, and all other structures
by which society is outwardly
established and constantly de
veloped.
God and the
Moral Order (
The order which prevails in
society is by nature moral.
Grounded as it is in truth, it
SIGNS ENCYCLICAL ON PEACE—His Holiness Pope John XXIII affixes his signature
to the latest papal encyclical, “Pacem et Terris” (Peace on Earth), in an unusual cere
mony that emphasized the importance he attached to his first encyclical devoted exclu
sively to the theme of peace. The 81-year-old Pontiff said it was a broad appeal addressed
“to all men of good will,” not only Catholics. The encyclical was released on Holy
Thursday.—(NC Photos)
IN TERRIS
must function according to the
norms of justice, it should be
inspired and perfected by mu
tual love, and finally it should
be brought to an ever more
refined and human balance in
freedom.
Now an order of this kind,
whose principles are universal,
absolute and unchangeable, has
its ultimate source in the one
true God, who is personal and
transcends human nature. Inas
much as God is the first truth
and the highest good, He alone
is that deepest source from
which human society can draw
its vitality, if that society is to
be well ordered, beneficial and
in keeping with human dignity.
As St. Thomas Aquinas says:
“Human reason is the norm of
the human will, according to
which its goodness is measur
ed, because reason derives
from the eternal law which is
the divine reason itself. It is
evident then that the goodness
of the human will depends much
more on the eternal law than on
human reason.”
Characteristics
of the Present Day
Our age has three distinctive
characteristics.
First of all, the working
classes have gradually gained
ground in economic and public
affairs. They began by claiming
their rights in the socio
economic sphere. They ex
tended their action then to
claims on the political level.
And finally they applied them
selves to the acquisition of the
benefits of a more refined cul
ture. Today, therefore, workers
all over the world refuse to be
treated as if they were irration
al objects without freedom, to be
used at the arbitrary disposi
tion of others. They insist that
they be always regarded as men
with a share in every sector of
human society: in the social
and economic sphere, in the
fields of learning and culture,
and in public life.
Secondly, it is obvious to
everyone that women are now
taking a part in public life.
This is happening more rapidly
perhaps in nations of Christian
civilization and, more slowly
but broadly, among peoples who
have inherited other traditions
or cultures. Since women are
becoming ever more conscious
of their human dignity, they will
not tolerate being treated as
mere material instruments, but
demand rights befitting a human
person both in domestic and in
public life.
Finally, the modern world,
as compared with the recent
past, has taken on an entirely
new appearance in the field of
social and political life. For
since all nations have either
achieved or are on the way
to achieving independence,
there will soon no longer exist
a world divided into nations that
rule others and nations that are
subject to others.
Men all over the world have
today—or will soon have—the
rank of citizens in independent
nations. No one wants to feel
subject to political powers lo
cated outside his own country
or ethnical group. Thus in very
many human beings the infer
iority complex which endured
for hundreds and thousands of
years is disappearing, while in
others there is an attenuation
and gradual fading of the cor
responding superiority complex
which had its roots in social-
economic privileges, sex or
political standing.
On the contrary, the convic
tion that all men are equal by
reason of their natural dignity
has been generally accepted.
Hence racial discrimination can
in no way be justified, at least
doctrinally or in theory. And
this is of fundamental impor
tance and significance for the
formation of human society ac
cording to those principles
which We have outlined above, m
For, if a man becomes con
scious of his rights, he must ^
become equally aware of his
duties. Thus he who possesses
certain rights has likewise the
duty to claim those rights as
marks of his dignity, while all
others have the obligation to ac
knowledge those rights and re
spect them.
When the relations of human
society are expressed in terms
of rights and duties, men
become conscious of spiritual
values and understand the
meaning and significance of
truth, justice, charity and free
dom. They become deeply aware
that they belong to this world
of values. Moreover, when mov
ed by such concerns, they are
brought to a better knowledge of
the true God who is personal
and transcendent, and thus they
make the ties that bind them to
God the solid foundations and
supreme criterions of their
lives, both of that life which
they live interiorly in the depths
of their own souls and of that
in which they are united to
other men in society.
“PACEM IN TERRIS” IS
14TH PEACE ENCYCLICAL
IN TWENTIETH CENTURY
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
Pacem in Terris is the 14th
encyclical of the 20th century
based on peace.
Pope Benedict XV wrote
three. Pope Pius XI wrote one.
Pope Pius XII wrote nine. It is
the first for His Holiness Pope
John XXIII.
Pope Benedict XV’s first en
cyclical (November 1, 1914) Ad
Beatissimi: (Appeal for Peace)
explained that world unrest was
due to lack of love, contempt for
authority, injustice and greed.
In Quod lam Diu (On the Fu
ture Peace Conference) issued
on December 1, 1918, shortly
after the end of World War I,
the same Pope called on Catho
lics to thank God that the war
was over and urged them to
pray for divine guidance for the
members of the Versailles
peace conference.
Two years later, Pope Bene
dict wrote in Pacem, Dei Munus
Pulcherrimum (On Peace and
Christian Reconciliation) (May
23, 1920) that genuine forgive
ness is a necessary prelude to
peace and that he was grieved
at continued ill will among na
tions.
Pope Pius XI also appealed
for peace in his first encycli
cal (Dec. 23, 1922) Ubi Arcano
(On the Peace of Christ in the
Kingdom of Christ). He re
viewed the conditions which fol
lowed World War I—hatred be
tween nations, fear of the future,
class warfare, breakdown of
family life and spiritual dis
ruption—and urged that men
restore God to public and pri
vate life as the only source of
peace.
Pope Pius XII issued his
first peace encyclical on April
15, 1945. In Communium Inter-
pretes Dolorum (To the Bishops
of the world: appeal for prayers
for peace during May) he said
that conduct will change if men
have a change of heart and that
peace depends on justice and
charity.
—In Optatissima Pax (De
cember 18, 1947) (Prescribing
public prayers for social and
world peace) he said that in the
world crisis all must put com
mon welfare before private ad
vantage and that generous works
must be joined to prayer.
—In Auspicia Quaedam (Pub
lic prayers during May for
world peace and solution of the
Palestine problem) (May 1,
1948) he said that peace was
not reigning although war had
stopped in most lands.
—Pope Pius XII spoke out on
the Palestine question again
(October 24, 1948) In Multi-
plicibus Curis (Prayers for
peace in Palestine) when he
said that peace must guarantee
individual rights, ancestral
customs and fulfilment of recip
rocal duties.
—He called for public pray
ers for peace again (July 19,
1950) in Summi Maeroris (Pub
lic prayers for peace) and said
that people want peace but do not
use the right means: prayer,
penance, expiation and obser
vance of the Commandments.
—In Mirabile Illud (Crusade
of prayer for peace) (December
6, 1950) Pope Pius XII called
for a sacred crusade to oppose
unrestrained struggle among
peoples.
—After the abortive Hungar
ian revolution of October 1956, h
Pius XII issued Luctuosissimi
Eventus. (Urging prayers for a
pqace based on justice for the
people of Eastern Europe, par
ticularly the Hungarians) (Oc
tober 28, 1956), in which he
condemned the shocking viola
tion of civil rights and personal
liberty.
—In Laetamur Admodum
(Renewing prayers for peace
especially for the Middle East)
(November 1, 1956), he asked
for prayers for solution of the
Egypt-Israeli crisis.
—In Datis Nuperrime (La
menting the sorrowful events
in Hungary and condemning the
ruthless use of force) (Novem
ber 5, 1956), he condemned the
brutal attack on freedom and
urged the world to make efforts
toward a just peace.