COURSE | Social Doctrine of the Church

Have you ever thought of attending modules of the course The Social Doctrine of the Church being taught here at ISEG?
Don't you know what it is?
Don't you see how these modules can help you reflect on the problems of today's society?

So we tell you that in these modules you will have the opportunity to discuss fundamental and very current themes such as human dignity, rights and freedoms; the insertion and responsible participation of each man in social life; the promotion of peace; the economic system and private initiative; the role of the State; human work; the political community; the family: its vocation and its rights; the common good and its promotion, respecting the principles of solidarity.

Attendance at the course may count for undergraduate students towards 1 credit for the Personal Development portfolio.

Come and contribute to this reflection.
Come out!

Coordination

by Nuno Valerio

Course

The social doctrine of the Catholic Church is one of the most influential bodies of doctrine in the economic life of contemporary societies.

The course now being proposed aims to enable those interested to become acquainted with the content of the Church's social doctrine, particularly in its economic aspects. It is clear that the Church's social doctrine can have practical normative, i.e. political, importance. It is not intended to avoid discussion of its possible use. The aim of the course, however, is objective knowledge of the content of the doctrine.

The course plan takes as its starting point the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church of 2004 and adopts from then on an assumedly historical approach. In other words, it proposes the study of the Church's social doctrine through its evolution and its interaction with social reality.

The course coordinator takes responsibility for presenting the announced theme in each session. It is hoped that these presentations will give rise to exchanges of views and discussions based on the documents that constitute the thematic core of each session, and on other contributions that participants may wish to bring.

Session plan

1 - An overview - the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2004)

2 - The epochal innovation - the encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891)

3 - The origins - social Catholicism and the social doctrine of the Church before the Rerum Novarum

4 - From social Catholicism to Catholic Action - the encyclical Quadragesimo anno (1931)

5 - From Catholic Action to Christian Democracy - the radio messages of Pentecost 1941 and Christmas 1944

6 - From Christian democracy to development issues - the encyclicals Mater et magistra (1961) e Pacem in terris (1963)

7 - From Christian democracy to the problem of development - the conciliar constitution Gaudium et Spes (1965) and the encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967)

8 - From Christian democracy to the problem of development - the Apostolic Letter Octogesima adveniens (1971)

9 - Consolidation - the encyclicals Laborem exercens (1981), Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987) e Centesimus annus (1991)

10 - Recent developments - the encyclical Caritas in veritate (2009)

Bibliography

Documents mentioned in the syllabus, accessible at the station of the Holy See on the Internet.

Calendar

The course will start on October 9.

It will be taught in the first semester of the 2013-2014 academic year, on Wednesdays at 15:00, in room 104 of the Francesinhas 2 building.