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Catholic
A Key
Key to
Social
to Catholic
Teaching
Catholic Identity
Identity
A

St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur

Rel Ed 108 – CST AND APOSTOLIC
INVOLVEMENT
JM Salvador - Instructor
The Problem
Far too many Catholics are unfamiliar with the basic content
of Catholic social teaching. More fundamentally, many
Catholics do not adequately understand that the social mission
of the Church is an essential part of Catholic faith.

This poses a serious challenge for all Catholics, since it

weakens our capacity to be a Church that is true to the
demands of the Gospel. We need to do more to share the social
mission and message of our Church.

Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions

U.S. Bishops, 1998
A Key to Catholic Identity
The central message is simple: our faith is
profoundly social. We cannot be called truly
“Catholic” unless we hear and heed the Church's
call to serve those in need and work for justice
and peace.

Communities of Salt and Light, U.S. Bishops, 1993

Vatican II’s Ecclesiology

❖ The Church is a sign and a safeguard

of the dignity of the human person.

❖ A religious organization whose purpose is to help

bring about the reign of God in history.

❖ The social mission is “constitutive”

not extra-curricular or optional.
Justice in the World, 1971 Synod

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.
Constitutive Elements of Church

❖ Scripture -- hearing the Good News

❖ Sacraments -- worship, prayer life, etc.

❖ Social Mission -- action for social justice

Catholic Social Teaching
❖ Rooted in the Bible

❖ Continually developed in Catholic Social Teaching

-- Observe, judge, act

Biblical themes of justice
❖ God is active in human history
❖ Creation
❖ Covenant relationship
❖ Community
❖ Anawim -- "the widows, orphans and aliens”
❖ The example of Jesus – reign of God, healing

In biblical faith, the doing of justice

is the primary expectation of Yahweh.
Walter Brueggeman
Cycle of Baal
Community,
State of Blessing
Become
Restoration
Owners

Cry out for Forget the

Deliverance Poor

Forget
Kill the
Yahweh
Prophets

Create
Prophets: Other Gods
The Poor
Self
Destruction
Vatican II
This split between the faith which many profess and
their daily lives deserves to be counted among the
more serious errors of our age.

Long since, the Prophets of the Old Testament fought

vehemently against this scandal and even more so did
Jesus Christ Himself in the New Testament threaten it
with grave punishments.
Modern
Modern Catholic
Catholic Social
Social Teaching
Teaching

1891 Rerum Novarum Leo XIII

1931 Quadragesimo Anno Pius XI
1961 Mother and Teacher John XXIII
1963 Peace on Earth John XXIII
1965 Church in the Modern World Vatican II
1967 The Development of Peoples Paul VI
1971 A Call to Action Paul VI
1971 Justice in the World Synod of Bishops
1979 Redeemer of Humanity John Paul II
1981 On Human Work John Paul II
1988 On Social Concern John Paul II
1991 The One Hundredth Year John Paul II
1995 The Gospel of Life John Paul II
 Society

e
tiv

Co
u

nt
rib

r ib
st

ut
Di

iv
e
Individual Individual
Commutative (Contractual)
Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching
1. Human dignity
2. Community
3. Rights and duties
4. Option for the poor
5. Participation
6. Economic Justice
7. Stewardship of Creation
8. Solidarity
9. Role of Government
10. Promotion of Peace
1. Human dignity

The person is sacred, made in the image of God.

2. Community / Common Good
The social nature of the human person

The fact that human beings are social by nature

indicates that the betterment of the person and
the improvement of society depend on each
other.…humanity by its very nature stands
completely in need of life in society.
Vatican II, The Church in the Modern World

“Every man for himself,” said the elephant

as he danced among the chickens.
Charles Dickens
3. Rights and duties

❖ Civil/political

❖ Economic/social

Every person has a right to the basic material

necessities that are required to live a decent life.
4. Option for the Poor

❖Remember the “widows, orphans, and

aliens.”

❖A necessary element of the common

good
5. Participation

All people have a right to

a minimum level of participation
in the economic, political, and
cultural life of society.
6. Economic Justice
❖ The economy must serve people, not the other way around.
People are more important than things; labor is more
important than capital.

❖ All workers have a right to productive work, to decent

wages, to safe working conditions; and they have a right to
organize and join unions.

❖ People have a right to economic initiative and private

property, but these rights have limits. No one is allowed
to amass excessive wealth when others lack the
basic necessities of life.
7. Stewardship of Creation
The goods of the earth are gifts.
We hold them in trust, as stewards.

“God destined the earth and all it contains for all people
and nations so that all created things would be shared
fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice
tempered by charity.”
On the Development of Peoples
8. The Virtue of Solidarity

“It is a firm and persevering determination

to commit oneself to the common good; that
is to say, to the good of all ...because we are
all really responsible for all.”

Pope John Paul II, On Social Concern, 1987

9. Role of Government

❖ The state has a positive moral function.

It is an instrument to promote human dignity,
protect human rights, and build
the common good

❖ Subsidiarity
❖As small as possible
❖As big as necessary
10. Promotion of Peace

● Peace is not just the absence of war

● “If you want peace, work for justice.”

Pope Paul VI, 1972, World Day of Peace Message
Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching

1. Human dignity
2. Community
3. Rights and duties
4. Option for the poor
5. Participation
6. Economic Justice
7. Stewardship of Creation
8. Solidarity
9. Role of Government
10. Promotion of Peace
Implications for Catholic Educators
Catholic schools, religious education and faith
formation programs are vitally important for sharing
the substance and values of the Catholic social
justice heritage.

Just as the social teaching of the Church is integral to

Catholic faith, the social justice dimensions of
teaching are integral to Catholic education and
catechesis. They are an essential part of Catholic
identity and formation.
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions
U.S. Bishops, 1998
“Seven Commandments” for Integrating
Catholic Social Teaching into Our Faith

1. Rooted in prayer and worship.

2. Integrate, don’t isolate.
3. Content counts – study the documents.
4. Competency really counts.
5. Charity (social service) is not enough.
6. Thou shalt observe, judge, act.
7. Thou shalt have fun!
Make sure the teaching
is rooted in prayer and worship.
Cultivate a spirituality that is not just private,
but also public and social.

Catholicism does not call us to abandon

the world, but to help shape it.
This does not mean leaving worldly tasks and
responsibilities, but transforming them.

Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice

U.S. Bishops, November, 1998
Integrate, don’t isolate
The commitment to human life and dignity, to
human rights and solidarity is a calling every
Catholic must share. It is not a vocation for a few,
but a challenge for every Catholic educator.

The values of the Church's social teaching must not

be treated as tangential or optional. They must be a
core part of teaching and formation.
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, U.S. Bishops, 1998
Content counts
Study the documents.

There is a universal need to be more explicit

in teaching the principles of Catholic social
thought and helping people apply and act on
those principles.
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions
U.S. Bishops, 1998
Competency really counts

We strongly urge Catholic to create additional

resources and programs that will address the lack
of familiarity with Catholic social teaching among
many….
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions
U.S. Bishops, 1998
Charity (social service)
is not enough.

There is a need for Catholic educational and

catechetical programs not only to continue
offering direct service experiences, but also to
offer opportunities to work for change in the
policies and structures that cause injustice .
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions
U.S. Bishops, 1998
Thou shalt observe, judge, act
● Observe the facts; know the reality

● Use social analysis and moral values to make

judgments about the facts

● Plan a realistic and effective strategy

for action
Thou shalt have fun

No one likes a grim do-gooder!

Conclusion

Salt and Light for the World

“You’re supposed to be the leaven in the

loaf, not part of the lump.”
Internet Resources on
Catholic Social Teaching
❖ http://www.osjspm.org/cst
❖ http://www.osjspm.org/justed.htm
❖ http://www.mcgill.pvt.k12.al.us/jerryd/cm/cst.htm

This PowerPoint presentation can be

downloaded at the following web address:

http://www.osjspm.org/cst.htm
Catholic Social Teaching

A Key
A Key to
to Catholic
Catholic Identity
Identity
 Separation of Church and State

Common Good Society

Politics

Public Order
• Public Peace
State
• Basic Rights
• Public Morality