Pacem in Terris

There've been many events this year -- including this recent one sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute -- to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Pope John XXIII's great encyclical Pacem in Terris. Evelyn Waugh, who confessed to having a "crush" on Pope John (Waugh detested Pius XII's liturgical innovations), had the following to say about the encyclical fifty years ago:

"Before the recess Pope John hinted that he might not be present when the council reassembled in the autumn.  Early in 1963 it was noticed that he was paler, thinner, and more easily fatigued, but he continued with his duties.  At Eastertide he issued the encyclical Pacem in Terris, which epitomized his aims.  This document is unique in that it is addressed to all mankind, not, as usual, only to the faithful.  The pope, in effect, was calling for the ending of the Cold War.  Under Pius XII the Church had inspired resistance to the Communist world with the result that many naive Catholics had assumed that any government that Communists had a holy cause. . . .  [Pius] came to believe that concordats with hostile governments do more good than intransigent opposition.  He made it known that he wished to recall [the] resolute men [who were suffering under various degrees of restraint under Communist rule].  It was a hard decision, the fruits of which cannot yet be seen.  But Pacem in Terris is not a document of appeasement.  It is a restatement in general terms of the traditional Christian principle of the individual and his family over the state, which is the antithesis of Communism.  There are some who quoted in the pope's last months, 'Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you.'  No pope for centuries enjoyed such acclaim among non-Catholics.  But John will be remembered as a man of hope.  His successors will determine how many of his hopes were chimerical and how many a result of his perception."  Saturday Evening Post, 27 July 1963