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The Encyclical-Letter “Caritas in Veritate”: Ethical Challenges for Business

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Abstract

This article serves as an editorial introduction to this special issue on Pope Benedict’s encyclical-letter, Caritas in Veritate (2009) and its engagement with the field of business ethics. According to this document, love in truth, which includes justice, is indeed presented as a basic moral foundation for economic and business ethics. The article provides an overview of some major themes in the encyclical and their relationship to the essays in this special issue. The authors in this issue are an interdisciplinary group of scholars in the fields of philosophy, theology, psychology, business, economics, and political science who address the relevance and relationship of the encyclical to business ethics in light of their disciplinary field. Their articles include, among other topics, discussions based on recent scholarship on business ethics, the economics and ethics relationship, the orientation of business to the common good, the encyclical’s proposal of the principle of gratuitousness and the logic of gift in ordinary business, and new perspectives on economic exchange and bargains and hybrid forms of business.

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Notes

  1. Etymologically, encyclical comes from Late Latin encyclicus, and from ancient Greek εγκυκλιος (enkyklios) ( “circular, general”).

  2. The main social encyclicals and related documents are: Leo XIII, Rerum novarum (1891); Pius XI, Quadragesimo anno (1931); John XXIII, Mater et magistra (1961) and Pacem in terra (1963); Vatican Council II, Gaudium et spes (1963); Paul VI, Populorum progressio (1967) and Octagesimus adventus (1972); John Paul II, Laborem exercens (1981), Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987), and Centesimus annus (1991); and Benedict XVI, Caritas in veritate (2009).

  3. In 2004, a Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church was published by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which constitutes a valuable synthesis of CST up to this date (see references list).

  4. Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/07/07/us-pope-encyclical-idUSTRE5662VM20090707?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0. Accessed 18 October 2011.

  5. http://www.zenit.org/article-30369?l=english. Accessed 18 October 2011.

  6. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/caritas_in_veritate_is_a_guide_for_politics_and_a_manual_for_the_economy_says_italian_minister/. Accessed 18 October 2011.

  7. Oliver Williams (1986) challenged De George’s position at the time by arguing that a narrative understanding of agape (rather than principles or rules) can lead individuals toward innovative actions. In addition, integrating reason and revelation (through narrative accounts) can therefore be complementary and permit both a recognition and justification of actions to be taken. It is the recognition that something needs addressing in the first place which provides the distinctive contribution of theological as opposed to philosophical business ethics (Williams 1986, p. 480).

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Melé, D., Naughton, M. The Encyclical-Letter “Caritas in Veritate”: Ethical Challenges for Business. J Bus Ethics 100 (Suppl 1), 1–7 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1180-7

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