Entrepreneurship in the Catholic Tradition by Anthony G. Percy

Author:Anthony G. Percy
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2010-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

4

Private Initiative in the Social Teaching

of the Church: Leo XIII–Paul VI

Only those who do not take a realistic view of the world can fail to see that religion alone has an answer to its problems.

—Etienne Gilson1

John Paul II once wrote that Rerum Novarum “created a lasting paradigm for the Church.”2 This chapter does not give a systematic account of the development of social teaching from Leo XIII through Paul VI. Rather, it examines the writings of the popes with respect to private initiative in the economic and financial sphere. Where is private initiative referred to and what importance do the popes attach to it? Is private initiative important in the development of society and the promotion of the common good? Is there any development of thought discernible from Rerum Novarum onwards? These are important questions for the topic of entrepreneurial work. We need then to examine Rerum Novarum and other pre-1981 encyclicals closely in order to understand the paradigm that Leo has bequeathed the Church. It is within the overall context of these documents that we understand the essential nature of private initiative. In continuity with Chapter 2, it becomes apparent that private initiative receives its value, dignity and importance both from the dignity of the human person and the common good.

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