The seriousness, rigor, and serenity of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Regarding a speech by Pope Leo XIV

Abstract

This paper explains how the seriousness, rigor, and serenity of the Social Doctrine of the Church can be understood, based on a statement by Pope Leo XIV in his first address to the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation (May 17, 2025). He links seriousness to the foundation of divine Revelation in its two aspects (Sacred Scripture and Apostolic Tradition); rigor to the postulation of the wisdom of Saint Thomas Aquinas as a model for the proper way of doing theology and philosophy in the service of divine Revelation and the Magisterium of the Church; and serenity to the divine charity and to one’s neighbor in God that should animate the Social Doctrine of the Church.