SOLLICITUDO

REI SOCIALIS
Concern of the Church for the Social Order
HISTORY
 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis is an encyclical writer by Pope John Paul II on the 30th of December
1987. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis was written in regard to “Social Concern” to indicate the 20th
anniversary pf the encyclical Populorum Progressio.
 “The Church has something to say today, just as twenty years ago, and also in the
future”. - Pope John Paul II
 Populorum Progressio- The Earth belongs to EVERYONE not to the RICH.
 John Paul II analyses the current state of development in terms of conflict between Eastern
and Western blocs. He says this conflict is often played out by proxy wars in the global
south, and contributes to underdevelopment there.
 The Cold War was a period of increased tensions and competition for global influence
between the United States that lasted from approximately 1945 until 1991. Tensions
increased in the aftermath of World War II when the United States dropped the atom bomb
and Russian forces took over Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, the United States and
the Soviet Union never directly attacked one another, but instead fought proxy wars in
order to repel or spread communism, respectively.
PROBLEMS:
 Widening the gap between developed and developing countries in varieties
of ideas such as:
 A. Production and distribution of goods
 B. Hygiene
 C. Health and housing
 D. Availability of drinking water
 E. Working conditions (especially for women)

SOLUTIONS:
Pope created the Church’s Social Doctrine- option for the poor. It inspires to
help the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those people who has less/no
access to medical care, and above all, those who people who are hopeless
for the better future.
 The Pople also recognize social sins as the collective behavior of certain
social groups of whole nations and blocs of nations which the church
proclaims to be cases of Social Sin that result from the accumulation and
concentration of many personal sins.
 Social Sin- social evils that include the squelching of basic human rights;
religious, cultural and racial discrimination; violence and terrorism; torture
and repression; stockpiling of arms; and an ‘unfair distribution of the
world’s resources and of the assets of civilization’ that aggravates the gap
between the rich and poor.
THEMES:
 A. Dignity of the human person- human beings are created in the image
of God, therefore, are endowed with dignity.
 B. The common good- individuals live in common with others and the
rights of individuals must be balanced with the wider common good of all.
The rights and needs of others must be always respected.
 C. Solidarity- human beings are social by nature and do not exist merely
as individuals.
 D. Option for the poor- this refers to seeing the world through the eyes
of the poor and standing with the poor in solidarity. This should lead to
action for justice with and on behalf of those who are poor and
marginalized.
CONCLUSION
 Development must respect one’s religion and way of life. With this, human
rights should also be promoted. The church has its duties to relieve the
sorrow of suffering and work within a hierarchy of values to supply the
basic need of humanity.
 Humanity’s journey toward development is often in danger of not obeying
God’s will and falling to the temptation od idolatry. While men and women
look for development in this world, the death of Christ infinitely exceeds
any progress we could obtain. Even humanity struggles to grapple with
underdevelopment and superdevelopment, we must keep in our minds that
one day all the works and actions that are worthy on man will be
redeemed.
REFERENCES
 https://social-spirituality.net/catholic-social-teaching/sollicitudo-rei-socialis-o
n-social-concerns/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRNsZtpuYIA
 https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/dccirp/pdfs/articlesforresourc/Article_-_Hi
nze,_Christine_1.pdf
 https://prezi.com/nvgfqjehiavy/sollicitudo-rei-socialis/
 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/postwar-er
a/v/origins-of-the-cold-war