Catholic Social Thought is based in the values of Christian religion which is further reflected in the Biblical scripture and Christian history.  As an intellectual tradition, Catholic Social Thought, has evolved since its official inception with Pope Leo XIII's encyclical letter "On the Condition of Labor" ("Rerum Novarum").  This encyclical was issued as a way of addressing the strains placed on society by the industrial revolution and the rise of large urban work forces that were no longer tied to agricultural work. 

In 1931, approximately forty years after Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Pope Pius XI's issued his encyclical, "On the Reconstruction of the Social Order", which reaffirmed Pope Leo XIII's work.  Pope Pius XI was writing in the early 1930's only a year and a half after the great stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression. 

Pope John XXIII issued a two encyclicals both of which reaffirmed the need for Catholic Social Thought in response to contemporary events.  In 1961 Pope John XXIII's first encyclical, "Christianity and Social Progress" ("Mater et Magistra") was concerned with the plight of poor and oppressed peoples around the world.  This encyclical was followed in 1963 with a second encyclical entitled "Peace on Earth" ("Pacem in Terris") which discussed in detail the Church's role in developing a mutual understanding of human rights around the world. 

Pope Paul VI issued two papal encyclia.  His first, "On the Development of Peoples" ("Populorum Progressio") discussed the nature of poverty and called attention to the marginalization of the poor thoughout the world.  Pope Paul's second encyclical, "A Call to Action" ("Octogesima Adveniens") addressed to need for reform in international institutions that address the plight of the poor and oppressed.

In 1991 Pope John Paul II, on the one-hundreth anniversary of the Pope Leo's XIII's encyclical letter, reaffirmed the writings of Pope Leo XIII and other Popes in his most recent encyclical "The Hundreth Year" ("Centesimus Annus").

Given the significant contribution of Catholic Social Thought to social discourse over the past 100 plus years we encourage you to use the research links we have provided on the left side of this page to learn more about this important and relevant topic.