Major Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Issues of justice and peace are core elements of the message of Jesus and have always been a key part of our Catholic faith. Though a rich tradition of Catholic social teaching exists, many Catholics may not be familiar with the basic content of Catholic social teaching and may not understand that the social mission of the Church is an essential part of Catholic faith. The Church's social teaching provides a treasure of wisdom, based in scripture and articulated through a tradition of papal encyclicals, conciliar documents, and episcopal statements.

Last month's Witnessing Faith column spoke about the USCC Task Force on Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Education. The column then mentioned a response to the report of the Task Force—a statement published by the bishops of the United States and entitled Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions. This document focuses on the strength of Catholic social tradition, describing seven major themes that are intricately woven into the fabric of doctrinal teaching. It also underscores the challenges for making Catholic social teaching more visible in catechetical ministry—emphasizing the doctrinal foundations of such teaching as the basis of a comprehensive catechesis and part of communal and individual activity.

Sharing Catholic Social Teaching is an informative document that should be read in its entirety. We would like to take the opportunity here to highlight one portion of it by printing the seven major themes of Catholic social teaching that the statement describes.

Life and Dignity of the Human Person
In a world warped by materialism and declining respect for human life, the Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and assisted suicide. The value of human life is being threatened by increasing use of the death penalty. The dignity of life is undermined when the creation of human life is reduced to the manufacture of a product, as in human cloning or proposals for genetic engineering to create "perfect" human beings. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

Call to Family, Community, and Participation
In a global culture driven by excessive individualism, our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The family is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. While our society often exalts individualism, the Catholic tradition teaches that human beings grow and achieve fulfillment in community. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Our Church teaches that the role of government and other institutions is to protect human life and human dignity and promote the common good.

Rights and Responsibilities
In a world where some speak mostly of "rights" and others mostly of "responsibilities," the Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities— to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. While public debate in our nation is often divided between those who focus on personal responsibility and those who focus on social responsibilities, our tradition insists that both are necessary.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
In a world characterized by growing prosperity for some and pervasive poverty for others, Catholic teaching proclaims that a basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt. 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
In a marketplace where too often the quarterly bottom line takes precedence over the rights of workers, we believe that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected—the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative. Respecting these rights promotes an economy that protects human life, defends human rights, and advances the well-being of all.

Solidarity
Our culture is tempted to turn inward, becoming indifferent and sometimes isolationist in the face of international responsibilities. Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, wherever they live. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that "loving our neighbor" has global dimensions in an interdependent world. This virtue is described by John Paul II as "a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all" (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 38).

Care for God's Creation
On a planet conflicted over environmental issues, the Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect the people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God's creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.

Art used by permission of the artist, Sr. Helen David Brancato, IHM.


(Excerpts from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions Copyright © 1998 United States Catholic Conference, Inc., Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.)