📖Summary

According to the Catholic Church, Pacem in Terris, meaning "Peace on Earth," is an encyclical by Pope John XXIII promulgated on April 11, 1963, just months before his death and during the height of Cold War tensions following the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the first encyclical addressed not only to Catholics but to all people of good will, reflecting John XXIII's desire to speak to the entire human family about the conditions for lasting peace. The encyclical is organized around four main relationships: the relationship between individuals, the relationship between individuals and public authorities, the relationship between states, and the relationship of individuals and states to the world community. John XXIII grounds his teaching on peace in the natural law and in the dignity of the human person. He presents a comprehensive catalog of human rights, including the right to life, bodily integrity, food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, and necessary social services. He affirms the right to freedom of speech and information, the right to worship God according to the dictates of an upright conscience, and the right to freedom in choosing a state of life. Alongside these rights, he lists corresponding duties, insisting that rights and duties are inseparable. The encyclical addresses the relationship between citizens and the state, teaching that authority derives from God and must be exercised in accordance with the moral order. Governments that systematically violate human rights lose their claim to legitimate authority. John XXIII calls for international cooperation and the establishment of a universal public authority, a political community at the world level, capable of addressing global problems that individual nations cannot solve alone. He specifically addresses the arms race, declaring that justice, right reason, and humanity urgently demand that the arms race should cease, that stockpiles of weapons should be reduced equally and simultaneously, that nuclear weapons should be banned, and that a general agreement should be reached about appropriate disarmament. The encyclical remains a foundational text for Catholic peace theology and the Church's engagement with international affairs.

💡Key Points