Concerted Planning
50. If these efforts are to be successful, they cannot be disparate and disorganized; nor should they vie with one another for the sake of power or prestige. The times call for coordinated planning of projects and programs, which are much more effective than occasional efforts promoted by individual goodwill.
So, this is direction, to be clear, to lay people: what to do in the world.
As We said above, studies must be made, goals must be defined, methods and means must be chosen, and the work of select (people) must be coordinated; only then will present needs be met and future demands anticipated. Moreover, such planned programs do more than promote economic and social progress. They give force and meaning to the work undertaken, put due order into human life, and thus enhance (human) dignity and (human) capabilities.
This is part of how human beings are made: we grow into sentience and civilization and collectively, we raise up the entire human project.
This encyclical letter is © Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticana, and can be found in its entirety at this link.
The image is of Lady Justice at the Central Criminal Court of London.
Catholic Sensibility 