The Catholic Church And The Social Question In Europe In The Nineteenth Century
More than a century elapsed between the inauguration of Pope Pius VII in 1800 and the death of Pius X in 1914: the nineteenth , century of change, evolution, even revolution constant. New problems inevitably arise during this period, the more complex they apply to a society that has lost most of its traditional landmarks and therefore very difficult to find a way out of its difficulties. Increased poverty, insecurity of the working class, a certain cynicism, liberalism, Marxism ... backlash: as many pain points together under the generic term "social question" that the Roman Catholic Church -which was and remains still one of the pillars of European society-must meet if it wants to maintain credibility and consistency with his teaching. Known for his conservatism and dogmatism, yet the Church will seek to adapt his teaching to the needs of the new society. Between tradition and modernity, that adaptation will occur gradually: in the first half of the nineteenth century, the Church is in opposition against her almost head on with these social changes, it seeks to position itself without much success. But Leo XIII in 1878, she joined somehow in a new era of diplomacy Church, it was more in the social context of the late nineteenth century.
Necessity and difficulty of a Church's response to the social question
The nineteenth, century of social upheaval.
Revolutions and national policies through the intellectual revolutions, Europe's Romance lives in a perpetual instability is not conducive to the establishment of social peace that the Catholic Church has always claimed to defend. Along with regime change takes place a change of mentality: liberalism is becoming more and more, including the economy, which has resulted in a reversal of how transactions are treated in the workplace. Relationships between bosses and what begins to call the "working class" tend to deteriorate to the detriment of the latter, which since the enactment of laws such as the Le Chapelier law , has no way to come together to legally defend its interests. There is also a rural exodus and population growth that increase labor demand so that the poorest are forced to offer their labor at wages too low. Poverty increases, and with it crime, alcohol or prostitution. Besides that, develops a middle class is thriving even better highlight the difficulties faced by society: tensions are exacerbated.
The first attempts of individual response
Soon, people will react to try to change things. The first to denounce the situation of Catholics are convinced that for the growing social injustice is the result of a policy and an economy that has lost the sense of common good and therefore neglect the duty of charity is inherent in any human organization. These Christians then try to restore honor to the corporate system abolished by the Revolution , and advocate a harmonious relationship between employers and workers through a system often described by the rest of " paternalism ": the owner is asked to behave as a loving father to the one on which he exercises his authority, to provide for all his needs and contributing to her education while the worker must, in turn, be as docile and attentive a child being aware that his father knows what is good for him. On the other hand, Catholics come to the government and pass laws aimed at improving the living conditions of workers. We include here the name of Armand de Melun , instigator of the first great social legislation in France (1850-1851) such as those in substandard housing, the pension fund or hospital care. In 1833, Frederic Ozanam founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul whose purpose is to alleviate poverty through concrete actions, and that Albert de Mun in 1871 creates the "workers' circles," a sort of trade unions before the hour. These companies give birth to a single stream of philosophical and political thought that other Christians, as Henri Lacordaire and Lamennais Flicit de -France in the newspaper L'Avenir - Cardinal Sterck Belgium, Bishop von Ketteler or Germany take care to theorize and to which we give the name of " liberal Catholicism "," social "or sometimes even" Christian Democracy ". The goal is, obviously, to bring modern ideas and the Catholic religion.
The condemnation of modern errors
But if the Church observes these steps carefully and supports some, pushing his followers to do charity, claiming it does not mean it, preferring, before taking a formal position, judging all their ins and outs. Indeed, the Catholic social nascent many faces and all do not correspond to the Doctrine of the Magisterium. Lamennais and see itself soon condemned by the Holy See (Mirari Your encyclical in 1832) who finds it impossible to reconcile liberalism and Catholicism absolute integrity ... On December 8, 1864, Pope Pius IX to address all encyclical Quanta Cura bishops, accompanied by a resounding Attachment: Catalogue of the Syllabus or principal errors of our time. The Vatican will officially condemns all kinds of schools of thought (80 total), liberalism to socialism through the positivism , the rationalism , the utilitarianism , the secularism , the state socialism and even communism birth.
Commonly presented as evidence of the inability of the Catholic Church to adapt to the times and the modern world, the syllabus was nonetheless a social dimension too often rejected in favor of the scandal. In condemning all these 'mistakes', the Holy See did not intend to redefine its position only doctrinal but also, and perhaps most importantly, clear to his followers that those modern ideologies could be the answer to the social question. When storing the liberalism and socialism in the same category should be avoided, the Church wanted to warn Europe of the nineteenth-cons "utopias formidable" proposed by these theories, requiring not be relied upon for construction of social welfare.
The Church and the challenge of social renewal
Rerum Novarum
But if these convictions indicate controversial ways not to do, is precisely to define a way forward in response to social issues. That is what the Holy See May 15, 1891 with an encyclical on behalf of developer Rerum Novarum , "new things". In publishing this text, which earned him the title "Pope of the workers," Leo XIII inaugurates what we now call the social doctrine of the Church: "a careful reflection on the complex realities of human existence in society and the international context, in the light of faith and church tradition (...) whose purpose is to guide Christian behavior "( John Paul II ). Dealing with the thorny issue of rights and duties in the world of capital and labor, the encyclical puts forward the concept of dignity of the person claiming that man, whatever his social status, can not and must never be treated as an instrument because a company that would treat as a mere cog in the global economy would inevitably fall into the deepest injustice. Rejecting both the indifference of capitalism and class struggle of Marxism , the Catholic Church preaches the harmony of social relations through respect for human dignity inherent in each.
Consequences
Revolution in the Catholic world this encyclical gives the official kickoff to the attempted introduction of a new "social Christian", as the title of a book of French Ren de La Tour du Pin. Encouraged by the Holy See, many Catholic employers are changing their relationships with their employees, while the Catholic deputies continue their political struggle: in France, in 1895, they get the limitation of garnishments on wages and offer workers to establish maternity leave of four weeks for employed women (the right granted in 1913). In 1897 is created the first real Catholic union (future CFTC ) which will have 5,000 members. In 1902, after Congress workers were born the " social weeks ", a kind of summer schools for workers, and in 1905 Christians and socialists get together on Sunday rest law. In Germany, the Zentrum Catholic is created, containing a program composed of bishops, the Christian Democrats and movements appear in Belgium and Italy. The action of Catholics is growing in all areas: education, charity, mission ... There is at this time a revival of Christianity in Europe resulting in the multiplication of religious orders.
Conclusion
In a troubled economic and political context that could be fatal, the Catholic Church has - past the shock of a first confrontation with revolutions - a surprise and answer the most important question of the nineteenth century, that of a company that the advent of the modern world as much as he dazzled the trauma. Although this answer does not suffice to heal the social wounds or different to prevent the gradual de-Christianization of thinking, she helped set Europe on a path of social democracy better understood. The recent publication (2005) of a Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church seems to prove that the Vatican continues to attach great importance to the social question and shows its willingness to assert the independence of this doctrine which, according John Paul II, "is not a third way between liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism, nor another possibility among systems less radically marked" but "a class by itself in the commitment of each to justice. (Sollicitudo rei societatis 1991)
Bibliography
- Rene Remond, Introduction to the history of our times -2, Seuil, Paris, 1974.
- Serge Bernstein, Pierre Milza, History of the nineteenth century, Hatier, Paris, 2005.
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