Papal Encyclicals & Church Documents

Provided below are the names and brief descriptions for the papal encyclicals and documents from the past 150 years that are most frequently referenced in discussions on the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church in the areas of social justice, the dignity of the person, and the sanctity of human life.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but rather a convenient source of the most fundamental resources on these topics.

Also included are links to the full text of each document located on the Vatican’s website (http://www.va/phome_en.htm).
 
Pope Leo XIII

     Rerum Novarum (Of New Things): On Capital and Labor (May 15, 1891)

Pope Pius XI

     Quadragesimo Anno (The Fortieth Year): On the Reconstruction of the Social Order (May 15, 1931)
 
Pope John XXIII

      Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher): On Christianity and Social Progress (May 15, 1961)
     
     Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth): On Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, and Liberty (April 11, 1963)
 
Pope Paul VI

     Populorum Progressio (Development of People): On the Development of People (March 26, 1967)
     
     Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life): On the Regulation of Human Birth (July 25, 1968) 

Pope John Paul II  

     Laborem Exercens (Working/Labor): On Human Work (September 14, 1981)
    
     Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (The Social Concern): On the Twentieth Anniversary of Populorum Progressio (December 30, 1987)
    
     Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year): On the One Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum (May 1, 1991)    

     Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth): On the Spendor of Truth (August 6, 1993)
     
     Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life): On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life (March 25, 1995)
    
     Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason): On the Relationship of Faith and Reason (September 14, 1998)


Pope Benedict XVI

     Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love): On Christian Love (December 25, 2005)

     Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope): On Christian Hope (November 30, 2007)
     
     Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth): On Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth (June 29, 2009)
 
Pope Francis

     Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith): On Faith (June 29, 2013)

     Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel): On the Gospel in Today's World  (November 24, 2013)

     Laudauto Si (Praise Be to You): On Care for Our Common Home (May 24, 2015)

Additional Church Documents

      Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope):  Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Vatican Council II, Promulgated by
          His Holiness Pope Paul VI, December 7, 1965)

      Dignitatis Humanae (Of the Dignity of the Human Person): On the Rights of the Person and of Communities to Social and Civil
          Freedom in Matters Religious (Vatican Council II, Promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI, December 7, 1965)
 
      Octogesima Adveniens (The Eightieth Anniversary): Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI to Cardinal Maurice Roy, President of the
          Council of the Laity and of the Pontifical Commission Justice and Peace (May 14, 1971)

      Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World): Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Pope Paul VI to the 
          Episcopate, to the Clergy, and to all the Faithful of the Entire World (December 8, 1975) 

      Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of the Person): Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions (Congregation for the Doctrine of the
          Faith, September 8, 2008)