Statement
A Century of Social Teaching
A Century of Social Teaching: A Common Heritage, A Continuing Challenge, November 1990
A Pastoral Message of the Catholic Bishops of the United States on the 100th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum
Our faith calls us to work for justice; to serve those in need; to pursue peace; and to defend the life, dignity, and rights of all our sisters and brothers. This is the call of Jesus, the challenge of the prophets, and the living tradition of our Church.
Across this country and around the world, the Church's social ministry is a story of growing vitality and strength, of remarkable compassion, courage, and creativity. It is the everyday reality of providing homeless and hungry people with decent shelter and needed help, of giving pregnant women and their unborn children lifegiving alternatives, of offering refugees welcome, and so much more. It is believers advocating in the public arena for human life wherever it is threatened, for the rights of workers and for economic justice, for peace and freedom around the world, and for "liberty and justice for all" here at home. It is empowering and helping poor and vulnerable people to realize their dignity in inner cities, in rural communities and in lands far away. It is the everyday commitment of countless people, parishes -and programs, local networks and national structures-a tradition of caring service, effective advocacy and creative action.
At the heart of this commitment is a set of principles, a body of thought, and a call to action known as Catholic social teaching. In 1991, we mark the 100th anniversary of the first great modern social encyclical, Rerum Novarum, and celebrate a century of powerful social teaching. We recall the challenges of that new industrial age and the role of our own James Cardinal Gibbons, who encouraged Pope Leo XIII to issue this groundbreaking encyclical on work and workers. But this celebration is more than an anniversary of an important document; it is a call to share our Catholic social tradition more fully and to explore its continuing challenges for us today. This is a time for renewed reflection on our shared social tradition, a time to strengthen our common and individual commitment to work for real justice and true peace.