by Duncan MacLaren

Pope Francis made a significant contribution to our understanding of Integral Human Development (IHD), a term with its origins in St Paul VI’s great encyclical, Populorum Progressio (1967). IHD is the holistic development of the human person, covering all aspects of life: social, economic, political, cultural, personal and spiritual. It promotes the dignity of the human person, equality between every person and the common good of all people in the community.

Pope Francis frequently used the term ‘Integral Human Development’ rather than ‘sustainable development’ or ‘rights-based development’ and elaborated on its meaning. It is based on a Catholic view of human anthropology which is centred on our dignity as people created in the divine image. He stressed values intrinsic to the human person and posited a more rounded view of what development means for the poorest.

He also vastly expanded the theme of climate change and the environment in Catholic Social Teaching (CST), principally through the publication of his encyclical, Laudato Si’ in May 2015. It added added ‘integral ecology’ to the canon of CST, saying that ‘Integral ecology is inseparable from the notion of the common good, a central and unifying principle in social ethics’ (para 156). He stressed the interconnectedness of extreme poverty and the climate crisis, which is a catastrophe in waiting for all those creatures which share our planet, for the planet itself – and for us!

Dr Duncan MacLaren KCSG is a former Executive Director of SCIAF and Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis.

Photo courtesy of SCIAF