THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The concept of integral human development, primarily promoted by His Holiness Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967) following the Second Vatican Council, was re-emphasized by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in the encyclical Caritas in veritate (2009).

In August 2016, His Holiness Pope Francis announced the creation of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. This new dicastery of the Roman Curia brings together the following four dicasteries: the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” (for Human and Christian Development), and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers.

The new dicastery is called upon to express the Church’s deep interest in the fields of justice, peace and the safeguarding of the whole of creation, as well as in health and works of charity.

THE CREATION OF THE USEK CENTER FOR INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (THE POPE FRANCIS INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT)

In the wake of its vocation and mission to promote the social teaching of the Catholic Church, the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) decided to create a center for promoting the concept of integral human development and its implementation at the pastoral and social levels in Lebanon. Through this initiative, USEK expresses the Church’s keen interest in the various fields of human development, justice, peace, and the safeguarding of the whole of creation: “the whole man and [...] every man”.

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASIS FOR THE ACADEMIC ACTIVITY OF THE USEK CENTER FOR INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The theoretical and methodological basis for the academic activity of the center is multidisciplinary in nature and tackles the concept of integral human development, at the level of groups and territories, through anthropology, ethnology, the psycho-sociology of groups, socioeconomic development, the sociology of organizations, religious sociology, the sociology of cultural heritage, geography, history, etc. The center aims to make the social teaching of the Church known and to put it into practice by fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue between the different social systems.

OBJECTIVES OF THE USEK CENTER FOR INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The objectives of the USEK Center for Integral Human Development are as follows:

• To master the social teaching of the Catholic Church in its fields of competence.
• To monitor and observe the evolution of the sociocultural reality in its fields of competence by establishing the appropriate observatories.
• To establish a development database.
• To undertake action-oriented research with development as its end purpose.
• To develop and execute local development projects.
• To assess the evolution of the sociocultural reality on a continuous basis in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church and vice versa.
• To generate and continuously promote teaching adapted to the evolution of society.
• To offer training for those involved in the relevant pastoral work.
• To spread the teachings of the Church.
• To repopulate the Maronite and Christian countryside based on a modern and productive strategy.
• To encourage the sharing and exchange of experiences and testimonies in its fields of competence.

Administration

Director: Mr. Tanios Chahwan
Contact :Email : tanioschahwan@usek.edu.lb