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The Pope Who Paved the Way for Francis’ Encyclical on Climate

5 minute read

On Thursday, when Pope Francis issued a much-anticipated encyclical (“a letter from the Pope to the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, setting forth his views on anything he chooses for serious consideration, but not necessarily an infallible document,” as TIME once explained), he tackled one of today’s most controversial and pressing topics: the environment, and the climate’s impact on poverty.

The choice of topic drew criticism even before its publication. On Monday, Jeb Bush became the latest politician to posit that the Catholic Church should stay out of political and economic issues. But it’s actually been more than a century since the papacy changed its stance in favor of engaging with contemporary debates. One reason for that change was another papal encyclical, one of the most influential such letters in Vatican history: Rerum Novarum.

In the late 19th century, the Church’s long-strained relationship with wealth was being tested anew by the rise of unionism and socialism. Catholic leaders discouraged their flocks from participating in the then-growing labor movements. Pope Leo XIII saw that this situation would not do: though the Church was not a socialist organization, opposing the movements had the effect of alienating followers who just wanted a decent wage, higher living standards and a more fulfilling life. His response was Rerum Novarum, published in 1891. Its title—encyclicals take their names from the first words of the document—translates as “Concerning New Things.” It was a strong statement that the Church was paying attention to the world around it.

In 1931, when Pope Pius XI celebrated its 40th anniversary with his own encyclical, Quadragesima Anno (“In the 40th Year”), which addressed the social problems of the modern world, he called the earlier document the Magna Carta of the Church’s involvement in social justice. As TIME put it back then:

Forty years ago last week, the long-headed little old man in the Vatican peered out into the revolutionized industrial world and saw that all was not going to be peaceful. To 81-year-old Gioacchino Vincenzo Pecci, His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, who had been Civil Governor of Benevento and Governor of Perugia and far more a man-of-the-world than his dogmatist predecessor Pius IX, it seemed a good moment for Mother Church to say her say about social and industrial reform.’ So he composed and issued a great encyclical entitled Rerum Novarum (“Concerning New Things”). Firmly rejecting the new Socialism and its “community of goods” as “directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind,” he enunciated a platform which he was later to expand so as to put Mother Church on record for trades unionism, the eight-hour day, minimum wage laws, old age pensions and much else that was “radical” then, commonplace now.

“There is no intermediary,” he said, “more powerful than Religion (whereof the Church is the interpreter and guardian) in drawing the rich and the working class together, by reminding each of its duties to the other, and especially of the obligations of justice.” He recognized the occasional justification for strikes, the necessity for labor unions and decent wage standards, but he made clear that Mother Church could go no further. “As for those who possess not the gifts of fortune,” he said, “they are taught by the Church that in God’s sight poverty is no disgrace, and that there is nothing to be ashamed of in earning their bread by labor.”

One of the great qualities of Rerum Novarum, TIME noted when another decade had passed, was that its message could be adapted to its times: the support of the common people was unceasing, but the enemy evolved. Where socialism had been rejected in the 19th century for its focus on material goods, that rejection could later be applied to communism and then to Naziism. In later years, Rerum Novarum was also used as the theological basis for the Church’s support of Latin American Catholics who were opposing dictatorships, a policy that affected Pope Francis’ homeland of Argentina, where priests who opposed Juan Perón rose in power.

Rerum Novarum continued to influence the popes of the 20th century. Mater et Magistra (“Mother and Teacher”) was John XXIII’s response to the 70th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, and an attempt to bring its message firmly into the 20th century by addressing pressing global issues like the population boom and the power of technology for good and evil. Though he didn’t cite Communism by name, John XXIII continued his predecessors’ opposition to such movements—all while supporting non-ism “socialization,” or the general theory of working together (eg. through welfare programs) to help others in a society. His 1963 Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”) continued the progressive and modern themes. In 1967, Pope Paul VI continued the trend with Populorum Progressio (“The Development of Peoples”), an encyclical that TIME joked “looked in some ways as if it had been drawn from a U.N. economic report.”

With his encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis is simply continuing a 124-year-old tradition.

The Most Surprising Photos of Pope Francis

Pope Francis
The wind lifts Pope Francis' mantle as he delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on Sept. 26, 2015.Tony Gentile—AP
Pope Francis US visit
Pope Francis looks at the Statue of Liberty from the window of a helicopter on his way to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2015.L'Osservatore Romano/AP
Pope Francis US Visit mannequin
A Pope Francis mannequin rides around in a car in Times Square as New York City waits for the arrival of the Pope to the city, on Sept. 24, 2015.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis US Visit
Kaydn Dorsey, 4, and Lionel Perkins, 4, draw on a coloring sheet bearing the image of Pope Francis as they wait for him to arrive on a visit to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015.David Goldman—Reuters
Pope Francis US Visit nuns selfie
Nuns with the Hospitaler Sisters of Mercy in Pleasantville, N.J., pose for a selfie with a cutout of Pope Francis, at the World Meeting of Families conference, in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 2015. Matt Rourke—AP
Pope Francis Birthday
Pope Francis blows out the candles of a birthday cake to celebrate his 78th birthday during a general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 17, 2014. Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images
Francis
Paying the bill at Rome's Domus Internationalis Paulus VI hotel, where Pope Francis stayed as a cardinal before entering the conclave and being elected pope.Osservatore Romano/AP
Vatican Benedict
Welcoming Pope emeritus Benedict XVI as he returns to the Vatican from the pontifical summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.Osservatore Romano/AP
POPE: EASTER HOLY MASS
Holding a disabled child after celebrating Easter Mass.Alessandro di Meo—ANSA/Zuma Press
BRASIL-POPE-FRANCIS-MASK
Pope Francis masks in a factory in Brazil, where the Pontiff took his first overseas trip. Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty Images
Italy - Religion - Pope Francis leads Worldwide Eucharistic Adoration
Leading the Worldwide Eucharistic adoration at the Vatican.Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis
Vatican Pope
A gust of wind blows the pope's mantle. Alessandra Tarantino—AP
Pope Francis attends the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome at the Vatican
Attending the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters
Pope Francis waves as he leaves Guanabara Palace where he attended a welcoming ceremony in Rio de Janeiro
Leaving a welcoming ceremony at Guanabara Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters
Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican
Greeting the weekly General Audience. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters
Pope Francis
Pointing to the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the balcony of the Aparecida basilica in Brazil. Domenico Stinellis—AP
Catholic faithful with sticker bearing an image of Pope Francis on his forehead looks on while waiting for the Pope to arrive in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro
A Catholic faithful in Brazil bears a sticker of Pope Francis on his forehead. Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters
Pope Francis is projected on screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro
Images of Pope Francis projected onto screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Whitaker— Reuters
Pope Francis is pictured inside his plane before departing from Rio de Janeiro at Galeao Air Base
Departing Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters
Brazil Pope Photo Gallery
A stray dog walks across the stage near the altar where Pope Francis celebrates the World Youth Day's closing Mass on the Copacabana beachfront. Victor R. Caivano—AP
Pope Francis in Brazil
Listening to confessions of young people in a park in Rio de Janeiro. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA
POPE FRANCIS MEETS PIACENZA PILGRIMS
Posing with youths in Saint Peter's Basilica.L'Osservatore Romano—EPA
Vatican, St. Peter's Square - General Audience of Pope Francis
Greeting the faithful on a rainy day during the General Audience.Fabio Frustaci—Eidon Press/Zuma Press
Pope Francis wears a firefighter helmet as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican
Arriving to lead his General Audience in a firefighter's helmet.Stefano Rellandini—Reuters
Pope Francis is silhouetted against window light at the end of a meeting at the Vatican
A quiet moment after meeting with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Vatican.Max Rossi—Reuters
Pope Francis photographed in the Vatican, Rome, Italy in November-December, 2013. Pope Francis was chosen as TIME Magazine's 2013 Person of the Year.
Marking the 110th anniversary UNITALSI, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping the sick. Francesco Zizola—NOOR for TIME
Vatican Russia
A private Audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. L'Osservatore Romano/AP
APTOPIX Vatican Cold Pope
Keeping warm during a General Audience. Alessandra Tarantino—AP
Pope Francis' General Audience
Comforting a disfigured man at the end of his General Audience. Claudio Peri—EPA
Pope Francis - General Audience - Nov. 20 2013
Blessing a sick man with deformed facial features. Evandro Inetti—Zuma Press
ITALY-VATICAN-POPE-VISIT-EPIPHANY
Visiting the parish of the Sant'Alfonso Maria de Liguori during the Epiphany day.L'Osservatore Romano—AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis reacts as he leads a Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican
Reacting to devotees at a weekly General Audience.Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters
A dove released during an Angelus prayer conducted by Pope Francis, is attacked by a seagull at the Vatican
A seagull attacks a dove released during a prayer conducted by Pope Francis. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters
A scarf thrown by faithful is seen on the face of Pope Francis during the general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican
A scarf is tossed at Pope Francis by a faithful. Tony Gentile—Reuters
Italy - Feature - First Pope Francis graffiti murales appears in Rome
Italian artist Mauro Pallotta's superhero rendering of Pope Francis in a street near St. Peter's Basilica.Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis
TOPSHOTS-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-AUDIENCE
Blowing a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter's Square. Vincenzo Pinto—AFP/Getty Images
Obama - Pope Francis
Meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.Vatican Pool/Contrasto/Redux
Italy - H.M Queen Elisabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh meets Pope Francis
With Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Vatican.Alessandra Benedetti—Vatican Pool/Corbis
ITALY-VATICAN-POPE-MAUNDY--THURSDAY
A wind gust lifts Pope Francis's mantle as he arrives at the traditional Washing of the Feet during Holy Thursday. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images
ITALY-VATICAN-POPE-MAUNDY--THURSDAY
Kissing a man's at the traditional Washing of the Feet. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images
Vatican Pope
Visitors take photos of Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Michael Sohn—AP

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com