In March of 1967, Pope Paul VI issued his encyclical Populorum progressio, on the development of people. This was in line with the social encyclicals that had been first issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, Rerum Novarum. As the new nineteenth century industrialization was taking place, the pope called for collaboration, not confrontation. This first social encyclical was about poor workers, private property, the role of the state and unions, as well as the need for the development of a social conscience. Forty years later, in 1931, Pope Pius XI, issued Quadragesimo Anno, about the conditions of labor during the worldwide great depression. Pope John XXIII issued two social encyclicals, Mater et Magister (1961), and Pacem in Terris (1963), during his short reign. In 1967, Pope Paul VI's encyclical was called a magna carta for a post-modern world. The pope pointed out that the economies of the world should serve all humans, and not just a few people. Development was no longer a local issue but a global issue with the importance of solidarity, justice, and charity. Pope Paul VI talked about superfluous wealth and the need for an effective world bank. Obviously, he touched on the traditional principles of Catholic social teaching. Everyone had the right to a just wage, as well as the possibility of employment. People had the right to fair and reasonable working conditions. He maintained that real peace in the world needed to be based on justice. Without justice, there can be no peace. He wanted better world cooperation as a matter of international justice and peace. He spoke about this in the midst of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR and the growing battles in Southeast Asia in Vietnam. Unlike Pope John XXIII's peace on earth encyclical, that the Anglo-Saxon world loved, this encyclical had a French outlook with the influence of the French philosopher, Jacques Maritain (1885-1973). Thus, most Americans were not that enamored of this work. Do you believe that everyone has the right to develop as a human being?
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