Catholic Social Teachings
Throughout these weeks, we are taking time to reflect with our students on the Church’s social teachings, connecting our Christian faith to practical human living as faithful stewards of God’s creation.
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is the Church’s body of doctrine that guides how our faith is lived out in society. It focuses on building a just world and living lives of holiness amid the challenges of modern society. CST seeks to bring Gospel values into societal conversations, offering wisdom for creating a peaceful and just world that reflects God’s love. It addresses issues ranging from poverty and war to social injustice and environmental stewardship.
This year, we are exploring the seven Catholic Social Teachings, and so far we have examined two of them:
1) Sanctity of Human Life and Dignity of the Person
The foundation of Catholic social teaching is the inherent dignity and sanctity of the human person. Catholics believe that every human life, from conception to natural death, possesses inherent dignity and must be valued above material possessions. Pope John Paul II wrote extensively on the inviolability of human life and dignity in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (“The Gospel of Life”). Catholics oppose acts that are considered attacks on human life, including abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, genocide, torture, the direct and intentional targeting of noncombatants in war, and every deliberate taking of innocent human life.
In the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes (“Joy and Hope”), the Church teaches that from the moment of conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care. While the Church has not historically opposed war in all circumstances and Catholic moral theology has emphasized just war theory since the mid-third century, Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti states that, in light of modern weapons of mass destruction, it has become increasingly difficult to meet the criteria of a just war and calls for an end to war.
Believing that men and women are made in the image and likeness of God, Catholic doctrine teaches respect for all human beings based on their inherent dignity. According to Pope John Paul II, every human person “is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God.”
Catholic teaching on the dignity of life calls us to prevent genocide and attacks against noncombatants, to oppose racism, and to overcome poverty and suffering. Nations are called to protect the right to life by seeking effective ways to combat evil and terror without resorting to armed conflict except as a last resort, always striving first to resolve disputes by peaceful means. We revere the lives of children in the womb, the lives of persons dying in war or from starvation, and indeed the lives of all human beings as children of God.
2) The Common Good
The common good is understood as the total of social conditions that allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily. It concerns the life of all and calls for prudence from each person, and even more so from those who exercise authority. The common good consists of three essential elements:
i) Respect for the person as such
In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should allow each of its members to fulfill their vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the conditions necessary for the exercise of natural freedom, which is indispensable for the development of the human vocation, such as “the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience.”
ii) Social well-being and development of the group
Development represents the epitome of all social duties. It is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, among various particular interests, while ensuring that each person has access to what is needed to live a truly human life: food, clothing, health care, work, education and culture, suitable information, and the right to establish a family.
iii) Peace
The common good requires peace, understood as the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority ensures, by morally acceptable means, the security of society and its members. Peace is the foundation of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.
Questions for Reflection as We Continue to Grow in Understanding
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How does the theological concept of being created in the image of God define the worth of a person?
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What is the difference between human dignity and human rights?
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How does the Church define the duty to respect the dignity of every human being from conception to natural death?
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How does the call to respect human dignity affect public policy debates, such as immigration or healthcare access?
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How can individuals bear witness to the dignity of each person in their daily actions and speech?
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What are the three essential elements of the common good (respect for the person, social well-being, and peace)?
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How can the common good be upheld when it conflicts with individual freedoms or property rights?
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What are the ethical implications of the idea that “no one is allowed to amass excessive wealth when others lack the necessities of life”?
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How does the principle of the common good justify or limit the right to private property?
May we strive to grow in our commitment to protect human dignity and the good of everyone, so that we may live truly dignified Christian lives.
Fr. Martin Masiisa
