A New Dimension of the Catholic Church's Influence on the World
On the Novelty of the Social Teaching of St. John Paul II
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3387279 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michał Gierycz (0000-0002-0863-189X, Institute of Political Science, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 1217 |
| Publication date | 2022-12-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel13121217 |
| OpenAlex | W4311791772 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 3 |
When reflecting on the relationship between the Catholic Church and the modern world in the second half of the 20th century, it is impossible to overlook the radical shift brought about by John Paul II. As Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde points out, the saintly Pope opened a "new dimension of the Church's influence on the world". The essence of this novelty was John Paul II's perception of the Church's task as being defined "centrally and exclusively from the perspective of its salvation mission". The above thesis seems proven regarding Holy See diplomacy. The most prominent example of a "new approach" was the decision taken by John Paul II to put aside Ostpolitik, dominant since the t ime of John XXIII. Nonetheless, the question arises regarding a change in the social teaching of the Church under St. John Paul II, for ultimately, political praxis is always rooted in some theory. In the case of the Church, the theoretical foundation of the Church's socio-political activity and its relation to modern world is Catholic social doctrine. The presented article examines the meaning of the teaching of St. John Paul II for the nature, method, and goals of the social teaching of the Church. If Böckenförde is right when writing about the political novelty of the Polish Pope's pontificate, also in this field, despite numerous references to his predecessors, the position of John Paul II should be associated with a significant novum. The article is devoted to discussing this thesis
Aside · Catholic social teaching · Diplomacy · Doctrine · Epistemology · Holy See · Papal infallibility · Political science · Politics · Praxis · Sociology · Theology · Catholicism and Religious Studies · Classics · History · Law · Philosophy · Polish Historical and Cultural Studies · Theology and Canon Law Studies
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |