Centesimus Annus: On the Hundredth Year Anniversary of “Rerum Novarum” I. CHARACTERISTICS OF "RERUM NOVARUM" 1. What are some of the basic characteristics of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum identified by John Paul II in Centesimus Annus?  (You will need to craft a good essay summing up the basic themes of Rerum Novarum.  John Paul II has given you a good start.  All you need to do now is shorten his summary and make your own.) II. TOWARDS THE "NEW THINGS" OF TODAY 2. What, according to Pope John Paul II, are some of the “new things” of today?  Why are these differences important? III. THE YEAR 1989 3. What happened in the year 1989?  Why is that year especially relevant?  How did the events of that year change the basic conflict that inspired the writing of Rerum Novarum?  What challenges still remain? 4. What, according to John Paul II, were some of the factors that brought about the downfall of the Soviet tyranny? IV. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE UNIVERSAL DESTINATION OF MATERIAL GOODS 5. Explain the Church’s understanding of the relationship between the “right” to private property and the fundamental principle of the “universal destination of material goods.”  (To answer this question, you will first need to explain each of these terms, and then explain the relationship between the two.) 6. Discuss the attitude toward the “market economy” (or “business economy”) communicated in this encyclical. 7. Discuss the “role of profit” set forth in the encyclical. 8. Discuss the role of “self-interest” set forth in the encyclical. 9. Discuss the Pope’s attitude toward “the phenomenon of consumerism.” 10. Discuss the Pope’s attitude toward the “ecological question.” 11. What is the Pope talking about when he discusses the issue of “human ecology” and respect for the “human environment”? 12. What is the Pope’s basic attitude toward “economic freedom”? 13. According to the Pope, how are communism and capitalism similar? V. STATE AND CULTURE 14. Explain these two terms: solidarity and subsidiarity. 15. According to John Paul II, “Pope Leo XIII was aware of the need for a sound theory of the State in order to ensure the normal development of man's spiritual and temporal activities, both of which are indispensable. What sort of government does the Pope think is more in accord with the proper nature and dignity of the human person?  Explain. 16. What is Pope John Paul II’s attitude to the “Welfare State”? 17. Why, according to John Paul II, does the “culture and praxis of totalitarianism” also usually involve “a rejection of the Church”?  Explain. 18. Describe the Church’s attitude toward “democracy.”  Why does she favor it, but not unreservedly? 19. What, according to the Pope, is necessary for an “authentic democracy”? 20. What, according to the Pope, is necessary in order to overcome today's widespread individualistic mentality? 21. According to the Pope, “All human activity takes place within a culture and interacts with culture.”  What is necessary for “an adequate formation of a culture”? VI. MAN IS THE WAY OF THE CHURCH 22. What does the Pope means when he says that “man is the way of the Church”?  Isn’t Christ the way of the Church (as in: “I am the way, truth, and the life”)?  Explain why the Pope takes this approach in light of the challenges of modern atheistic humanism.