6. Populorum Progressio
English title: The Development of Peoples
Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI, March 26 1967
Private property does not constitute for anyone an absolute or
unconditioned right. No one is justified in keeping for his exclusive
use what he does not need, when others lack necessities....
The right to property must never be exercised to the detriment
of the common good. (#23)
"If someone who has the riches of this world sees his brother in
need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in
him?" (1 Jn 3:17). It is well known how strong were the words used
by the Fathers of the Church to describe the proper attitude of persons
who possess anything towards persons in need. To quote Saint Ambrose:
"You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person.
You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in
common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is
given to all, and not only to the rich." (#23)
It is unfortunate that on these new conditions of society a system has
been constructed which considers profit as the key motive for economic
progress, competition as the supreme law of economics, and private
ownership of the means of production as an absolute right that has no
limits and carries no corresponding social obligation.
This unchecked liberalism leads to dictatorship rightly denounced by
Pius XI as producing "the international imperialism of money". One
cannot condemn such abuses too strongly by solemnly recalling once
again that the economy is at the service of man. (#26)
The struggle against destitution, though urgent and necessary, is not
enough. It is a question, rather, of building a world where every man,
no matter what his race, religion or nationality, can live a fully human life,
freed from servitude imposed on him by other men or by natural forces
over which he has not sufficient control; a world where freedom is not an
empty word and where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same
table with the rich man. This demands great generosity, much sacrifice
and unceasing effort on the part of the rich man.
Let each one examine his onscience, a conscience that conveys a new
message for our times. Is he prepared to support out of his own pocket
works and undertakings organized in favor of the most destitute? Is he
ready to pay higher taxes so that the public authorities can intensify their
efforts in favor of development? Is he ready to pay a higher price for
imported goods so that the producer may be more justly rewarded? (#47)
Both for nations and for individual men, avarice is the most evident
form of moral underdevelopment. (#19)
Today the principal fact that we must all recognize is that the social
question has become world-wide. (#3)
The present situation must be faced with courage and the injustices
linked with it must be fought against and overcome. Development
demands bold transformations, innovations that go deep. Urgent
reforms should be undertaken without delay. It is for each one to take
his share in them with generosity, particularly those whose education,
position and opportunities afford them wide scope for action. (#32)
Increased possession is not the ultimate goal of nations nor of
individuals. All growth is ambivalent. It is essential if people are to
develop as human beings, but in a way it imprisons them if they considers
it the supreme good, and it restricts their vision. (#19)
Individual initiative alone and the mere free play of competition could
never assure successful development. One must avoid the risk of
increasing still more the wealth of the rich and the dominion of the strong,
whilst leaving the poor in their misery and adding to the servitude of the
oppressed. (#33)
To seek to do more, know more and have more in order to be more:
that is what people aspire to now when a greater number of them are
condemned to live in conditions that make this lawful desire illusory (#6)
The superfluous wealth of rich countries should be placed at the
service of poor nations. The rule which up to now held good for the
benefit of those nearest to us, must today be applied to all the needy
of this world. Besides, the rich will be the first to benefit as a result.
Otherwise their continued greed will certainly call down upon them the
judgement of God and the wrath of the poor, with consequences no one
can foretell. (#49)
Economics and technology have no meaning except from the human
person whom they should serve. And the human person is only truly
human in as far as, master of one's own acts and judge of their worth,
one is author of one's own advancement, in keeping with the nature
which was given to human beings by the Creator. (#34)
The desire for necessities is legitimate, and work undertaken to obtain
them is a duty: If people will not work, neither let them eat. But the
acquiring of temporal goods can lead to greed, to the insatiable desire
for more, and can make increased power a tempting objective. Individuals,
families, and nations can be overcome by avarice, be they poor or rich,
and all can fall victim to a stifling materialism. (#19)
Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war, the result of an ever
precarious balance of forces. No, peace is something that is built up day
after day, in the pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more
perfect form of justice among people. (#76)
Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be
authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good
of every person and of all humanity. (#14)
Individual initiative alone and the mere free play of competition could never
assure successful development. One must avoid the risk of increasing still
more the wealth of the rich and the dominion of the strong, whilst leaving the
poor in their misery and adding to the servitude of the oppressed. (#33)
No one can remain indifferent to the lot of his brothers and sisters who are
still buried in wretchedness, and victims of insecurity, slaves of ignorance.
Like the heart of Christ, the heart of the Christian must sympathize with
this misery: "I have pity on this multitude". (#74)
We have inherited from past generations, and we have benefited from the
work of our contemporaries: for this reason we have obligations towards all,
and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who will come after us
to enlarge the human family. The reality of human solidarity, which is a
benefit for us, also imposes a duty. (#17)
If certain landed estates impede the, general prosperity because they are
extensive, unused or poorly used, or because they bring hardship to peoples
or are detrimental to the interests of the country, the common good sometimes
demands their expropriation. (#24)
Excessive economic, social and cultural inequalities among peoples arouse
tensions and conflicts, and are a danger to peace. (#76)
Every program made to increase production has, in the last analysis, no
other raison d'etre than the service of humanity. Such programs should
reduce inequalities, fight discriminations, free people from various types of
servitude and enable them to be the instrument of their own material betterment,
of their moral progress and of their spiritual growth. (#34)
There can be no progress towards the complete development of individuals
without the simultaneous development of all humanity in the spirit of solidarity.(#43)
Experienced in human affairs, the Church ... "seeks but a solitary goal: to carry
forward the work of Christ Himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit."
... But, since the Church lives in history, she ought to "scrutinize the signs of the
times and interpret them in the light of the Gospel." Sharing the noblest aspirations
of men and women and suffering when she sees them not satisfied, she wishes to
help them attain their full flowing, and that is why she offers all people what she
possesses as her characteristic attribute: a global vision of man and of the human
race. (#13)