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GEORGIA PUL L E TIN
THURSDAY. APRIL II, 1963
The Purpose Of Public Authority
country increases its arma
ments, others feel the need to
do the same; and if one coun
try is equipped with nuclear
weapons, other countries must
produce their own, equally de
structive.
Consequently, people live in
constant fear iest the storm that
every moment threatens should
break upon them with dreadful
violence. And with Rood rea
son. for the arms of war are
ready at hand. Even though it
is difficult to believe that any
one would deliberately take the
responsibility for the appalling
destruction and sorrow that war
would bring in its train, it can
not be denied that the confla
gration may be set off by some
uncontrollable and unexpected
chance. And one must bear in
mind that, even though the
monstrous power of modem
weapons acts as a deterrent, it
is to be feared that the mere
continuance of nuclear tests,
undertaken with war in mind,
will have fatal consequences for
life on the earth.
Justice, then, right reason
and humanity urgently demand
that the arms race should cease.
That the stockpiles which exist
in various countries should be
reduced equally and simultane
ously by the parties concerned.
That nuclear weapons should be
banned. And that a general
agreement should eventually be
reached about progressive dis
armament and an effective
method of control. In the words
of Pius XII, our predecessor of
happy memory: 'The calamity
of a world war, with the eco
nomic and social ruin and the
moral excesses and dissolution
that accompany it, must not be
■permitted to envelop the hu
man race for a third time.” (59)
! All must realize that there is
no hope of putting an end to
the building up of armaments,
nor of reducing the present
stocks, nor. still less, of abolish
ing them altogether, unless the
iprocess is complete and thor
ough and unless it proceeds
from inner convictions: unless,
that is. everyone sincerely
cooperates to banish the fear
and anxious expectation of war
with which men are oppressed.
If this is to come about, the
fundamental principle on which
our present peace depends must
be replaced by another, which
declares that the true and solid
peace of nations consists not ini
equality of arms, but in mutual
trust alone. We believe that this
can be brought to pass, and wa
consider that it is something
which reason requires, that it
is eminently desirable in itself
and that it will prove to be the
source of many benefits.
In the first place, it is an
objective demanded by reason.
There can be, or at least there
should be, no doubt that rela
tions between states, as between
individuals, should be regulated
not by the force of arms, but
by the light of reason, by the
rule, that is, of truth, of justice
and of active and sincere co
operation.
Secondly, we say that it is
an objective earnestly to be de
sired in itself. Is there anyone
who does not ardently yearn to
see war banished, to see peace
preserved and daily more firmly
established ?
And finally, it is an objectiv#
which will be a fruitful sourc*
of many benefits, for its advan*
tages will be felt everywhere,
by individuals, by families, bv
nations, by the whole human,
family. The warning of Pius
XII still rings in our ears:
"Nothing is lost by peace. Ev
erything may be lost by war.’'
(60)
Since this is so, we, the vicar
on earth of Jesus Christ, Sav
iour of the world and author of
peace, and as interpreter of the
very profound longing of the
entire human family, following
the impulse of our heart, seized
by anxiety for the good of a)'.,
we feel it our duty to beseech
men, especially those who have
the responsibility of public af
fairs, to spare no labor in order
to insure that the world events
follow' a reasonable and human
course.
In the highest and most au
thoritative assemblies. Ici men
give serious thought to the
problem of a peaceful adjust
ment of relations between po
litical communities on a world
level: an adjustment founded on
mutual tiust. on sincerity in ne
gotiations. on faithful fulfill
ment of obligations assumed.
Let them study the problem
until they find that point of
agreement from which it will
be possible to commence to go
fonvard towards accords that
will be sincere, lasting and
fruitful.
We. tor our part, will not
cease to pray God to bless these
labors so that they may lead
to fruitful results.
It has also to be boove in
mind that relations between
states should be based on frae-
dom. yiat is to say, that no
country may unjustly oppress
others or unduly meddle in their
affairs. On the contrary, all
should help to develop in oth
ers a sense of responsibility, a
spirit of enterprise and an ear
nest desire to be the first to
promote their own advancement
in every field.
Nevertheless, unfortunately,
the law of fear still reigns
among peoples, and it forces
them to spend fabulous sums
for armaments: not for aggres
sion, they affirm—and there is
no reason for not believing
them—but to dissuade others
from aggression.
There is reason to hope, how
ever, that by meeting and ne
gotiating, men may come to
discover better the bonds that
unite them together, deriving
from the human nature which
they have in common. And that
they may also come to discover
that one of the most profound
requirements of heir common
nature is this: that between
them and their respective peo
ples it is not fear which should
reign but love, a love which
tends to express itself In a col
laboration that is loyal, mani
fold in form and productive of
many benefits.
The Evolution of Economic*
ally Underdeveloped Coun
ties
Because all men are joined
together by reason of their com
mon origin, their redemption by
Christ and their supernatural
destiny, and are called to form
one single family, we appealed
in the encyclical “Mater et Mag-
istra” to economically developed
nations to come to the aid of
those which were in the process
of development. (61)
We are greatly consoled to
see how widely that appeal has
he£n favorably received. And we
« e confident that even wore so
A the future it will contribute
to the end that the poorer coun
tries, in as short a time as pos
sible, will arrive at that degree
of economic development which
will enable every citizen to live
in conditions in keeping with
his human dignity.
But ft Is never sufficiently
repeated that the cooperation,
to which reference has been
made, should be effected with
the greatest respect for the lib
erty of the countries being de
veloped, for these must realize
that they are primarily respon
sible, and that they are the
principal artisans in the pro
motion of their own economic
development and social prog
ress.
Our predecessor Phis XII al
ready proclaimed that in the
field of a new order founded on
moral principles, there is no
room for violation of freedom,
integrity and security of other
nations, no matter what may
be their territorial extension or
their capacity for defense. It
fs inevitable that the powerful
states, by reason of their great
er potential and their power,
should pave the way in the es
tablishment of economic groups
comprising not only themselves
but also smaller and weaker
states as well. It is nevertheless
indispensable that in the inter
ests of the common good they,
as all others, should respect the
rights of those smaller states
This Official Text Is Reprinted
Through The Kind Permission
tiply their meetings or sharpen
their wits in efforts to draw
up new juridical instruments,
they are no longer capable of
facing the task of finding an
adequate solution to the prob
lems mentioned above. And this
is not due to a lack of good
will or of a spirit of enter
prise, but because of a struc
tural defect which hinders them.
Of The New York Times
It can be said, therefore, that
at this historical moment the
present system of organization
and the way its principle of
authority operates on a world
basis no longer correspond to
the objective requirements of
the universal common good.
to political freedom, to econom
ic development and to the ade
quate protection, ha the case of
conflicts between nations, of
that neutrality which is theirs
according to the natural, as
well as international, law. In
this way. and in this way only,
will they be able to obtain a
fitting share of the common
good, and assure the material
and spiritual welfare of their
people. (62)
It is vitally important, there
fore. that the wealthier states,
in providing varied forms of
assistance to the poorer, should
respect the moral values and
ethnic characteristics peculiar
to each, and also that they
should avoid any intention of
political domination. If this is
done, a precious contribution
will be made towards the for
mation of a world community,
a community in which each
Member, whilst conscious of its
own individual right and duties,
will work in a relationship of
equality towards the attainment
of the universal common good.
(63)
Signs of the Times
Men are becoming more and
more convinced that disputes
which arise between states
should not be resolved by re
course to arms, but rather by
negotiation.
It is true that on historical
grounds this conviction is based
chiefly on the terrible destruc
tive force of modem arms. And
it is nourished by the horror
aroused in the mind by the very
thought of the cruel destruc
tion and the immense suffer
ing which the use of those arm
aments would bring to the hu
man family. And for this rea
son it is hardly possible to
imagine that in the atomic era
war could be used as an instru
ment of justice.
Recent progress of science
and technology has profoundly
affected human beings and In
fluenced men to work together
and live as one family. There
has been a great increase in the
circulation of ideas, of per
sons and of goods from one
country to another, so that re
lations have become closer be
tween individuals, families and
intermediate associations be
longing to different political
communities, and between the
public authorities of those com
munities. At the same time the
interdependence of national
economies has grown deeper,
one becoming progressively
more closely related to the oth
er, so that they become, as it
were, integral parts of the one
world economy. Likewise the so
cial progress, order, security
and peace of each country are
necessarily connected with the
social progress, order, security
and peace of all other countries.
At the present day no poli
tical community is able to pur
sue its owm interests and de
velop itself in isolation, because
the degree of its prosperity and
development is a reflection and
and peace of all other coun-
a compcnent part of the degree
of prosperity and development
of all tW other political com
munities.
Insufficiency of Modern
States to Ensure the
Universal Common Good
The unity of the human fam
ily has always existed, because
its members were human beings
all equal by virtue of their na
tural dignity. Hence there will
always exist the objective need
to promote, in sufficient meas
ure, the universal common good,
that is the common good of the
entire human family.
In times past, one would ne
justified in feeling that the
public authorities of the differ
ent political communities might
be in a position to provide for
the universal common good,
either through normal diplo
matic channels or through top-
level meetings, by making use
of juridical instruments such as
conventions and treaties, for
example: juridical instruments
suggested by the natural law
and regulated by the law of
nations and international law.
As a result of the far-reach
ing changes which have taken
place in the relations between
the human family, the universal
common good gives rise to
problems which are complex,
very grave and extremely ur
gent, especially as regards se
curity and world peace.
On the other hand, the puo-
11c authorities of the individual
political communities — placed
as they are on a footing of
equality one with the other—
no matter how much they mul
There exists an intrinsic con
nection between the common
good on the one hand and the
structure and funcuon of public
authority on the other. The
moral order, which needs public
authority in order to promote
the common good in human so
ciety, requires also that the au
thority be effective in attaining
that end. This demands that the
organs through which the au
thority is formed, becomes op
erative and pursues its ends,
must be composed and act in
such a manner as to be capable
of bringing to realization the
new meaning which the common
good is taking on in the his
torical evolution of the human
family.
Today the universal common
good poses problems of world
wide dimensions, which cannot
be adequately tackled or solved
except by the efforts of public
authorities endowed with a
wideness of powers, structure
and means of the same propor
tions: that is, of public authori
ties which are in a position to
operate in an effective manner
on a worldwide basis. The mor
al order itself, therefore, de
mands that such a form of pub
lic authority be established.
Public Authority Instituted
by Common Consent and
Not Imposed by Force
A public authority, having
worldwide power and endowed
with the proper means for the
efficacious pursuit of its ob
jective, which is the universal
common good In concrete form,
must be set up by common ac
cord and not imposed by force.
The reason is that such an au
thority must be in a position
to operate effectively yet, at the
same time, its action must be
inspired by sincere and real im
partiality: in other words, it
must be an action aimed at
satisfying the objective require
ments of the universal common
good. The difficulty is that there
would be reason to fear that a
supernational or worldwide pub
lic authority, imposed by force
by the more powerful political
communities, might be or might
become an instrument of one
sided interests and even should
this not happen, it would be
difficult for it to avoid all sus
picion of partiality in its ac
tions, and this would take from
the efficaciousness of its ac
tivity