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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