Some
Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching
1.
Dignity of the Human Person
Every
human person is created in the image and likeness
of God. All people are sacred. People do not lose
dignity because of disability, poverty, age,
gender, or lack of success, race or ethnicity.
2.
Community and the Common Good
Human
dignity is realized in community with others and
with all of creation. The human person is both
sacred and social. Society must be shaped to
contribute to the individual and the common good
through our economic, political and social
institutions. Promoting the common good is not
compatible with homelessness, hunger,
unemployment, and injustice.
3.
Rights and Responsibilities
People
have a fundamental right to life, food, shelter,
health care, education and employment. People
have a right to participate in the decisions
which affect their lives.
4.
Option for
the Poor
The
moral test of a society is how it treats its most
vulnerable members. We are called to look at
public policy decisions through the eyes of
persons who are made poor and kept poor. A just
society is achieved only when the needs of the
poor in society are given first priority.
5.
Solidarity
We
are one human family. Our responsibilities to
each other cross national, racial, economic and
ideological differences. The interconnection
among all peoples calls us to value and respect
the experience of all. We are called to work
globally for justice.
6.
Dignity of Work
People
have a right to decent and productive work, fair
wages, private property and economic initiative.
The economy exists to serve people, not the other
way around. Work provides a person with an
opportunity to contribute to the common good and
to participate in the social and economic order.
Living wages with benefits and good working
conditions are essential.
7.
Care for God’s Creation
Our
stewardship of the Earth is a kind of
participation in God’s act of creating and
sustaining the world. In being responsible
partners with the Earth, we learn about and
respect its resources and systems. In our use of
resources, we must be guided by our concern for
the welfare of others, both around the world and
for generations to come.
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Social
Analysis
Social Analysis is a
term for reading the signs of the times with
Christian eyes. Any issue can be used in this
process, which helps us integrate justice in our
daily lives-from the way we read the newspaper to the
decisions we make in the workplace:
SEE
What is your
experience of the issue?
What was the
experience of others affected by this issue?
When did this
problem begin? What has changed over time?
What are the economic,
political, cultural and social factors that play a role in this
situation?
JUDGE
Why are things
this way?
Who makes
decisions?
Who gets left
out?
What would be
Good News to the victims?
How does
scripture speak to this problem?
What do the
social teachings of the Church tell us about
how to respond?
ACT
How can we
engage others in this issue?
Who has the
power to make changes for justice?
How do we
approach them? What is our specific
proposition?
Will this
improve the lives of poor people and the vulnerable?
