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About CST

Catholic Social Teaching is based on the belief that God has a plan for creation,
a plan to build his kingdom of peace, love and justice. It holds that God has a special place in this story for each of
us, whoever we are. Our part in this plan isn’t just limited to things ‘spiritual’, or things we might do on Sundays, but
that it involves every aspect of our lives, from the things we pray about, to how we live as a responsible global
citizens. Our part in this story is a kind-of vocation for the common good, a call to treat everyone as your brothers and
sisters and is something that we all share. Catholic Social Teaching is the tradition of papal reflection about how we
live this vocation for the common good in our world.
Catholic Social Teaching touches upon many different aspects of life, from the family to international development,
how we think of those who are homeless to how we care for the environment, and from how we shop and consume to
the rights of workers and the dignity of work. All the different areas that Catholic Social Teaching touches upon have
developed from practical reflection on the realities of modern life in the light of the principles and themes of Catholic
Social Teaching.

This website is structured around these themes and offers explanations, resources, reflections and stories for each
one. We hope these will help you to better understand and reflect upon Catholic social teaching as well as challenge
you and support you in better responding to our shared vocation for the common good.

Find out more about the themes below, or alternatively, click here to read a more in depth introduction to Catholic
Social Teaching.

Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Human Dignity
We must recognise we are all brothers and sisters which requires us to respect, value and uphold a common dignity
for ourselves and each other. As human beings we are created in the image and likeness of God so therefore we
have an inherent worth and distinction.
Community and Participation
As humans we were are not created to live alone, community is clearly linked in the history of humankind. One way
for Catholics to practise solidarity is to participate in pursuing the common good for a community. Every member of
society has a duty to develop this common good and every member has a right to enjoy the benefits brought about by
it.

Care for Creation


Respect for human life means respecting all of God’s creation. We must re-engage with our environment and take
responsibility for it; live sustainably, live so that there are enough resources for everyone. Our environment influences
almost all of our lives, and Catholic Social Teaching recognises that undervaluing makes us all poorer.

Dignity in Work
This theme looks at the importance of work, the dignity of work and the value of balance in our home and work lives.
Catholic Social Teaching holds that work is not to be drudgery, but creative, positive and an intrinsic good. It is not
however, all for yourself, ways to accumulate power and influence, but is rather to play our part in being co-creators
in God’s loving act of creation.

Peace & Reconciliation


The Church teaches us that peace is central to the gospel and represents a challenge to many contemporary
attitudes and assumptions. Pope Benedict XVI has challenged Christians to be true peacemakers bringing
forgiveness and non-violent solutions to situations of hurt and violence.
Solidarity
Solidarity is an important concept for Christians and is one of the most mystical and deeply human founding concepts
of the social teaching of the Church. It is based on the belief that together we can make a difference and together we
are much stronger. When we value fellow human beings we respect each other as unique individuals and we can
stand up for what is right for one another.
Further Explanation

The Church has always had social teaching and the most fundamental source is the Bible. There was also the
tradition of the Church Fathers in such areas as ownership of property, the just war and the charging of interest. In its
modern form, however, Catholic Social Teaching (CST) first emerged at the end of the nineteenth century as a
response to the injustices of the Industrial Revolution and the threat of Communism. While recognising that social
teaching is a lived tradition and not just a written one, our focus is on the considerable development that has taken
place over the last century.

What is Catholic Social Teaching?


• An authoritative Church teaching on social, political and economic issues
• It is informed by Gospel values and the lived experience of Christian reflection
• It analyses that lived experience of Christian reflection from different historical, political and social contexts
• It provides principles for reflection, a criteria for judgment and guidelines for action
• Thus, it enables us in our struggle to live our faith in justice and peace

What Catholic Social Teaching is not:


• A ‘third way’ between liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism. It constitutes a category of its own. (Sollicitudo Rei
Socialis, paragraph 41).
• It is not an ideology, but rather the result of a careful reflection on the complex realities of human existence, in
society and in the international order, in the light of faith and the Church’s tradition… It therefore belongs to the field
of moral theology and not of ideology. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, paragraph 41).
• It is not a model: the Church has no models to present; models that are real and effective can only arise within the
framework of different historical situations, through the efforts of all those who responsibly confront concrete
problems in their social, political and cultural aspects, as these interact with each other. (Centesimus Annus,
pargraph 43).

Principles of Catholic Social Teaching:


Below are a list of some of the main principles of Catholic Social Teaching that are highlighted throughout the
website.

The dignity of the human person:


The focal point of CST is the human person, made in the image of God, and so having fundamental freedom and
dignity, the basis for human rights. Recognising this image in our neighbour, the teaching rejects any policy or system
that reduces people to economic units or passive dependence. (See especially Pacem in Terris & Laborem
Exercens).

The Common Good


People exist as part of society. Every individual has a duty to share in promoting the welfare of the community and a
right to benefit from that welfare. This applies at every level: local, national and international. Public authorities exist
mainly to promote the common good and to ensure that no section of the population is excluded. (See Sollicitudo Rei
Socialis).
Solidarity
As members of the one human family, we have mutual obligations to promote the rights and development of peoples
across communities and nations. Solidarity is the fundamental bond of unity with our fellow human beings and the
resulting interdependence. All are responsible for all; and in particular the rich have responsibilities towards the poor.
National and international structures must reflect this. (See Populorum Progressio, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis &
Centesimus Annus)

Subsidiarity
All power and decision-making in society should be at the most local level compatible with the common good.
Subsidiarity will mainly mean power passing downwards, but it could also mean passing appropriate powers
upwards. The balance between the vertical (subsidiarity) and the horizontal (solidarity) is achieved through reference
to the common good. (See Quadragesimo Anno)

Option for the poor


Implicit in earlier CST, this has now been taken up with new urgency and far-reaching consequences for pastoral
action. Fidelity to Christ means seeing him above all in the faces of suffering and wounded people. (See Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis & Centesimus Annus)

Putting into Practice


Applying abstract principles is always difficult but John XXIII outlined a well-tried procedure:

(a) examine the concrete situation (See);


(b) evaluate it with respect to the principles (Judge);
(c) decide what should be done in the circumstances (Act). (Mater and Magistra, paragraph 23)
This methodology is precisely what is followed in The Pastoral Cycle.
Encyclicals

Laudato Si’ – O
n Care for Our Common Home (2015)
Pope Francis

Summary: Laudato Si’ is a passionate call to all people of the world to take “swift and
unified global action”, particularly in relation to the destruction of the environment. Pope
Francis writes that while humanity has made incredible progress in science and
technology, this has not been matched with moral, ethical and spiritual growth. This
imbalance is causing our relationships with creation and with God to break down and
our hearts to become hardened to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. We
become arrogant and neglect creation and everyone that is part of it; forgetting what
God has entrusted to our care.
Read Progressio’s guide to Laudato Si’ (768k PDF)- providing a summary of the encyclical through its main themes
and most important quotes.
Backstory: Laudato Si’ is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. Since Lumen fidei was largely the work of Francis’s
predecessor Benedict XVI, Laudato Si’ is generally viewed as the first that truly represents Francis’s outlook.

Evangelii Gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel (2013)


Pope Francis

Summary: While not a papal encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium gives particular attention to
the ‘social dimension of Evangelisation’. The first section, setting the context for sharing
the Joy of the Gospel talks of a huge amount of social problems, characterised by Pope
Francis as the ‘crisis of communal commitment’ and touches on the markets, the
economy of exclusion, inner city life, spiritual worldliness and consumerism, among
other things.
Backstory: Francis wrote this document upon the invitation of the fathers of the Synod of
Bishops, and published it in commemoration of the end of the Year of Faith.

Read Progressio’s guide to Benedict XVI’s social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (1.18Mb PDF).

Evangelium Vitae – “The Gospel of Life” (1995)


Pope John Paul II

Summary: Powerful underscoring of the dignity and value of life; John Paul II condemns the ‘culture of death’ where
individual freedom is placed before the rights of others to life -hence the condemnation of the death penalty, abortion
and euthanasia. With very moving words to women who have undergone abortion; ‘do not give in to discouragement
and do not lose hope’. This presents positive images of the promotion of a ‘culture of life’ where human freedom finds
its authentic meaning and a culture of the family is the ‘sanctuary of life’.
Backstory: John Paul II is clearly anxious about the development of individualism and its assertion of rights,
especially in advanced societies.
Centesimus Annus – “The One Hundredth Year” (1991)
Pope John Paul II

Summary: To affirm democracy the excesses of capitalism must be condemned, as well as the ‘idolatry of the market’
and the ‘insanity of the arms race’. Private property is deemed acceptable but for the first time the world’s goods
(including intellectual property) are stated as having a ‘universal destination’.
Backstory: The Berlin Wall had just collapsed; arms expenditure globally hovered at around $1,000 billion (one
trillion) and there was also the emergence of the super rich individual.
For a full outline of Centesimus Annus and guided readings from the encyclical, go to .

Sollicitudo Rei Socialis – “The Social Concern of the Church” (1987)


Pope John Paul II

Summary: John Paul who had now been Pope for over fifteen years writes this very thoughtful letter in which the
terms ‘structures of sin’ and ‘option for the poor’ strongly emerge (from liberation theology). He goes onto condemn
the gap between the rich and poor which can be partially linked to the arms trade.
Backstory: The increase in refugees is a major concern and a result of confrontation. This was written amongst the
continuation of the Cold War with the Berlin Wall collapsing later in 1989. This time also saw the severe recession of
the mid 1980’s and gaps between the rich and poor widening with ‘turbo capitalism’.

Laborem Exercens – “Through Work” (1981)


Pope John Paul II rights
Summary: Work is the central issue of this document; do women and men participate in God’s creativity and share in
its productivity or are they merely cogs? This poses the idea that work should increase human dignity as the
economy is made for labour and work is the subject of people. New concepts of solidarity and ‘indirect employer’
emerge strongly in this encyclical.
Backstory: Both capitalism and Marxism are criticised. John Paul had lived through the worst excesses of two
regimes (Russian Communism and Nazism) which saw the worker as an expendable resource in the interests of the
state. He was highly aware that the exploitation of workers continued, especially in poor areas of the world.
For a full outline of Centesimus Annus and guided readings from the encyclical, go to .

Octogesima Adveniens – “On the Eightieth Year” (1971)


Pope Paul VI.

Summary: This is strictly an ‘apostolic letter’ rather than an encyclical. Further reference is made in this letter to ‘The
Condition of Labour’, and Paul VI lists approximately fifteen key issues presenting problems. Paul VI expresses that a
variety of responses should be offered as the Christian solution. He also states that Christians should be called to
action to involve themselves in building a just world by analysing their own realities and devising responses in light of
the Gospel.
Backstory: The South American bishops had met at Medellin three years earlier and their themes of structural
injustice, the option for the poor, conscientisation and liberation permeate the thinking in this document.

Populorum Progressio – “The Progress of Peoples” (1967)


Pope Paul VI

Summary: Pope Paul VI most famously stated that ‘development is the new name for peace’ and he goes onto
express dangers of conflict if inequalities grew. The whole area of human development is examined from an integral
and holistic viewpoint rather than development just being based on economic factors.
Backstory: This was the concern for the signs of the times (in practical terms) as the Second Vatican had not fleshed
out its ideas for development. Paul VI had also travelled widely and now international communications were bringing
issues such as global poverty into closer proximity due to newer technologies such as television.
Gaudium et Spes – “The Joys and Hopes” (1965)
A document of the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965), promulgated by Pope Paul VI

Summary: This document underlined the need of the church to be completely immersed in human affairs and for the
church to share the joys and hopes of people.
Backstory: Demonstrates the idea that the church needs to ‘interpret the signs of the times’. Although this was a
document by the Second Vatican Council rather than an encyclical, it was none the less significant. The Vatican II
was a pastoral council which firmly showed the significance of the church in the world rather than it being of spiritual
concern only, and this was a ‘constitution’ of Vatican II – voted for by a majority of the bishops and was therefore
hugely important for Catholic Social Teaching.

Dignitatis Humanae – “Human Dignity” (1965)


Another Second Vatican document rather than an encyclical

Summary: Essentially a declaration of religious freedom and the call for all Christians to respect religious freedom, a
freedom which must also be permitted by states. The church must be allowed to work freely, but compulsion or force
must play no part in a person’s response to God.
Backstory: This was one of the most contentious of all of the Vatican documents with much of the initiative coming
from the US church favouring secularism. As a result this was opposed (and still is today) by many conservatives
favouring the involvement of the church in the state as was seen in Spain and Italy, and as the church had acted up
until the early 20th century.

Pacem in Terris – “Peace on Earth” (1963)


Pope John XXIII
Summary: First addressed to ‘all people of goodwill’ and underlines the rights and responsibilities of individuals. This
document also condemns the arms race and racism and advocates resources to be shared in the common
endeavour for development.
Backstory: The terrifying threat of nuclear war had become heightened with the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile
Crisis. In addition, the civil rights movement in the US had also exposed divisions of race.
For more on what Pacem in Terris says about Human Rights and Responsibilities, see and .

Mater et Magistra – “Mother and Teacher” (1961)


Pope John XXIII

Summary: It states the need for a balance between excessive intervention of the state against the need for state
intervention to curb injustices and assist socialisation. It also goes on to advocate worker participation and ownership
and marks the beginning of a focus on international poverty rather than its previous concentration on industrialised
countries.
Backstory: Communism was still viewed as being a major threat and since World War II there was an increasing
concern for poorer nations and international inequalities.

Quadragesimo Anno – “On the Fortieth Year” (1931)


Pope Pius XI

Summary: Dictatorship is condemned as the dangers of fascism and communism are exposed – such as increasing
child and female labour.
Backstory: This mid depression provoked new thinking as opposed to the previous preoccupation with World War I.
The growth of systematic atheism had increased, the modernist crisis arose and there were huge developments in
thought. Germany was economically devastated and Russia allowed many of its own people to die – justified as
necessary for the good of the state.
Rerum Novarum – “Of New Things” (1891)
Pope Leo XIII

Summary: Pope Leo XIII highlights the principles necessary to bring about a just society introducing the ‘just wage
theory’, these principles include protecting the rights of workers, free association being defended by the state and
private property defended but limited.
Backstory: Rerum Novarum was the first of the modern wave of social encyclicals. Leo was acutely aware of the
poverty of many workers and of the growth in power of socialist movements.

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