MIDTERM QUESTIONS FOR THEOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF

THE CHURCH BLOCK C 2020

ATTY. JOAQUIN OBIETA

1. Which of the following is NOT a natural law argument with respect to Rerum
Novarum?1

a. Man's dignity demands that he should act according to a knowing and

free choice toward goodness
b. God gave earth to all but left limits of ownership to be decided by man, but
even with private property it should serve the common good
c. Through private property, man is able to possess the investment of self he puts
onto his labor and enjoy the fruits of his labor
d. Private property is necessary for sustaining the family answer

2. Which of the following supports the natural law argument of appeal to gift of human reason?2

a. The earth indeed produces in great abundance the things to preserve and, especially to
perfect life, but of itself it could not produce them without human cultivation and care.
b. For God is said to have given the earth to mankind in common, not because He intended
indiscriminate ownership of it by all, but because He assigned no part to anyone in
ownership, leaving the limits of private possessions to be fixed by the industry of men
and the institutions of peoples.
c. It follows that dominion not only over the fruits of the earth, but also over the
earth itself, ought to rest in man, since he sees that things necessary for the future
are furnished him out of the produce on the earth.
d. Since man expends his mental energy and his bodily strength in procuring the goods of
nature, by this very act he appropriates that part of physical nature to himself which he
has cultivated.

3. Who is the author of the Quadragesimo Anno?3

a. Pope Benedict
b. Pope Pius XI
c. Pope Leo XIII
d. Pope John Paul II

4. What is the english translation of Quadragesimo Anno?4

a. In the 4th Year

b. In the 80th Year

1
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Rerum Novarum (1891), 2-3 and Ateneo Law School.
Handout in Gaudium et Spes (1965), 2.
2
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Rerum Novarum (1891), 2.
3
Quadregisimo Anno [In The 40th Year]. Pope Pius XI. May 15,1931.
4
Ibid.
 c. In the 400th Year
d. In the 40th Year

5. The following are the themes in Mater et Magistra except:5

a. Initiative
b. Eliminating Inequalities
c. Womens Rights
d. Cooperation

6. What is common good as defined in the Social Teachings of the Church?6

a. A term of art, referring to either what is shared and beneficial for all or most
members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by
citizenship, collective action, and active participation in the realm of politics
and public service
b. The sum total of all those conditions of social living whereby men are
enabled more fully and more readily achieve their own perfection
c. The advantage or benefit of all people in society or in a group
d. The good or well-being of an entity. The concept is that the good of the entire
group can be no more than the good of each particular component.

7. Which event served as the impetus for Pacem in Terris?7

a. Ethiopian Famine
b. Cuban Missile Crisis
c. Philippine Martial Law
d. Mexican War on Drugs

8. What are the principles of right reason that the relations between States must be
regulated with?8

a. Truth, Justice, and Sincere and Vigorous Cooperation

b. Equality, Liberty and Brotherhood
c. Faith, Hope and Charity
d. Peace, Love and Joy

9. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Gaudium et Spes?9

a. Feeling of openness to the contemporary situation.

5
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Mater et Magistra (1961), 5.
6
Ibid., 2.
7
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Pacem in Terris (1963), 1.
8
Pacem in Terris [Peace on Earth]. Pope John XXIII. April 11, 1963, par. 114.
9
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Gaudium et Spes (1965), 1.
 b. Embodies an incarnational theology that brought the Church into the heart of
human life.
c. Spoke in humble and sincere terms only to Catholics.
d. Offered a systematic and ethical framework for dealing with world problems
and urged pastoral action to make its commitments real in Christian life and
work.

10. Which among the following statements is incorrect regarding conscience as discussed
in Gaudium et Spes?10

a. Conscience is the secret core and sanctuary of the human person where he is
alone with God.
b. When conscience errs because of invincible ignorance, it loses its dignity.
c. Human dignity depends on freedom to obey ones conscience.
d. Respect and the necessary freedom must be given to a person's exercise of
conscience.

11. What is a limitation of Populorum Progressio?11

a. The teaching of marriage seems relevant only for families who can afford
basic needs.
b. Absent of the encyclical is any direct and explicit proposal to poorer
groups within a country that they should mobilize themselves politically
and engage in strong non-violent action for justice.
c. Giving of such a high value to consensus and stability that it may not have
taken sufficient account of the fact that genuine dialogue presupposes s degree
of equality between partners.
d. Wording of the encyclical was alleged to show that the Church officially
rejects the idea that action in behalf of justice in the world takes second place
to more spiritual or religious matters.

12. What topic did the encyclical Populorum Progressio tackle that prior encyclicals
barely discussed?12

a. Economic Justice
b. Role of the Church in the modern world
c. International Development Issue
d. Capitalism and Socialism

13. Which among the following is NOT a new social problem introduced in Octogosima
Adveniens?13

10
Ibid., 2.
11
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Popolorum Progressio (1967), 5.
12
Ibid., 1.
13
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Octogesima Adveniens (1971), 1-2.

 a. The role of women in society
b. Power of the media
c. Problems arising from urbanization
d. Lack of non-secular education

14. Which theme of Octogesima Adveniens discussed the weakening of agrarian

civilization, and creating new social problems such as unemployment, redeployment
of persons, permanent adaptation of workers and disparity of conditions in the
different branches of industry?14

a. Evangelization
b. Urbanization
c. Discrimination
d. Juridical Recognition

15. Which encyclical espoused that cooperation between churches in rich and poor
nations is essential for economic and spiritual progress?15

a. Populorum Progessio
b. Octogesima Adveniens
c. Justitia in Mundo
d. Laborem Exercens

16. It is in the observance of the duties of justice that God is truly recognized as:16

a. Supreme Peacemaker
b. Mediator
c. Liberator of the oppressed
d. Redeemer

17. According to Evangelii Nuntiandi, what are the 2 fundamental commands through
which the Good News of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed?17

a. Follow God and fish for people

b. Put on the new self and be reconciled to God
c. Love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself
d. Repent and be baptized

14
Octogesima Adveniens [Eightieth Anniversary]. Pope Paul VI. 1971.
15
Ateneo Law School. Handout in Justitia in Mundo (1971), 4.
16
Ibid., 3.
17
Evangelii Nuntiandi [Evangelization in the Modern World]. Paul VI. December 8, 1975,
sec. 2, par. 1.
 18. What are the two spheres of challenges to evangelization?18

a. The first is the one which can be called the increase of unbelief in the
modern world. The second sphere is that of those who do not practice.
b. The first one is the complexity of the modern world. The second is corruption
within the Church.
c. The first sphere is the impracticability of belief. The second sphere is the
steady progress of science.
d. The first one is the lack of resources of the Church. The second is the increase
in number of religious sects.

19. What is the "disconcerting fact of immense proportions" lamented by Pope John Paul
II in Laborem Exercens?19

a. The large number of practicing Catholics who fail or refuse to proclaim the
Gospel.
b. Conspicuous amounts of natural resources remain unused yet huge
numbers of people are unemployed, under-employed, and suffer from
hunger
c. Disproportionate growth of many cities which have become unhealthy to live
in as a result of pollution, inefficient structures, and wasteful use of energy
d. The collapse of socialist states resulting in a less-empowered labor force in
those states with newly founded capitalist structures

20. Which of the following is NOT a correct definition of work according to the Laborem
Exercens?20

a. Work is that through which man earns his daily bread.

b. Work is a transitive activity which begins in the human subject and is directed
towards an external object.
c. Work is a force to move an object over a given distance.
d. Work is a process whereby man and the human race subdue the earth.

21. What is not an indicator common to the vast majority of nations?21

a. Decreasing employment opportunities

b. Slow advancement of technology
c. Difficulty in pursuit of higher education
d. Inadequate housing of individuals

18
Ibid. sec. 56, par. 1.
19
Laborem Exercens. Pope John Paul II. September 14, 1981, sec. 4, par. 6.
20
Ibid.
21
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. Pope John Paul II. December 30, 1987.
 22. What is the purpose of liberation and development, taking into account the intimate
connection between the two?22

a. Wealth of man
b. Fullness of the rights and duties of the people
c. Freedom from all forms of slavery affecting the individual and society
d. Peaceful and order society

23. Centesimus Annus, written by Pope John Paul II and published in 1991, was made
during the Hundredth Anniversary of what encyclical?23

a. Quadragesimo Anno
b. Justitia in Mundo
c. Rerum Novarum
d. Mater et Magistra

24. Written during the last days of the World War II, Centesimus Annus specifically
examined contemporaneous political and economic issues. Which specific ideology
was refuted by this encyclical?24

a. Feudalism
b. Communism
c. Bureacracy
d. Capitalism

22
Ibid. sec. 7, par. 46.
23
Centesimus Annus. John Paul II. May 1, 1991.
24
Ibid.