   |
|
Handout #287 |
|
Development and Liberation |
|
Paul VI in the Encyclical Populorum progressio: On the Development of Peoples (26 March 1967) Today the principal fact that we must all recognize is that the social question has become worldwide ... There are certainly situations whose injustice cries heaven. When whole populations destitute of necessities live in a state of dependence barring them from all initiative and responsibility ... Recourse to violence, as a means to right these wrongs to human dignity, is a grave temptation. 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 man and the whole man ... It is a question of building a world where every man, no matter what his race, religion or nationality, can live a fully human life, free from servitude imposed on him by other men or by natural forces over which he has not sufficient control... If the new name for peace is development, who would not wish to labor for it with all his powers? Paul VI to the peasants of Colombia, 23 August 1968 We shall continue to denounce the unjust economic inequalities between rich and poor, the abuses of authority and administration which are to your detriment and to the detriment of all. We shall continue to encourage resolutions and programs in favor of developing peoples...We exhort you not to put your trust in violence and revolution; it is contrary to the Christian spirit, and can also delay, rather then help, the social elevation to which you rightly aspire. Final Document of the Conference of Latin American Bishops at Medellin (August-September 1968) We are on the threshold of a new era in the history of our continent, an era which holds the promise of total emancipation, of freedom from all servitude, of personal growth and collective integration. Just as Israel, the ancient people, once felt the saving presence of God when he freed them from the oppression of Egypt, so we, the new people of God, cannot fail to feel his saving passage in matters of true development. This is the passage for each and all from less human conditions of life to more human conditions of life. |
