Handout 1A Intro

Social Teachings of the Catholic Church
What is Catholic Social Teachings?

- Catholic Social Teachings (CST) or Catholic Social Doctrine (CSD) sums up the
teachings of the Church on social justice issues. It promotes a vision of a just society
that is grounded in the Bible and in the wisdom gathered from experience by the
Church community as it has responded to social justice issues through history.
- “ The Church’s social teaching comprises a body of doctrine, which is articulated as
the Church interprets events in the course of history, with the assistance of the Holy
Spirit, in the light of the whole of what has been revealed by Jesus Christ. This
teaching can be more easily accepted by men of good will, the more the faithful let
themselves be guided by it”. (CCC.2422)
Why do we have a Catholic social teaching?

- Because it is part of our duty to promote the common good as citizens.
- The members of the Church, as members of society, have the same right and duty to
promote the common good as do other citizens. Christians ought to fulfill their
temporal obligation with fidelity and competence. They should act as a leaven in the
world, in their family, professional, social, cultural and political life. ( Justice in the
World #38)
Why must the Church speak out publicly on matters of justice in the economic, political,
and social spheres of society?
- Because we are an incarnational Church. “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and
the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in a way
afflicted, these are the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of
Christ. (Gaudium et Spes #1)
- Because we are responding to questions asked by humanity. “The Church has
always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in
the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can
respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life
to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. ( Gaudium et Spes #4)
- Because it is an imitation of Christ and a fulfillment of Christ’s command.
“though the Church’s first care must be for souls, how she can sanctify them and
make them share in the gifts of heaven, she concerns herself too with the exigencies
of man’s daily life, with his livelihood and education, and his general, temporal
welfare and prosperity. In all this she is but giving effect to those principles which
Christ himself established in the Church He founded. When he said “I am the way,
the truth, and the life,” “I am the light of the world,” it was doubtless man’s eternal
salvation that was uppermost in His mind, but He showed His concern for the
material welfare of His people when, seeing the hungry crowd of His followers, He
was moved to exclaim: “I have compassion on the multitude.” ( Mater et Magistra
#3-4)
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- Because it is constitutive of the preaching of the Gospel. “Action on behalf of
justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a
constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the
Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every
oppressive situation. (Justice in the World #6)
- Because Our love of God is bound up with our love of neighbor; love of neighbor
cannot be separated from justice. “Our relationship to our neighbor is bound up
with our relationship to God; our response to the love of God, saving us through
Christ, is shown to be effective in his love and service of people. Christian love of
neighbor and justice cannot be separated. For love implies an absolute demand for
justice, namely recognition of the dignity and rights of one’s neighbor. Justice attains
its inner fullness only in love. Because every person is truly a visible image of the
invisible God and a sibling of Christ, the Christian finds in every person God himself
and God’s absolute demand for justice and love. (Justice in the World #34)

Handout 1A Intro

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Social Teachings of the Catholic Church

What is Catholic Social Teachings?

Why do we have a Catholic social teaching?

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