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Archdiocese of Atlanta
the
GEORGIA BULLETIN
SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
GEORGIA BULLETIN ENCYCLICAL SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1963
English Text - 4 Pacem In Terris’
Encyclical letter of His Holiness John XXIII, by Divine Pro
vidence Pope, to the venerable brothers the patriarchs, primates,
archbishops 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, on establishing universal
peace in truth, justice charity and liberty.
To our venerable brothers the patriarchs, primates, arch
bishops, bishops and other local ordinaries in peace and com
munion with the Apostolic See, to the clergy and faithful of die
whole world and all men of goodwill: Pope John XX III: venerable
brothers and beloved children, health and apostolic benediction.
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 be dutifully ob
served. The progress of learn
ing and the inventions of tech
nology clearly show that, both
in living things and in the
forces of nature, an astonishing
order reigns, and they also bear
witness to the greatness of
man, who can understand that
order and create suitable instru
ments to harness those forces
of nature and use them to hi*
benefit.
But the progress of science
and the inventions of technolo
gy show above all the infinite
greatness of God, who created
the universe and man himself.
He created all things out of
nothing, pouring into Own the
abundance of His wisdom and
goodness, so that the holy
psalmist praises God in these
words: “O Lord our master!
The majesty of Thy name fills
all the earth." (1 > Elsewhere he
says: "What diversity, Lord, in
they creatures! What wisdom
has designed them sll!" (2) God
also created man in his own
image and likeness, (3)endowed
him with intelligence and free
dom, and made him lord of cre
ation, as the same psalmist de
clares in the words: “Thou hast
placed him only a little Mow
the angels, crowning him with
glory and honor and bidding
him rule over the work* of thy
hands. Thou hast put all under
his dominion." (4)
How strongly does the tur
moil of individual men and peo
ples contrast with the perfect
order of the universe! It is as
if the relationships which bind
them together could be con
trolled only by force. But the
creator of the world ha* im
printed in man's heart an order
which his conscience reveals to
him and enjoins him to obey:
This shows that the obligations
of the law are written in their
hearts, their conscience utters
r.s own testimony. i5> And how
could it be otherwise? For
whatever God has made shows
forth His infinite wisdom, and
it is manifested mpre clearly in
the things which have greater
perfection. (6)
But fickleness of opinion
often produces this error, that
many think that the relation
ships between men and states
can be governed by the same
laws as the forces and irra
tional elements of the universe,
whereas the laws governing
them are of quite a different
kind and are to be sought else
where, namely, where the
Father of all things wrote
them, that is, in the nature of
man. By these laws men are
most admirably taught, first of
all how they should conduct
their mutual dealings among
themselves, then how the rela
tionships 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
ail peoples, should act towards
each other, the establishment of
such a world community of
peoples being urgently demand
ed today by the requirements
of universal common good.
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 person, that is,
his nature is endowed with in
telligence and free will. By vir
tue of this, he has rights and
duties of his own, flowing di
rectly and simultaneously from
his very nature, which are
therefore universal, inviolable
and inalienable. 7
If we look upon the dignity
of the human person in tne 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.
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,
tb bodily integrity and to the
means which are necessary and
suitable for the proper develop
ment of life. These are primar
ily food, clothing, shelter, rest,
medical care and, finally, the
necessary social services. There
fore, a human being also has
the right to security in cases
n# sickness, inability to work,
widowhood, old age, unemploy
ment, or in any other case in
which he is deprived of the
means of subsistence through
no fault of his own. 8
Right Pertaining to Moral
and Cultural Values
By the natural law every hu
man being has the right to re
spect for his person, to his good
reputation; the right to free
dom in searching for truth and
in expressing and communicat
ing this opinions, and in pursuit
of art, within tne limits laid
down by the moral order and
the common good. And he has
the right to be informed truth
fully 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 educa
tion and to technical and pro
fessional training in keeping
with the stage of educational
development in the country to
which he belongs. Every effort
should be made to insure that
persons be enabled, on the basis
of merit, to go on to higher
studies, so that, as far as poss
ible, they may occupy posts and
take on responsibilities in hu
man society in accordance with
their natural gifts and the skills
they have acquired. 9
The Right to Worship God
According to One’s
Conscience
Every human oeing has the
right to honor God according
to the dictates of an upright
conscience, and therefore the
right to worship God privately
and publicly. For, as Lactantius
so clearly taught: We were cre
ated for the purpose of showing
to the God who bore us the sub
mission we owe Him, or recog
nizing Him alone, and of serv
ing Him. We are obliged and
bound by this duty to God. From
this religion itself receives its
name. 10 And on this point our
predecessor of immortal mem
ory, Leo XIII, declared: “This
genuine, 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 la
the church, and always mos'
dear to her. This was the free
dom which the apologists
claimed with intrepid constan
cy, which the apologists de
fended with their writings, and
which the martyrs in such
numbers consecrated with their
blood.” 11
The Right to £hoose 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. 12
The family, grounded on mar
riage freely contracted, monog
amous and indissoluble, is and
must be considered the first and
essential cell of human society.
To it must be given every con
sideration of an economic, so
cial. cultural and moral nature
which will strengthen its sta
bility and facilitate the fulfil
ment of its specific mission.
Parents, however, have a
prior right in the support and
education of their children. 13
Economic Rights
Human beings have the nat
ural right to free initiative in
the economic field, and the
right to work. (14)
Indissolubly linked with those
rights is the right to working
eonditions in which physical
health is not endangered, morals
are safeguarded and young peo
ple’s normal development is not
impaired. Women have the right
to working conditions in accord
ance with their requirements
and their duties as wives and
mothers. (15)
From the dignity of the hu
man person, there also arises
the right to carry on economic
activities according to the de
gree of responsibility of which
one is capable. 16 Furthermore
—and this must be specially
emphasized—there is the right
to a working wage, determined
according to criterions of jus
tice and sufficient, therefore,,in
proportion to the available re
sources, to give the worker and
his family a standard of living
in keeping with the dignity of
the human person. In this re
gard, our predecessor Pius XH
said: “To the personal duty to
work imposed by nature, there
corresponds and follows the nat
ural right of each individual to
make of his work the means to
provide for his own life and the
lives of his children. So pro
foundly is the empire of nature
ordained for the preservation of
man.” (17 >
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 responsibility
in all fields; it strengthens and
gives serenity to family life,
thereby increasing the peace
and prosperity of the state.(18)
However, it is opportune to
point out that there is a social
duty essentially inherent in the
right of private property. (19)
The Right of Meeting and
Association
From the fact that human
beings are by nature social,
there arises the right of assem
bly and association. They have
also the right to give the socie
ties of which they are members
the form they consider most
suitable for the aim they have
in view, and to act within such