Elected Pope in October 1978, Karol Wotyla/John Paul II wrote an encyclical outlining the thrust of his pontificate, Redemptor hominis, in 1979.  I recall how stunning it was for a pope to write an encyclical so soon after having been elected.  This was indications of things to come. 

September 14, 1981 he promulgated the first of his four social encyclicals, on the ninetieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum (May 15, 1891).  The Pope had intended to publish it in May, but the assassination attempt took place around then.  This encyclical, entitled  Laborem Excercens (On Human Work), describes the essence of work: it is the acting person, the worker. Thus he strongly affirms that the worker is the source of all that humans create and therefore deserves utmost respect.  No system or organization is privileged over workers [the priority of labor over capital].  Therefore, John Paul II challenges the economic systems, supports unions, and tells us that our work space is our altar of sacrifice in the world.  Clearly, all of this was a huge endorsement of the Solidarność movement in Poland, and a challenge to the Communist state. 

The next social encyclical came in 1987, the twentieth anniversary of Populoro progression (Pope Paul VI, 1967).  It was entitled, Sollicitudo rei socialis (On Social Concerns).  The Pope identifies a holistic development that supersedes only economic progress, but also freedoms to act and create.  Hence, the limited scope of the two dominant economic systems, liberal capitalism and socialistic communism, which, in their own ways, claim to provide the answer to the social question of the times, is challenged.  Human progress includes so much more than wealth.  At stake is the distribution of social benefits, but benefits including religious freedom, respect for all human life, etc..  Once again, this Pope contends that persons are the actors that deserve the most respect rather than as simple cogs of a system (no matter how free that system appears to be).  Communism is death by its atheism and centralized control; capitalism broaches on death by espousing a liberation of regulation.  The north-south split Pope Paul VI mentions in 1967 persists and has even exacerbated; Pope John Paul II issues the challenge to the superpowers to rethink how to be nations in a world of mostly poor.  And, to no one’s surprise, this encyclical added another nail to the coffin of Communism.  How poignant that less than two years after this encyclical was published the Berlin Wall/Communism would fall.

Finally, Centisimus Annus is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum.  This is the first post-Communism letter…ever!  Now capitalism is the only game in town.  The Pope wants to frame capitalism within a realm of moral behavior.  Private property is recognized, but not as an absolute principal.  Only God owns the earth and all within it.  Workers are the source of wealth and deserve respect.  This becomes more difficult to apply in a globalizing economy that “seeks” the lowest wages for its productivity.  Although the Church speaks on behalf of justice, the Church does not have a schema or grand design for society.  This is a humble position which John Paul II and all of his predecessors reiterate (surprised?). 

John Paul II did not write a social encyclical after this.  His attention was drawn to inter-religious dialogue and reconciliation and to shoring up intra-Church dissension.  His three encyclicals portray how “personalism,” his philosophy, is the key to solving the social problems of the time.  That is his teaching.  Does it work?  Has it yet been tried?