Appendix B
Relevant Catholic Church Teachings
(PDF File)
Dignity of the Human Person
Description:
Created in the image and likeness of God, all human life is sacred and all people have dignity. Human persons do not lose dignity because of gender, disability, poverty, age, or race.
Documents of Vatican II
26 There is a growing awareness of the sublime dignity of human persons, who stand above all things and whose rights and duties are universal and inviolable. They ought, therefore, to have ready access to all that is necessary for living a genuinely human life: for example, food, clothing, housing, … the right to education, and work …
Gaudium et Spes, (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)
27 Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury.
Gaudium et Spes, (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Section 1929-1933 Respect for the Human Person
RESPECT FOR THE HUMAN PERSON
1929 Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man.
The person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to him:
What is at stake is the dignity of the human person, whose defence and promotion have been
entrusted to us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are
strictly and responsibly in debt.35
1930 Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a society undermines its own moral legitimacy.36 If it does not respect them, authority can rely only on force or violence to obtain obedience from its subjects. It is the Church's role to remind men of good will of these rights and to distinguish them from unwarranted or false claims.
1931 Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should look upon his neighbour (without any exception) as 'another self,' above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity."37
No legislation could by itself do away with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a "neighbour," a brother.
1932 The duty of making oneself a neighbour to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be. "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."38
1933 This same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us. The teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of offences. He extends the commandment of love, which is that of the New Law, to all enemies.39 Liberation in the spirit of the Gospel is incompatible with hatred of one's enemy as a person, but not with hatred of the evil that he does as an enemy.
Other Church Documents
At the centre of all Catholic social teaching are the transcendence of God and the dignity of the human person. The human person is the clearest reflection of God’s presence in the world; all of the Church’s work in pursuit of both justice and peace is designed to protect and promote the dignity of every person. For each person not only reflects God, but is the expression of God’s creative work and the meaning of Christ’s redemptive ministry.
The Challenge of Peace, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1983
Community and the Common Good
Description:
Created in the image of God, human persons are both sacred and social. Their dignity and rights are realized in relationship with others, in community. "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it. If one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.” (1Cor.
12: 26)
Documents of Vatican II
Promoting the Common Good
26 Every day human interdependence grows more tightly drawn and spreads by degrees over the whole world. As a result the common good, that is, the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment, today takes on an increasingly universal complexion and consequently involves rights and duties with respect to the whole human race. Every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspiration of other groups, and even of the general welfare of the entire human family.
Gaudium et Spes, (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
THE COMMON GOOD
1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is necessarily related to the common good, which in turn can be defined only in reference to the human person:
Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified, but
gather instead to seek the common good together.25
1906 By common good is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily."26 The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of authority. It consists of three essential elements:
1907 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the development of the human vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion."27
1908 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.28
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.
1910 Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.
1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal natural dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of food, hygiene, education, . . . and certain situations arising here and there, as for example . . . alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout the world, and assisting migrants and their families."29
1912 The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around."30
This order is founded on truth, built up in justice, and animated by love.
HUMAN SOLIDARITY
1939 The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of "friendship" or "social charity," is a direct demand of human and Christian brotherhood.45
An error, "today abundantly widespread, is disregard for the law of human solidarity and charity,
dictated and imposed both by our common origin and by the equality in rational nature of all men,
whatever nation they belong to. This law is sealed by the sacrifice of redemption offered by Jesus
Christ on the altar of the Cross to his heavenly Father, on behalf of sinful humanity."46
1940 Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work. It also presupposes the effort for a more just social order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily settled by negotiation.
1941 Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples. International solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world peace depends in part upon this.
1942 The virtue of solidarity goes beyond material goods. In spreading the spiritual goods of the faith, the Church has promoted, and often opened new paths for, the development of temporal goods as well. And so throughout the centuries has the Lord's saying been verified: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well":47
For two thousand years this sentiment has lived and endured in the soul of the Church, impelling
souls then and now to the heroic charity of monastic farmers, liberators of slaves, healers of the
sick, and messengers of faith, civilization, and science to all generations and all peoples for the
sake of creating the social conditions capable of offering to everyone possible a life worthy of man
and of a Christian.48
JUSTICE AND SOLIDARITY AMONG NATIONS
2437 On the international level, inequality of resources and economic capability is such that it creates a real "gap" between nations.223 On the one side there are those nations possessing and developing the means of growth and, on the other, those accumulating debts.
2438 Various causes of a religious, political, economic, and financial nature today give "the social question a worldwide dimension."224 There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent. It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the "perverse mechanisms" that impede the development of the less advanced countries.225 In place of abusive if not usurious financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development, "redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values."226
2439 Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves or have been prevented from doing so by tragic historical events. It is a duty in solidarity and charity; it is also an obligation in justice if the prosperity of the rich nations has come from resources that have not been paid for fairly.
2440 Direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries.227 The efforts of poor countries working for growth and liberation must be supported.228 This doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labour. Peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the poor.
2441 An increased sense of God and increased self-awareness are fundamental to any full development of human society. This development multiplies material goods and puts them at the service of the person and his freedom. It reduces dire poverty and economic exploitation. It makes for growth in respect for cultural identities and openness to the transcendent.229
2442 It is not the role of the Pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms. It should always have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. It is the role of the laity "to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice."230
Other Church Documents
70 The obligation to "love our neighbor" has an individual dimension, but it also requires a broader social commitment to the common good. We have many partial ways to measure and debate the health of our economy: Gross National Product, per capita income, stock market prices, and so forth. The Christian vision of economic life looks beyond them all and asks, Does economic life enhance or threaten our life together as a community?
Economic Justice for All, Pastoral Message of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1986
35 According to Pope John Paul II, the Catholic tradition calls for a “society of work, enterprise and participation” which “is not directed against the market, but demands that the market be appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied.”
Centesimus Annus, (The Hundredth Year), Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II, 1991
Catholic social teaching more than anything else insists that we are one family; it calls us
to overcome barriers of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, economic status, and nationality.
We are all one in Christ Jesus - beyond our differences and boundaries.
Communities of Salt and Light , (pg 10), United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1993
38 Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.
Solicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concern), Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II, 1987
17 We have inherited from past generations, and we have benefited from the work of our contemporaries: for this reason we have obligations towards all, and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who will come after us to enlarge the human family. The reality of human solidarity, which is a benefit for us, also imposes a duty.
Populorum Progressio, (On the Development of Peoples), Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI, 1967
It is precisely this solidarity and interdependence that are at the core of Catholic social
teaching and that are so necessary if we are to begin to change those unjust global attitudes and structures that keep the South poor and the North rich.
Celebrating An Education for Justice and Peace, Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1996
Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Description:
The God of Jesus Christ is above all a God who cares for the poor and marginalized. A distinctly Catholic perspective on the world maintains that we can measure the quality of any society by the way its most poor and vulnerable are treated.
Documents of Vatican II
66 If the demands of justice and equity are to be satisfied, vigorous efforts must be made, without violence to the rights of persons or to the natural characteristics of each country, to remove as quickly as possible the immense economic inequalities which now exist. In many cases, these are worsening and are connected with individual and group discrimination.
Gaudium et Spes, (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)
Other Church Documents
58 Love for others, and especially for the poor, is made concrete by promoting justice.
Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year), Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II, 1991
94 The needs of the poor take priority over the desires of the rich; the rights of workers over the maximization of profits…
Economic Justice for All, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1986
42 A consistent theme of Catholic social teaching is the option or love of preference for the poor. Today, this preference has to be expressed in worldwide dimensions, embracing the immense numbers of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care, and those without hope.
Solicitudo Rei Solicalis (On Social Concern), Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II, 1987
As individuals and as a nation, therefore, we are called to make a fundamental “option for the poor”. The obligation to evaluate social and economic activity from the viewpoint of the poor and the powerless arises from the radical command to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. Those who are marginalized and whose rights are denied have privileged claims if society is to provide justice for all. This obligation is deeply rooted in Christian belief.
Economic Justice for All, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1986
Priority of the Poor
15. The needs and rights of the poor, the afflicted, the marginalized and the oppressed are given special attention in God’s Plan for Creation (WA, n. 4). Throughout his ministry Jesus repeatedly identified with the plight of the poor and the outcasts of society (e.g., Ph 2: 6-8; Lk 6: 20-21). He also took a critical attitude towards the accumulation of wealth and power that comes through the exploitation of others (e.g., Lk 16: 13-15; 12: 16-21; Mk 4: 19). This has become known as “the preferential option for the poor” in the scriptures. In a given economic order, the needs of the poor take priority over the wants of the rich (ER). This does not mean simply more handouts for the poor. It calls instead for an equitable redistribution of wealth and power among peoples and regions (WA, n. 3; ST; UC, n. 13).
Ethical Reflections on Canada’s Socio-Economic Order, The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1983
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