Search results
Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and wealth distribution.
- Life and Dignity of the Human Person. 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.
- Call to Family, Community, and Participation. 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.
- Rights and 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.
- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. 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.
People also ask
What is Catholic social teaching?
What is Catholic social doctrine?
What is the compendium of the social doctrine of the church?
What are the 7 principles of Catholic social teaching?
What are the four key principles of Catholic Social Teaching? Catholic Social Teaching is built on the life and dignity of the human person. Solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good flow immediately from this.
- Respect the Human Person. The foundation for Catholic social thought is the proper understanding and value of the human person. In the words of Pope John Paul II, the foundation of Catholic social teaching "is a correct view of the human person and of his unique value, inasmuch as 'man is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself.'
- Promote the Family. The human person is not simply an individual but is also a member of a community. Failing to acknowledge the community aspect leads to a radical individualism.
- Protect Property Rights. Catholic social teaching from Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (1891) through John Paul II's Centesimus Annus (1991) has defended the right to private property against the claim that the state should own all things.
- Work for the Common Good. Pope John XXIII defined the common good as "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily" (Pacem in Terris 55).
Catholic Social Teaching. Catholic social teaching is a central and essential element of our faith. Its roots are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice.
Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason)—St. John Paul II, 1998. Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life - Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2002. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church —Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004.
