Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth)

November 21, 2011 Social Encyclicals, Catholic Social Teaching

Pope John XXIII, 1963

Pope John XXIII wrote the encyclical Pacem in Terris in April of 1963 to address a world deeply engaged in the Cold War.
The Berlin Wall had just gone up and the Cuban Missile Crisis frightened millions as nuclear weapons began to
proliferate.

At a time in world history marked by powerful new weapons, rivalry, and fear His Holiness sought to reassure not only
the Catholic World, but also all people, that peace on earth is possible through the divinely established order.

Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth)

November 21, 2011

Catholic Social Teaching
Social Encyclicals
Pope John XXIII, 1963

Pope John XXIII wrote the encyclical Pacem in Terris in April of 1963 to address a world deeply engaged in the Cold War.
The Berlin Wall had just gone up and the Cuban Missile Crisis frightened millions as nuclear weapons began to
proliferate.

At a time in world history marked by powerful new weapons, rivalry, and fear His Holiness sought to reassure not only
the Catholic World, but also all people, that peace on earth is possible through the divinely established order.

The world has seen continued economic, scientific, and technological growth. These tremendous advances are examples
of “the infinite greatness of God Himself, who created both man and the universe.” (Paragraph 3)

All of humanity was created in God’s own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26.) and endowed with intelligence and freedom
and give power over the earth. We were also given free will along with certain rights and duties.

Each person has the right to life and the means necessary to live their life. In addition, all of humanity has a natural right
to be respected, to worship God, to live their life as they choose, to work and support a family, to form associations, to
emigrate, and to take an active role in public life. All people also have the duty to preserve their life, to respect the rights
of others, work together for the common good, and maintain an attitude of responsibility.

The purpose of the public authority, or government, is to attain the common good. This is best achieved when personal
rights and duties are protected. The condition of people is a major consideration when determining the form of
government in a country. Government must also never disregard the moral law and justice must be administered
impartially.

Relations between states ought to also be characterized by truth, justice, willing cooperation, and freedom. Nations who
have achieved significant scientific, cultural and economic development shouldn’t exert unjust political domination over
other states, but instead ought to use their advances to advance the global common good.

Each country has the right to existence, to self development, and the means to achieve their development. Minority
groups should be protected and be allowed to live in association with the other peoples within a state. The encyclical
continues by discussing relations between races and the issue of political refugees.

John XXIII was very distressed to see the enormous ongoing build up of arms during arms the Cold War – particularly the
cost and the resources devoted to it. He called for a process of disarmament by every nation.
At the same time, he repeats the appeal made in Mater et Magistra that every nation assists those in economic
development. The continued integration of the world economy has meant that no state can pursue its own interests in
isolation. Growing economic interdependence requires cooperation for progress.

In a 1983 pastoral letter “The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response” the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop commented on Church teachings on war and peace. Written during the height of the Cold War, the letter
emphasizes the Church’s strong desire for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

In exceptional cases, determined by the moral principles of the just-war tradition, some uses of force are permitted. The
Church recognizes that while every nation has a right and duty to defend itself against unjust aggression, offensive war
of any kind is not morally justifiable. Even a defensive response to an unjust attack may go far beyond the limits of
legitimate defense if it causes destruction that violates the principle of proportionality.

In a world with ever increasing technology, it is important to remember that nuclear and conventional weapons should
never be used for "the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their populations. . . ." (Pastoral
Constitution, #80.) The intentional killing of innocent civilians or non-combatants is always wrong.

To avoid war we must be intent on building peace in an increasingly interdependent world. Working with other states to
provide for the common good is a constant endeavor and Catholics must urge their political leaders to do so.

Pacem in terris
Pacem in terris (Peace on Earth) was a papal encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII on 11 April 1963 on nuclear non-
proliferation. It was the last encyclical drafted by John XXIII, who had been diagnosed with cancer in September 1962
and died two months after the encyclical's completion. Biographer Peter Hebblethwaite called it Pope John's "last will
and testament".[1] Published on Holy Thursday, Pope John called it his "Easter gift".

Title
The full title of the encyclical is On Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, Charity and Liberty. The short
title Pacem in terris is derived from the opening words of the encyclical, as is customary with papal documents:
Pacem in terris, quam homines universi cupidissime quovis tempore appetiverunt, condi confirmarique non posse
constat, nisi ordine, quem Deus constituit, sancte servato."
("Peace on earth, for which all men of every era have most eagerly yearned, cannot be firmly established unless the
order which God laid down is dutifully observed.")

History
Pacem in terris was the first encyclical that a Pope addressed to "all men of good will", rather than only to Catholics,
quote of the praise to God said by the heavenly army above the manger of Bethlehem (Latin Vulgate: in terra pax in
hominibus bonae voluntatis, Luke2:14; English translation: 2:13-14). Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law
School, Mary Ann Glendon, interprets this to mean “He was insisting that the responsibility for setting conditions for
peace does not just belong to the great and powerful of the world—it belongs to each and every one of us. In theological
terms, it marked a major shift in papal teaching from reliance on classical scholastic categories of natural law to a more
inductive approach based on the signs of the times.
In this work, John XXIII reacted to the political situation in the middle of the Cold War. Coming just months after the
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the Vatican served as an intermediary between the White House and the
Kremlin,] the document also reflected the Pope's experience of 1960 in trying to resolve difficulties arising out the four-
power occupation of Berlin. The "peace encyclical" was issued only two years after the erection of the Berlin Wall. It also
draws on Pope John's reading of St. Augustine's City of God and Thomas Aquinas' view of Eternal Law. In this it echoes
the Gospel’s core values and principles of patristic and medieval thought, while reflecting the historical period in which it
was written.
Sociologist Monsignor Pietro Pavan and a small group of theologians helped draft it. In Pavan’s view Pacem in
terris would present the teachings of Leo XIII on the eternal law, "in light of the changing tides of history, and allow them
to resonate with a much wider audience".
The Pope explains in this encyclical that conflicts "should not be resolved by recourse to arms, but rather by
negotiation". He further emphasizes the importance of respect of human rights as an essential consequence of
the Christian understanding of men and nuclear disarmament. He clearly establishes "...That every man has the right to
life, to bodily integrity, and to the means which are suitable for the proper development of life..."
Pacem in terris is an extended reflection on the moral order. The document is divided into four sections.

 The first section of the encyclical establishes the relationship between individuals and humankind,
encompassing the issues of human rights and moral duties.
 The second section addresses the relationship between man and state, dwelling on the collective authority of
the latter.
 The third section establishes the need for equality amongst nations and the need for the state to be subject to
rights and duties that the individual must abide by.
 The final section presents the need for greater relations between nations, thus resulting in collective states
assisting other states. The encyclical ends with the urging of Catholics to assist non-Christians and non-
Catholics in political and social aspects.

Reception
“Pacem in Terris was more than an encyclical—it was an event," recalls Glendon. Pacem in Terris was the first papal
encyclical published in its entirety in the New York Times.The Washington Post said, "Pacem in terris is not just the voice
of an old priest, nor just that of an ancient Church; it is the voice of the conscience of the world.” Two years later, it was
the subject of a conference at the United Nations attended by over 2,000 statespersons and scholars.

Legacy
Russell Hittinger describes the encyclical "as a kind of magna carta of the Catholic Church’s position on human rights and
natural law".Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical Pacem in terris ("Peace on Earth") radically affected Catholic social
teaching not only on war and peace, but on church-state relations, women's rights, religious freedom, international
relations and other major issues. Fr. J. Bryan Hehir, called Pacem in terris "a pivotal text in [papal] encyclical history" that
played a major role in the development of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom and its
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, and on Pope John Paul II's encyclical Centesimus annus ("The
Hundredth Year"), which marked the centennial of Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical on labor, Rerum Novarum.[
It also influenced the 1965 Declaration on Religious Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae).
In commemoration of this encyclical, the annual Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom award was instituted in 1964, first
by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport and later by the Quad Cities Pacem in Terris Coalition.“Pacem in Terris”
(Peace on Earth) enumerated the rights of the human person to life, respect, freedom and education as well as working
towards the end of nuclear weapons, and arms race.
Looking at Pacem in Terris 50 years later Blessed Pope John XXIII’s encyclical on peace and human rights influenced
Church’s thinking at Second Vatican Council, inspired Pope John Paul II Barry Hudock OSV Newsweekly
Blessed Pope John XXIII’s encyclical letter Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”) was a historic document right from its
opening address. It remains unique and important. It is still, in fact, the Catholic Church’s most extensive statement ever
on human rights. A half-century after its April 11, 1963, publication, Pacem in Terris is worth another look.
Time of crisis
It should not be surprising that Pope John wanted to say something to the world about peace in the spring of 1963.
The Cuban missile crisis was still a fresh and frightening memory. In October 1962, the leaders of the world’s two
superpowers — the American President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev — very nearly brought
the planet to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. Pope John himself played a key role in bringing that crisis to a peaceful
conclusion.
As American and Soviet warships faced each other in a precarious standoff in the Atlantic Ocean, the pope sent a
message directly to the American and Soviet leaders, which was also broadcast on Vatican radio and printed in
newspapers around the world. He implored the leaders to “spare the world from the horrors of a war whose terrifying
consequences no one can predict” by continuing diplomatic discussions. That gave Kruschev an opportunity to step back
from the confrontation in a way that looked like a gesture of peace rather than cowardice.
A few months later, Time magazine named Pope John “Man of the Year.” By the spring of 1963, his credibility was
unquestionable.
Moreover, the pope had learned just two weeks after the crisis that he was dying of cancer. With little time left as a
global spiritual leader, he resolved to say something to the world about peace.

Human rights
Equally historic is the topic that Pope John chose in the encyclical to connect most directly with peace: human rights. For
a pope to speak of human rights in a positive way was a dramatic development.
“For a very long time, the Church had been allergic to talking about
rights. Since the French Revolution, it had been opposed to Essential Aspects of Rights
human-rights language,” said Jesuit Father Thomas Massaro, an
expert on Catholic social teaching who teaches theology at Santa
Clara University. Blessed Pope John XXIII pointed out three
essential aspects of human rights. All human
rights are:
The leaders of the French Revolution, which broke out in 1791,
saw the Church’s ancient authority, traditions and hierarchy as universal: that is, all people have them simply
offensive and opposed to basic human equality and dignity. They by being people, no matter who they are;
set out intentionally to destroy the Church in the name of human
inviolable: no person, group or government
rights.
may violate them, no matter who they are;

Church leaders, of course, opposed this and condemned it. But
they failed to distinguish what might have been worthwhile in the
revolutionary thinking from what was murderous, and they placed
themselves at the same time in firm opposition to the idea of
human rights.
When the French Assembly published its Declaration of the Rights
of Man in 1791, Pope Pius VI condemned it immediately, opposing
the Church not only to the revolution’s rejection of its authority to
teach in the name of God, but also to ideas like freedom of religion
and freedom of the press. A generation later, Pope Gregory XVI
condemned freedom of conscience, freedom of opinion and free
speech as “absurd and erroneous.” In 1864, Pope Pius IX’s
“Syllabus of Errors” included freedom of religion and freedom of
worship among the dangerous errors of the day.
unalienable: no person can ever lose or
surrender his or her own human rights, no
matter the circumstances.
Blessed Pope John Paul II would later add a
fourth characteristic to the list. They are
also indivisible: no person or government can
pick and choose which of them are to be
recognized, as though shopping at a grocery
store deli.

But the world changed in the decades that followed. Much more
recently, the terrible events of World War II left much of the
Western world searching for moral bearings on which society
might rest. The United Nations was founded in 1945, and one of its
first significant efforts was the ratification of a Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

In some ways, Pacem in Terris is an example of the Church learning from the world. Many of the most important ideas in
the encyclical were written into the U.N. declaration 15 years earlier. Pacem in Terrisis the Church’s stamp of approval
on the thinking. If there is a difference between the two, it is in the encyclical’s emphasis on duties alongside rights.

In the encyclical, Pope John offers a long list of human rights — rights that belong to every person, regardless of
accomplishments, economic status, religious beliefs, personal goodness, citizenship or political convictions.

Natural law

One notable aspect of the encyclical is its reliance primarily on natural law (rather than divine revelation or papal
authority) to support its teaching.

“The idea of natural law says there is a structure to the universe intended by God. People can discern God’s will in moral
matters through human reason,” even without referring to the Bible or Church teaching, Father Massaro said. This
central tenet of Catholic moral theology suggests that non-Catholics, or nonbelievers, are able to understand moral
principles and act on them.

This is reflected in the first words of Pope John’s letter, where he addresses his words to “all people of good will.”
Previously, papal encyclicals were addressed either to Catholic bishops or to all Catholics, but never to those outside the
Church. In beginning this way, Pope John was making a statement that the moral principles he was teaching were
accessible to people who did not share the Church’s faith. “It’s a very optimistic vision in that sense,” Father Massaro
said.
Universal Rights Long shadow
Though Pope John died just two months after the
◗ active
encyclical’s participation
publication, the in publiche
impact affairs
made with it has
Blessed Pope John XXIII provides a summary
been long term.
of human rights, mostly found in sections 11 ◗ share in the benefits of culture
to 27 of Pacem in Terris. They include the ◗ act freely and responsibly
right to: Jesuit Father John Coleman, an expert on Catholic human
rights doctrine, told Our Sunday Visitor that Pacem in
◗ life Terris influenced the teaching of the Second Vatican
Council (which had opened in October 1962 and concluded
◗ bodily integrity
in December 1965). The Council’s Pastoral Constitution on
◗ food the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, was,
Father Coleman said, “deeply influenced by Pacem in
◗ clothing Terris.” The document expressed doubts (No. 80) about
whether there could ever be any morally acceptable use of
◗ shelter
nuclear weapons in warfare, an idea that Pope John had
◗ rest expressed in Pacem in Terris.

◗ medical care We also see John’s influence in the Council’s historic

◗ necessary social services
◗ respect for one’s person
◗ a good reputation
◗ freedom to search for truth
defense of religious freedom in the Declaration on
Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae. Pope John had
made reference in Pacem in Terris (No. 14) to “being able
to worship God in accordance with the right dictates of his
own conscience, and to profess his religion both in private
and in public.”

◗ freedom of speech
◗ freedom of information
◗ juridical protection of rights
Following his election as pope in 1978, Pope John Paul II
soon made a strong defense of human rights around the
world a hallmark of his pontificate. He quoted frequently
from Pacem in Terris.

◗ freedom of worship
“It’s certainly true that Pacem in Terris cast a long
◗ freedom to choose one’s state of life shadow,” Father Massaro said.

◗ freedom to form a family

◗ freedom of initiative in business
◗ work
◗ adequate working conditions
◗ proper wage
◗ private property
◗ productive goods
◗ freedom of assembly and association
◗ freedom of movement and residence
◗ emigrate and immigrate