Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching sums up the teachings of the Church on issues of justice between groups in society. It seeks to bring the light of the Gospel to bear on the social justice issues that arise in the complex network of relationships in which we live.

Catholic Social Teaching promotes a vision of a just society that is grounded in biblical revelation, the teachings of the leaders of the early church, and in the wisdom gathered from experience by the Christian community as it has tried to respond to social justice issues through history.

Catholic Social Teaching is part of the discipline of applied moral theology and draws on all four major sources of insight used in Catholic ethics: Scripture; reason; tradition; and experience.

Elements:
The social teachings are made up of three distinct elements:
     • principles for reflection 
     • criteria for judgment and
     • guidelines for action

Key Principles:
Principles for reflection are one of the elements of Catholic Social Teaching. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in its Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and the Congregation for Catholic Education in its Guidelines for the Study and Teaching of Catholic Social Doctrine in the Formation of Priests, both identify just four principles of Catholic Social Teaching that are valid always and everywhere. They are:
     • Human dignity
     • The common good
     • Subsidiarity and
     • Solidarity
These four are not the only principles of Catholic Social Teaching, but they are the most important. They are sometimes called permanent or perennial principles, and they sum up the core of Catholic Social Teaching. These four key principles are dynamically interrelated and a range of other principles and criteria can be derived from them.

Further information on these four key principles and other infomation about Catholic Social Teaching can be found at the the Faith Doing Justice website or the Office for Social Justice St Paul and Minneapolis.

Papal Encyclicals

• Caritas in Veritate (June 29, 2009)
• Spe salvi (November 30, 2007)                   
• Deus caritas est (December 25, 2005)  

Previous Papal Encyclicals are available here.

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