Social teachings of Pope Pius XII
Encyclopedia
Social teachings of Pope Pius XII refers to encyclical
s, apostolic constitution
s and speeches by Pope Pius XII
on non-theological issues involving medicine, science, education, social justice, family and sexuality and occupations.
, nurses, midwives, to detail all aspects of rights and dignity of patients, medical responsibilities, moral implications of psychological illnesses and the uses of psycho pharmaca, but also issues of uses of medicine in terminally ill persons, medical lies in face of grave illness, and the rights of family members to make decisions against expert medical advice. Pope Pius XII went often new ways, thus he was first to determine that the use of pain medicine in terminally ill patients is justified, even if this may shorten the life of the patient, as long as life shortening is not the objective itself.
Other topics were the behaviour of medical doctors, facing pain
and death
, sterilisation, genetics
, artificial insemination
, painless child birth, the multiple moral aspects of developing medical technologies, morality
in applied psychology
, moral limits to medical research and treatment, and cancer
treatment of children
, and more.
, although only limited circumstances, within the context of family. Some Catholics interpreted the 1930 encyclical Casti Connubii
by Pope Pius XI to allow moral use of the rhythm method, and internal rulings of the Catholic Church in 1853 and 1880 stated that periodic abstinence was a moral way to avoid pregnancy. Some historians consider these two speeches by Pius XII to be the first explicit Church acceptance of the method.
In his speech to mid-wives, Pope Pius XII offered this understanding of sexual
pleasures: "The Creator himself... established that in the [generative] function, spouses should experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit. Therefore, the spouses do nothing evil in seeking this pleasure and enjoyment. They accept what the Creator has intended for them. At the same time, spouses should know how to keep themselves within the limits of just moderation."
To Pius XII, "The conscience
is the innermost and most secret nucleus of man. There he withdraws with his intellectual capacities into complete separation, alone with himself or better, alone with God, whose voice echoes in his conscience. There he decides over good or bad. There chooses between victory or defeat. The conscience is therefore, to use an old, venerable picture, a sanctuary, on whose entrance all must stop." This respect applies to children and even more to adults: "It is correctly argued, that the true meaning of adult independence is not to be led like a little Child."
Vatican II picked up this quote on conscience from Pius XII verbatim in Lumen Gentium
, and concluded: "By conscience, in a wonderful way, that law is recognized, which is fulfilled in the love of God and neighbour." Since 1993, the Magisterium
of the Church explicitly highlights this particular view of Pope Pius XII, quoting it as an element of the official Catholic Catechism.
The Catholic Church's modern view on family planning was further developed in the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae
by Pope Paul VI
and in Pope John Paul II
's Theology of the Body
.
and religion
were heavenly sisters, different manifestations of divine exactness, that could not possibly contradict each other over the long term Regarding their relation, his advisor Professor Robert Leiber wrote: "Pius XII was very careful not to close any doors prematurely. He was energetic on this point and regretted that in the case of Galileo." Anticipating similar praises from Pope John Paul II
in 1992, Pius XII, in his first speech (1939) to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, included Galileo among the "most audacious heroes of research… not afraid of the stumbling blocks and the risks on the way, nor fearful of the funereal monuments."
Pius XII took a close interest in the proceedings of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
, created by his immediate predecessor, Pius XI, and addressed its sessions on a number of occasions. The scientific stature of the Academy in Pius's day was unimpeachable: Bohr
, Planck
, and Schrödinger
were members, by virtue of having been appointed by Pius XI. De Broglie and Heisenberg were admitted in 1955. The chemist Bernard Pullman
devoted part of his book on the history of atomism
, to Pius's close interest in the quantum mechanics
and atomic physics
that emerged during Pius's lifetime:
Pullman goes on to cite a speech, dated February 21, 1943, as evidence that Pius was even aware of the emerging possibility of nuclear weapon
s.
It is especially notable that Georges Lemaitre
, who was at once a Roman Catholic priest, a cosmologist, and a student of Eddington, and the first to propose the now canonical Big Bang
scenario for the origin of the universe, was also a member of the Pontifical Academy during Pius's day. Thanks to Lemaitre, Pius XII was well-informed about the rise of modern physical cosmology
. Commenting on “the state and nature of original matter,” Pius acknowledged that science declares this to be an “insoluble enigma” but continues, that “it seems that science of today, by going back in one leap millions of centuries, has succeeded in being witness to that primordial Fiat Lux when, out of nothing, there burst forth with matter
a sea of light and radiation
, while the particles
of chemical element
s split and reunited in million of galaxies" Pius went on to say that these facts need further investigation, and theories founded upon them need “new developments and proofs in order to offer a secure basis for reasoning.”
which acknowledged that evolution
might accurately describe the biological origins of human life, but at the same time criticized those who use it as a religion, who "imprudently and indiscreetly hold that evolution... explains the origin of all things". While Humani Generis was significant as the first occasion on which a pope explicitly addressed the topic of evolution at length, it did not represent a change in doctrine for the Roman Catholic Church
. As early as 1868, Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote, "the theory of Darwin, true or not, is not necessarily atheistic; on the contrary, it may simply be suggesting a larger idea of divine providence and skill." The encyclical issues a clear no to another scientific opinion popular at the time, polygenism
," the scientific hypothesis that mankind descended from a group of original humans.
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
s, apostolic constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
s and speeches by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
on non-theological issues involving medicine, science, education, social justice, family and sexuality and occupations.
Medical theology
Pius XII delivered numerous speeches to medical professionals and researchers. Pio XII, Discorsi Ai Medici compiles 700 pages of specific addresses. Pope Pius XII addressed doctorsPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, nurses, midwives, to detail all aspects of rights and dignity of patients, medical responsibilities, moral implications of psychological illnesses and the uses of psycho pharmaca, but also issues of uses of medicine in terminally ill persons, medical lies in face of grave illness, and the rights of family members to make decisions against expert medical advice. Pope Pius XII went often new ways, thus he was first to determine that the use of pain medicine in terminally ill patients is justified, even if this may shorten the life of the patient, as long as life shortening is not the objective itself.
Other topics were the behaviour of medical doctors, facing pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
and death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, sterilisation, genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
, painless child birth, the multiple moral aspects of developing medical technologies, morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
in applied psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, moral limits to medical research and treatment, and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
treatment of children
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
, and more.
Sexuality and conscience
Pope Pius XII fully accepted the rhythm method as a moral form of family planningFamily planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
, although only limited circumstances, within the context of family. Some Catholics interpreted the 1930 encyclical Casti Connubii
Casti Connubii
Castī Connūbiī was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XI on December 31, 1930 in response to the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican church. It stressed the sanctity of marriage, prohibited Catholics from using any form of artificial birth control, and reaffirmed the prohibition on abortion...
by Pope Pius XI to allow moral use of the rhythm method, and internal rulings of the Catholic Church in 1853 and 1880 stated that periodic abstinence was a moral way to avoid pregnancy. Some historians consider these two speeches by Pius XII to be the first explicit Church acceptance of the method.
In his speech to mid-wives, Pope Pius XII offered this understanding of sexual
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
pleasures: "The Creator himself... established that in the [generative] function, spouses should experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit. Therefore, the spouses do nothing evil in seeking this pleasure and enjoyment. They accept what the Creator has intended for them. At the same time, spouses should know how to keep themselves within the limits of just moderation."
To Pius XII, "The conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
is the innermost and most secret nucleus of man. There he withdraws with his intellectual capacities into complete separation, alone with himself or better, alone with God, whose voice echoes in his conscience. There he decides over good or bad. There chooses between victory or defeat. The conscience is therefore, to use an old, venerable picture, a sanctuary, on whose entrance all must stop." This respect applies to children and even more to adults: "It is correctly argued, that the true meaning of adult independence is not to be led like a little Child."
Vatican II picked up this quote on conscience from Pius XII verbatim in Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
, and concluded: "By conscience, in a wonderful way, that law is recognized, which is fulfilled in the love of God and neighbour." Since 1993, the Magisterium
Magisterium
In the Catholic Church the Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church. This authority is understood to be embodied in the episcopacy, which is the aggregation of the current bishops of the Church in union with the Pope, led by the Bishop of Rome , who has authority over the bishops,...
of the Church explicitly highlights this particular view of Pope Pius XII, quoting it as an element of the official Catholic Catechism.
The Catholic Church's modern view on family planning was further developed in the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and issued on 25 July 1968. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the continuing proscription of most forms of birth...
by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
and in Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
's Theology of the Body
Theology of the Body
Theology of the Body is the topic of a series of 129 lectures given by Pope John Paul II during his Wednesday audiences in the Pope Paul VI Hall between September 1979 and November 1984. It was the first major teaching of his pontificate...
.
Theology and Science
To Pius XII, scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
were heavenly sisters, different manifestations of divine exactness, that could not possibly contradict each other over the long term Regarding their relation, his advisor Professor Robert Leiber wrote: "Pius XII was very careful not to close any doors prematurely. He was energetic on this point and regretted that in the case of Galileo." Anticipating similar praises from Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 1992, Pius XII, in his first speech (1939) to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, included Galileo among the "most audacious heroes of research… not afraid of the stumbling blocks and the risks on the way, nor fearful of the funereal monuments."
Pius XII took a close interest in the proceedings of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Pontifical Academy of Sciences
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is a scientific academy of the Vatican, founded in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. It is placed under the protection of the reigning Supreme Pontiff. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical and natural sciences and the study of related...
, created by his immediate predecessor, Pius XI, and addressed its sessions on a number of occasions. The scientific stature of the Academy in Pius's day was unimpeachable: Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
, Planck
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...
, and Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
were members, by virtue of having been appointed by Pius XI. De Broglie and Heisenberg were admitted in 1955. The chemist Bernard Pullman
Bernard Pullman
Bernard Pullman was a French theoretical quantum chemist and quantum biochemist.Pullman studied at the Sorbonne, then spent the Second World War as a French Army officer in Africa and the Middle East. Returning to Paris in 1946, he completed the Licence-es-Sciences in 1946 and the...
devoted part of his book on the history of atomism
Atomism
Atomism is a natural philosophy that developed in several ancient traditions. The atomists theorized that the natural world consists of two fundamental parts: indivisible atoms and empty void.According to Aristotle, atoms are indestructible and immutable and there are an infinite variety of shapes...
, to Pius's close interest in the quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
and atomic physics
Atomic physics
Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and...
that emerged during Pius's lifetime:
"Among all 20th century popes, Pius XII was the one who dealt most extensively with the issue of atomism, particularly with the scientific and philosophical questions raised by the advent of quantum mechanics, questions that could not have left the Church indifferent. [His] two speeches to the Pontifical Academy... are lengthy and marvelously prepared dissertations that attest to the detailed knowledge the Pontiff had of the subject matter. Reading them is not unlike attending a magisterial lecture, as they constitute genuine updates on the state of knowledge at the time."
Pullman goes on to cite a speech, dated February 21, 1943, as evidence that Pius was even aware of the emerging possibility of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s.
It is especially notable that Georges Lemaitre
Georges Lemaître
Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître was a Belgian priest, astronomer and professor of physics at the Catholic University of Louvain. He was the first person to propose the theory of the expansion of the Universe, widely misattributed to Edwin Hubble...
, who was at once a Roman Catholic priest, a cosmologist, and a student of Eddington, and the first to propose the now canonical Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
scenario for the origin of the universe, was also a member of the Pontifical Academy during Pius's day. Thanks to Lemaitre, Pius XII was well-informed about the rise of modern physical cosmology
Physical cosmology
Physical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. For most of human history, it was a branch of metaphysics and religion...
. Commenting on “the state and nature of original matter,” Pius acknowledged that science declares this to be an “insoluble enigma” but continues, that “it seems that science of today, by going back in one leap millions of centuries, has succeeded in being witness to that primordial Fiat Lux when, out of nothing, there burst forth with matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
a sea of light and radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
, while the particles
Elementary particle
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a particle not known to have substructure; that is, it is not known to be made up of smaller particles. If an elementary particle truly has no substructure, then it is one of the basic building blocks of the universe from which...
of chemical element
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
s split and reunited in million of galaxies" Pius went on to say that these facts need further investigation, and theories founded upon them need “new developments and proofs in order to offer a secure basis for reasoning.”
Evolution
In 1950, Pius XII promulgated Humani GenerisHumani Generis
Humani generis is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated on 12 August 1950 "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine"...
which acknowledged that evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
might accurately describe the biological origins of human life, but at the same time criticized those who use it as a religion, who "imprudently and indiscreetly hold that evolution... explains the origin of all things". While Humani Generis was significant as the first occasion on which a pope explicitly addressed the topic of evolution at length, it did not represent a change in doctrine for the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. As early as 1868, Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote, "the theory of Darwin, true or not, is not necessarily atheistic; on the contrary, it may simply be suggesting a larger idea of divine providence and skill." The encyclical issues a clear no to another scientific opinion popular at the time, polygenism
Polygenism
Polygenism is a theory of human origins positing that the human races are of different lineages . This is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity.- Origins :...
," the scientific hypothesis that mankind descended from a group of original humans.