This morning’s General Audience took place at 10.00 in Saint Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father Leo XIV met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and all over the world.
In his address in Italian, the Pope resumed his cycle of catechesis on “The Documents of the Second Vatican Council”, focusing on the theme: Constitution Gaudium et Spes. Faith and social, political and economic life (GS, 63-76) (Reading: 1 Pt 2:12-13, 17).
After summarizing his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed special greetings to the faithful present.
The General Audience concluded with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. IV. Constitution Gaudium et Spes. 8. Faith and social, political and economic life (GS, 63-76)
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
The social dimension is an integral part not only of human nature, but also of our faith in Christ Jesus, as the precious legacy we receive from the Incarnation of the Son of God. The Constitution Gaudium et Spes (GS) recalls this in Chapters III and IV of Part II, dedicated to economic and social life and to the life of the political community. In these areas too, the Christian faith offers criteria for discernment.
The Council Fathers highlight, first of all, the threat to world peace deriving from the imbalances linked to an economic development that is neither equitable nor respectful of creation (cf. GS, 63). This is a far-sighted vision, which was unfortunately borne out towards the end of the last century and which we see even more clearly today. To correct this course, the Document warns, technical progress alone is not enough: “many reforms in the socioeconomic realm and a change of mentality and attitude are required of all” (ibid.).
Therefore, Gaudium et Spes summarizes the Christian vision of economic development, which must always be at the service of humankind and under human control (cf. GS, 64–65). The concept of integral development is already clearly evident here, a concept which Saint Paul VI would later place at the heart of his Encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967). More relevant than ever are the appeals to commit to eliminating discrimination against the most vulnerable social groups and migrants (cf. GS, 66).
The heart of the economy is work. Through it, one develops as a person, provides for family needs, expresses one’s own talent, participates in social life and builds a better world by collaborating in God’s creative work. Work must never be distorted to the detriment of people, the common good or creation. The real challenge is to offer everyone opportunities to make the most of their abilities: unemployment, exploitation and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable (cf. GS, 67). Workers have the right and the duty to participate in the decisions affecting their work, including through trade unions, addressing conflicts through dialogue and non-violent action (cf. GS, 68).
In this context, the Council recalls one of the fundamental principles of social doctrine, namely the universal destination of earthly goods (cf. GS, 69) and applies it to the financial field, stating that “whoever makes decisions concerning these investments and the planning of the economy – whether they be individuals or groups of public authorities – are bound … to recognize their serious obligation of watching, on the one hand, that provision be made for the necessities required for a decent life both of individuals and of the whole community and, on the other, of looking out for the future and of establishing a right balance between the needs of present-day consumption, both individual and collective, and the demands of investing for the generation to come” (GS, 70).
Gaudium et Spes then goes on to deal with the political community, noting several positive developments in the contemporary era, above all the fact that “the present keener sense of human dignity has given rise in many parts of the world to attempts to bring about a politico-juridical order which will give better protection to the rights of the person in public life” (GS, 73).
The political community exists for the sake of the common good, which consists of “the sum of those conditions of the social life whereby men, families and associations more adequately and readily may attain their own perfection” (GS, 74). The exercise of political authority must always aim at the common good, which must be structured and operate according to local and historical circumstances, but always having at heart the good of the whole human family (cf. ibid.).
Gaudium et Spes reiterates that “the Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent from each other. Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same men. The more that both foster sounder cooperation between themselves with due consideration for the circumstances of time and place, the more effective will their service be exercised for the good of all” (GS, 76).
Dear friends, engaging in economic and political affairs in accordance with these criteria is a way of building peace. As Pope Francis recalled, “war is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil” (Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 261). On the contrary, politics that tends to the wounds of peoples and of those who suffer injustice offers grounds for hope for the future of humanity.
For this reason, I encourage young people to follow the example of those men and women who have borne faithful witness in these fields. And I renew my call to Christian communities to revive formation in the social doctrine of the Church.
