| Sollicitudo rei socialis | |
| Language: | Latin |
| Translation: | The Social Concern |
| Argument: | On the twentieth anniversary of the encyclical Populorum progressio |
| Date: | 30 December 1987 |
| Pope: | John Paul II |
| Papal Coat Of Arms: | John paul 2 coa.svg |
| Number: | 7 of 14 |
| Web En: | https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-rei-socialis_en.html |
| Web La: | https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-rei-socialis_lt.html |
Sollicitudo rei socialis (Latin: The Social Concern) is an encyclical letter promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 30 December 1987, on the twentieth anniversary of Populorum progressio. It deals once more with the theme of development along two fundamental lines:
The encyclical presents differences between progress and development, and insists that true development cannot be limited to the multiplication of goods and services, but must contribute to the fullness of being a human being. In this way the moral nature of real development is meant to be shown clearly.
The pope continues in this letter his development of the term "structures of sin",[1] used in his earler apostolic exhortation, Reconciliatio et paenitentia (1984). "Structures of sin" are defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as "social situations or institutions that are contrary to the divine law".[2]