Catholic social teaching: A “new grace” of the Spirit

by Joseph Nangle, OFM
Pax Christi USA 2023 Teacher of Peace

Now comes Pentecost, that truly glorious day, when we remember and celebrate the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to his disciples at the Last Supper: “when the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” (John 15:28) We also marvel at what happened to those timorous followers of Jesus, when “from the sky a noise like a driving wind filled the entire house where they were… and there appeared to them tongues of fire, which
parted and came to rest of each one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:2-3) They broke out and began boldly to proclaim the Risen Christ.

In our time the influence of the Holy Spirit feels more subtle. We can all point to experiences when we do feel Her inspiration. And we hold to our conviction that “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.” However, one wonders at times where this powerful Presence has been, particularly in our institutional Church – or perhaps more accurately, in the human beings who make up that institution. They often seem to be deaf to Her testimony. There is much to lament in our times with regard to the organized Church – and always has been – except for that pristine time when “the community of believers was of one heart and mind.” (Acts 4:32)

Yet there are Catholic experience towering and continuing manifestations of what Jesus promised: “the Spirit of truth who will guide you in all truth” (Acts 16:13): Catholic social teaching (CST). Since the dawn of modernity, the Church has given evidence of this “new grace of the Holy Spirit.” As the world began to change dramatically at the beginning of the 20th century, CST has set forth detailed and inspiring reflections/teachings on the new challenges to humanity and to Gospel living. Much of this “new grace” has come to us in the form of papal encyclicals.

We tend to speak of Catholic social teaching perhaps without fully understanding its scope. Except for a few phrases from one or the other of these documents they seem not to be major sources of preaching or our catechetics. In fact, they have been called “our best kept secret.”

To help us access the influence of the Spirit in our times, it will be helpful to list the major themes addressed by Catholic social teaching throughout the last century and one quarter. If they are familiar at all, it is by their usual designation: the first words of the original Latin or Italian texts (for example “Laudato si”).

Here we have their actual titles and clues as to the content of each.

• “The Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor” (Rerum Novarum – Pope Leo XIII, 1891)
• “The Reconstruction of the Social Order” (Quadragesimo Anno – Pope Pius XI, 1931)
• “Christianity and Social Progress” (Mater et Magistra – Pope St. John XXII, 1961)
• “On Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, Charity and Liberty” (Pacem in Terris – Pope St. John XXIII, 1963)
• “On the Development of Peoples” (Populorum Progressio – Pope Paul VI, 1967)
• “On The Regulation of Human Births” (Humanae Vitae – Pope Paul VI, 1968)
• “A Call to Action” (Octogesima Adveniens – Pope Paul VI, 1971)
• “On Human Work” (Laborem Exercens – Pope St. John Paul II, 1981)
• “On Social Concerns” (Solicitudo Rei Socialis – Pope St. John Paul II, 1987)
• “The Centenary of the Encyclical ‘The Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor’” (Centesimus Annus – Pope St. John Paul II, 1991)
• “Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth” (Caritas In Veritate – Pope Benedict XVI, 2009)
• “On Care for Our Common Home” (Laudato si – Pope Francis, 2015)
• “On Fraternity and Social Friendship” (Fratelli Tutti – Pope Francis, 2020)

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Joe Nangle OFM is a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and the 2023 Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace. As a member of the Assisi Community in Washington, D.C., he is dedicated to simple living and social change. Joe also serves as the Pastoral Associate for the Latino community at Our Lady Queen of Peace, Arlington, Virginia.