COLEGIO DE LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION

School of Archdiocese of Capiz

College of Education

THEOLOGY 4
OCTOGESIMA
ADVENIENS
(The Eightieth Anniversary)

Submitted by: Janine May B. Fabales

Submitted to: Niño Joy Alcayde

History

Octogesima adveniens (The eightieth anniversary) is the incipit of the

14 May 1971 Apostolic Letter addressed by Pope Paul VI to Cardinal Maurice

Roy, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and of the Pontifical

Council for Justice and Peace, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of

Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum novarum. Generally known as A Call to

Action on the Eightieth Anniversary of Rerum novarum, it discusses themes

such as securing democratic foundations in society.

Content

Octogesima adveniens commemorates the eightieth anniversary of

Rerum novarum. Pope Paul discusses the role of individual Christians and

local churches in responding to situations of injustices. In this he follows Pius

XI, who issued the 1931 social encyclical Quadragesimo anno (Forty years).

Pope John Paul II would do likewise in his 1991 Centesimus annus (Hundredth

year).

Sections 8 through 21 address particular social concerns, most

especially the effect of increased urbanization: "Is sufficient attention being

devoted to the arrangement and improvement of the life of the country

people, whose inferior and at times miserable economic situation provokes

the flight to the unhappy crowded conditions of the city outskirts, where

neither employment nor housing awaits them?"

In his 1967 encyclical, Populorum progressio ("On the Development of

Peoples") Pope Paul said, "...lay people must consider it their task to improve

the temporal order. While the hierarchy has the role of teaching and

authoritatively interpreting the moral laws and precepts that apply in this

matter, the laity have the duty of using their own initiative and taking action

in this area—without waiting passively for directives and precepts from

others." He reiterates this Octogesima adveniens, "Let each one examine

himself, to see what he has done up to now, and what he ought to do. It is

not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to crying injustice and

utter prophetic denunciations; these words will lack real weight unless they

are accompanied for each individual by a livelier awareness of personal

responsibility and by effective action."

The Pope noted that socialism may seem to have much in common

with Christian belief and it is easy to idealize it as ‘a will for justice, solidarity

and equality’, but, he said that it would be "illusory and dangerous" to accept

Marxist analysis "while failing to note the kind of totalitarian and violent

society to which this process leads".

The letter is one of the first magisterial documents to mention

explicitly the topic of the preservation of environment. Emphasizing the

ecclesial doctrine to which the goods of the Earth are dedicated to all people

(no. 43), Paul VI criticizes the modern practices of exploiting nature. Each
property, including the gifts of nature, stands under the principle of the

common use (ususcommunis), from which no human being must be

excluded, the encyclical says. Unlike Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum novarum,

Paul VI extends this postulate also on the natural environment and stresses

the responsibility for future generations (no. 47). Thereby, Octogesima

adveniens anticipates central motifs of the sustainability principle.

Paul VI: Octogesima Adveniens Summary Article

Pope Paul VI's analysis of the contemporary situation is presented in

terms of a crisis which is unsettling society (a. 3). He sees many people

reaching the point of questioning the very model of society (a. 45), and he

says that a protest is springing up more or less everywhere as a sign of a

deep-seated sickness (a. 37). At this turning point in human history (a. 5)

people yearn for more justice and for a better guaranteed peace (a. 2), and

they yearn to free themselves from need and dependence (a. 45).

The modern economy is creating a number of problems: human

conditions of production, fairness in the exchange of goods and in the

division of wealth, the significance of the increased needs of consumption,

and the sharing of responsibility (a. 7). Paul points out that, while Leo XIII

addressed one specific social problem, the need today is to address a variety

of problems (a. 5). The pope calls attention to these problems:

URBANIZATION: the weakening of agrarian civilization and the inordinate

growth of huge concentrations of population (a. 8-9);

neighborhood, and the very framework of the Christian community (a. 10-

12);

YOUTH: there is a questioning of modes of authority, education for freedom,

and the handing on of values and beliefs (a. 13);

THE ROLE OF WOMEN: man y countries are considering charters ending

discrimination and establishing relationships of equality in rights (a. 13);

WORKERS: democratic societies accept the principle of labor union rights

but are not always open to their exercise (a. 14);

VICTIMS OF CHANGES: new situations of injustice have arisen involving

the handicapped and the maladjusted, the old, and different groups of those

on the fringe of society (a. 15);

DISCRIMINATION: many are discriminated against, in law or in fact, on

account of their race, origin, color, culture, sex, or religion (a. 16);

RIGHT TO EMIGRATE: a great number emigrant workers and refugees

function in precarious situations (a. 17);

CREATING EMPLOYMENT: population growth raises fears of lack of

sufficient employment for everyone (a. 18-19);

MEDIA OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION: news providers offer a positive

service but they also represent as it were a new power involving advantages

and risks (a.

THE ENVIRONMENT: by an ill-considered exploitation of nature we risk

destroying it and becoming victims ourselves (a. 21);

--flagrant inequalities exist in the economic, cultural, and political

development of nations (a. 2);

--human rights are too often disregarded, if not scoffed at, or else they

receive only formal recognition (a. 23);

--the ambition of many nations, competing among each other, is to attain

technological, economic, and military power (a. 45);

--new economic powers are emerging, the multinational enterprises, which

can conduct autonomous strategies and can lead to a new and abusive form

of economic domination (a. 44). The keynote of Pope Paul's apostolic letter

seems to be complexity and variety. He points out that the complexity of the

problems raised is great, in the present intertwining of mutual dependencies

(a. 43), and he recognizes that Christians must operate within a diversity of

situations, functions, and organizations (a. 49). In line with this acceptance of

complexity, Paul acknowledges that socialism takes on different forms

according to different continents and cultures, and distinctions must be

made to guide concrete choices between the various levels of expression of

socialism (a. 31). He even recognizes that some people lay down distinctions

between Marxism's various levels of expression (a. 32-34). Paul accepts that

fact that there is a wide diversity among the situations in which Christians
find themselves according to regions, socio-political systems, and cultures

(a. 3). In view of this diversity, he asserts that in concrete situations, one

must recognize a legitimate variety of possible options, so that the same

Christian faith can lead to different commitments (a. 50). Christians are to

discern the options and commitments necessary to make social, political,

and economic changes (a. 4). Paul's response to complexity is to admit that

in the face of such widely varying situations it is difficult for him to utter a

unified message and put forward a universally valid solution. He says that he

has no ambition or mission to do this, and he calls on local Christian

communities to analyze their own situations and apply to them the principles

of the social teaching of the Church (a. 4). He is willing, however, to lay down

certain principles and guidelines.

--each country must be allowed to promote its own development, free from

any political or economic domination (a. 43);

--all people share the same basic rights and duties, so that within each

country all citizens should be equal before the law, find equal admittance to

economic, cultural, civic and social life, and benefit from a fair sharing of the

nation's riches (a. 16);

--governments and political parties should not try to impose an ideology by

means that would lead to a dictatorship over minds (a. 25);

--legislation is necessary, but it is not sufficient for setting up true

relationships of justice and equality (a. 23);

democracy all being with them materialism, egoism, and constraint (a. 37);

--Marxist ideology is unacceptable because of its atheistic materialism, its

dialectic of violence, its absorption of individual freedom in the collectivity,

and its denial of all transcendence to human beings (a. 26);

--capitalism also calls for careful discernment because it its very root is an

erroneous affirmation of the autonomy of the individual in one's activity,

motivation, and exercise of liberty (a. 35);

--utopian criticism of existing society, while risky, can serve the useful

purpose of directing the forward-looking imagination towards a fresh future

(a. 37);

--the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place

their goods more generously at the service of others (a. 23);

--everyone has the right to work, to develop oneself professionally, to an

equitable income, and to assistance in case of need arising from sickness or

age (a. 14);

--laws should aim at protecting women's proper vocation and at the same

time recognizing her independence as a person and her equal rights to

participate in society (a. 13). Having analyzed the contemporary situation

and called attention to the principles that should guide Christians in dealing

with this situation Pope Paul issues a call to action. Already in his opening
lines the pope had expressed his conviction that Rerum Novarum continues

to inspire action for social justice (a. 1), and later he asserts that Christians

must involve themselves in the building up of a peaceful and just world (a.

37). The Christian faith demands a just transformation of society (a. 51), and

Paul sees the power of the Holy Spirit working within the action of Christians

in the service of others (a. 51). He therefore addresses to all Christians a

fresh and insistent call to action: their recalling of principles, statements of

intentions, pointing out injustices, and uttering prophetic denunciations must

be accompanied by an awareness of personal responsibility and by effective

action (a. 48). Everyone must determine, in their consciences, the actions

which they are called to share in (a. 49). What kind of action does Pope Paul

call for? He points out that economic activity is necessary, but it runs the risk

of taking up too much strength and freedom. Thus the need is felt to pass

from economics to politics (a. 46), so that the action which the pope is calling

for is political action. The passing to the political dimension expresses a

demand made by people today: a greater sharing in responsibility and in

decision-making (a. 47). The church has a role to play in all of this:

proclaiming its specific message and supporting people in their efforts to

take in hand and give direction to their future (a. 5). The church wishes to

assume a double function in the social sphere: to enlighten minds and to

take part in action (a. 48).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octogesima_adveniens

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