Method in the social teaching of the church

Abstract

When Leo XII dealt with the labour question, he raised the question and tried to solve it on the basis 'Of a theory of society, even if such a theory was moo:-e implied rather than explicitly stated. Pius XI was perhaps even more conscious than his predecessor ,of the need to approach the labour question in the context 'of an explicit social theory. Much of the criticism that was leveled in the sixties against the earlier social teaching tradition in the Catholic Church centered on the difficulties inherent in the concept of social systems in general. it was pointed out that human life is too complex a 'reality to fit any conceptual scheme and that history is continuously bringing new insights and technical possibilities which necessitate a critical and open attitude toward social systems.