The volume of the Proceedings presented here is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three days of study in which the International Congress on the 50th Anniversary of Mater et Magistra (Rome, 16-18 May 2011), organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (which merged into the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, in August 2016 ), was divided.
The first day (first part of the volume), dedicated to the tasks of the new evangelization of the social and the related pastoral care, was followed by a second day on which the main challenges of today, of a global nature, were also analyzed in their regional dimension. Participants were divided into four continental areas (Africa, Americas, Europe and Asia-Oceania) to allow them to study and deepen the themes chosen in the light of local realities. In fact, if it is true that globalization tends to standardize lifestyles and ways of life almost everywhere in the world, it is undeniable that geo-cultural specificities persist, witnessing the cultural richness of which the human being is capable. In this way, it has been possible to see that it is possible to imagine different solutions for different situations and, therefore, different ways towards an integral development of man, without losing its solid foundation in the Truth of the Gospel.
For the purposes of publication, the interventions of the speakers from each continental area have been ordered according to the common thematic approach, to highlight different reflections and articulations to which the same problem lends itself according to the local reality of reference.
Finally, to demonstrate that a fairer and more equitable world is possible, the third day (third part of the volume) was dedicated to the presentation of good practices, examples of experimentation with the social doctrine of the Church in the various continents.
We hope that this volume will be useful to the various local Churches, subjects of a new evangelization of the social, both at the level of education and of the innovation of the institutions.
The volume, published by LEV (LEV, 2012, 1020 pp., 15 euro) contains a presentation by Card. Peter K. A. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and of His Excellency Msgr. Mario Toso, Secretary.