THE CHURCH’S SOCIAL MISSION

Why does the Church have a social doctrine?

Human beings are profoundly social creatures. Both in heaven and on earth man is dependent on
community. Back in the Old Testament, God gave his people humane regulations and
commandments by which they could lead a life that is just and good. Human reason can
distinguish unjust actions from the just deeds that are necessary to build a just social order. In
Jesus we see that justice is fulfilled only in love. Our present-day notions of solidarity are
inspired by Christian love of neighbor. (CSD 62 ff; CCC 2419-2420, 2422-2423)

What are the purposes of Social Doctrine?

Social Doctrine has two purposes:

1. To set forth the requirement of just social action as they appear in the Gospel;
2. In the name of justice to denounce social, economic, or political actions and structures
whenever they contradict the Gospel message.

The Christian faith has a clear concept of the dignity of man, and from this concept it derives
certain principles, norms and value judgments that make a free and just social order possible. As
clear as the principles of social doctrine are, they still must be applied again and again to current
social questions. In applying her social doctrine, the Church becomes the advocate of all people
who for very different reasons cannot raise their voices and not infrequently are the ones most
affected by unjust actions and structures. (CSD 81, 82; CCC 2423)

Who, then, determines what the Social Doctrines of the Church are?

All members of the Church, according to their particular tasks and charisms, participate in the
development of social doctrine. The principles of social doctrine have been spelled out in
important Church documents. Social doctrine is an official “teaching” of the Church.

The Magisterium of the Church – meaning the Pope and the bishops in communion with him –
repeatedly instructs the Church and mankind about the requirements for just, peaceful, and social
communities.

How did the Church’s social doctrine come into being?

No one can listen to the Gospel without being challenged socially. The term “social doctrine”,
however, refers to those statements on social questions that the Church’s Magisterium has issued
since the Encyclical “Rerum Novarum” by Pope Leo XIII. With industrialization in the
nineteenth century, an entirely new “social question” emerged. Most people were no longer
employed in agriculture but worked in industry, instead.

There was no worker protection, no health insurance, no guaranteed vacation time, and very
often, there was child labor. Unions were formed to stand up for the workers’ interests; it was
clear to Pope Leo XIII that he had to respond with an extraordinary measure. In his Encyclical,
he sketched the outline of a just social order.

Since then, the popes have responded again and again to the “signs of the times”
(aggiornamento) and have addressed especially urgent social questions in the tradition of Rerum
Novarum. The statements accumulated in this way, over time, are called the Church’s Social
Doctrine.
Besides the documents of the Universal Church (statements of the Popes), regional statements,
too, e.g. Pastoral Letters of a Bishops’ Conference on social questions, can be part of the Church
social doctrine. (CSD 87, 88, 104; CCC 4395)

SOCIAL ENCYCLICALS

Rerum Novarum: Pope Leo XIII (1891)

First social encyclical: on the right to property, the rejection of class warfare, the rights of the
weak and the dignity of the poor; on the right of workers to form labor unions.

Quadragesimo Anno: Pope Pius XI (1931)

Encyclical on the 40th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum: demands a: living wage that can feed a
family; rejects unlimited free enterprise; develops the principle of subsidiarity.

Mater et Magistra: Pope John XXIII (1961)

The goal of social doctrine is to create a genuine community in which needs are satisfied and the
dignity of each individual is promoted.

Pacem in Terris: John XXIII (1963)

Promotes freedom and the propagation of human rights as central concerns of the Church.

Gaudium et Spes: Vatican Council II (1965)

A comprehensive dialogue with modern culture, economy, and society begins; society and its
structures should be ordered to the “progress of the human person” (GS 25).

Dignitatis Humanae: Vatican Council II (1965)

Ecclesiastical recognition of liberty as a right that is founded on the dignity of the person; a goal
is to establish a foothold for freedom of religion in national constitutions worldwide.

Populorum Progressio (1967)

Reflections on a worldwide common effort for the development of all peoples and world peace.

Humanae Vitae (1968)

On the transmission of human life and the dignity of marriage.

Octogesima Adveniens (1971)

On the 80th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, a series of special issues are addressed, for instance:
unemployment, environmental problems, and population growth.

Laborem Exercens (1981)

Human work not only earns a living but also has a special dignity. It shares in the dignity of the
person and of his Christian vocation.

Caritas in Veritate: Benedict XVI (2009)

Citing Populorum Progressio, this document deals at great length with the various facets of
globalization.

Laudato Si: Francis (2015)

The second Encyclical by Francis discusses questions of preserving the environment in the larger
context of the right of all human beings to life and comprehensive, dignified development.

How are Social Doctrine and Faith connected?

Not everyone who is socially or politically involved is a Christian. But someone can hardly call
himself a Christian is he is not socially involved. The Gospel very emphatically leads people to
commit themselves to love, justice, freedom and peace. When Jesus proclaims the coming of the
Kingdom of God, he does not just heal and save individual human beings; rather, he starts a new
form of community – a kingdom of peace and justice. Now God alone can bring about this
kingdom definitively.

Christians, however, should work for a better society. They should build a city of man “that is
more human because it is in greater conformity with the Kingdom of God” (CSD 63). When
Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to yeast that gradually leavens a large measure of dough
(Mt. 13:33), he shows the way in which Christians should work in society.

How deeply can the Church become involved in social questions?

It is not the Church’s responsibility to replace the State and politics. That is why, she offers no
technical solutions for individual social problems. She herself does not make policies but, rather,
inspires policies that are in keeping with the Gospel.

In their social encyclicals, the popes the developed central themes such as wages, property and
unions, which are supposed to help in building a just society. The only ones who should
intervene concretely in politics, however, are Christian laymen who become involved in that
field. Moreover, many Christians put their Christian commitment and thinking into practice in
unions, groups and associations that campaign for particular social causes, e.g. aid for refugees
or worker protection.

Does the Church favor a particular societal and political model?

The Church can approve a wide range of political forms, provided the dignity and rights of every
person and the common good are respected and protected. She supports a free, democratic social
order to the extent that this offers the best guarantee for the social participation of all and
safeguards human rights.

On this topic, Pope John Paul II writes: “The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as
it ensures the participation of citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the
possibility bot of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing
them through peaceful means when appropriate…Thus, she cannot encourage the formation of
narrow ruling groups which usurp the power of the State for individual interests or for
ideological ends. Authentic democracy is possible only in a State ruled by law and on the basis
of a correct conception of the human person.” (John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 46)

Does the Church not exceed her competence when she speaks out on social questions?

When the Church speaks out on social questions, she is not meddling in “other people’s
business”. The individual does not belong to the State, just as the family, being the essential cell
of society, does not belong to the State. Inspired by the Gospel, the Church makes herself the
advocate of the most primordial rights of human persons and of human communities. The
Church does not want to gain power and external influence thereby. It is her right and duty to
speak out whenever injustice endangers social life.

THE HUMAN PERSON

What do we mean when we speak about a person?

With the word “person”, we express the fact that every human being has an inviolable dignity.
Man was created in God’s image. So he is the one creature of God that represents the Creator
himself in creation. He is “the only creature on earth that God willed for its own sake” (GS 24).

As a person created by God, a human being is not something, but rather someone and hence
uniquely valuable. As a person, a human being is capable of self-knowledge and reflection on
himself, of making free decisions and entering into community with others. And he is called to
respond to God in faith. The fact that he is made in God’s image and likeness therefore means
also that a human being always remains related to God and can develop his full personal
potential only in God.

What are the burdens on the human person?

The human person with his dignity is exposed to many sorts of harm and danger. The crucial
element of disturbance and destruction we call sin. Adam, who in the “original sin” disobeyed
God’s command, is, so to speak, the prototype of the human being, yields to temptation to sin
and harm others. We are all human beings, and we are all sinners. We harm others through our
sinful way of living. Because this is so, the earth is no longer paradise. Actually, we could say no
to sin at every moment, but the power of sin reaches into out in most being, to the place where
freedom dwells. And so we deliberately do evil: in freedom we turn against God’s will and thus
separate ourselves from the source of life, from God.

THE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL TEACHING

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING?

Catholic Social Teaching has four principles: the principle of the dignity of the human person
(personhood), the principle of common good, the principle of subsidiarity, and the principle of
solidarity. With these four principles, we can grasp human society in its entirety and consider
this reality truthfully.

Why do these principles apply? They apply, in the first place, because they are reasonable;
secondly, they apply because they result from the Christian faith, which illuminates by reason.
Someone who believes, will want to obey God’s commandments, especially, the Greatest
Commandment of Love of God and neighbor (Deut. 6: 5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your souls, and with all your strength”, and Lev. 19: 18: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself”.)

Now Christians are confronted with various societal problems. Whether it is a question of
relations between individuals, groups, or nations – in every case, with the help of the four
principles of CST, we can tell what is truly human, socially beneficial and just.

HOW DO THE FOUR PRINCIPLES WORK TOGETHER?

All four principles are interrelated. We cannot isolate them from each other or pit one against
another. If we apply them together, we can understand a societal reality in depth. Example: the
“family” is a social reality that is valuable and worth protecting; in it, human beings can develop
their personal dignity. In itself, a family is already solidarity in practice. A family, however, also
needs the solidarity of others, because without support from outside it cannot make its
irreplaceable contribution to the common good. In helping the family, tough, higher authorities
must not take away what it can do by itself, e.g. child-rearing. (Subsidiarity)1

WHAT DOES COMMON GOOD MEAN?

Vatican Council II says that the common good 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” (GS 26). The goal of the individual is to accomplish good. The goal of
society is the common good. “The common good, in fact, can be understood as the social and
community dimension of the moral good” (CSD 164). Common good refers both to the good of
all human beings and to the good of the whole human being. The common good requires, first,
the parameters of a functioning governmental order, as it is found in a constitutional state. Then,
there must be concern to maintain the natural means of subsistence. Within this framework are
the rights of every human being to food, shelter, health, work, and access to education. There
must also be freedom of thought, assembly and religion. Here, the requirements of the common
good overlap with universal human rights.

HOW DOES COMMON GOOD COME ABOUT?

Every human being and every social group has proper interests that are more or less justified. To
desire the “common good” means to be capable of thinking beyond one’s own needs. We must
be interested in the good of all, even of people nobody thinks about because they have no voice
or power. The goods of the earth are there for everyone. And if each person thinks only of
himself, then coexistence becomes a war of all against all. The common good, however, consists
not only of the material or external good of all human being. Therefore, concern about the
spiritual good is part of the common good. No aspect of human existence can be left out of
consideration.

WHAT DOES THE COMMON GOOD MEAN FOR THE POOR?

The poor must be at the heart of the Church, or else the Church betrays her mission. In Gaudium
et Spes, Vatican II speaks about a preferential option for the poor (GS 1). From this results the
central social obligation of the individual and of the whole Church to take care of the needs
especially of those who are on the peripheries of society. The Beatitudes in the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus’ own poverty, and his loving care for the poor show us the way. Standing up for
marginalized people is a direct command of Jesus: “As you did it to one of the least of these my
brethren, you did it to Me” (Mt. 25: 40).
Jesus also warns, however, against the ideological notion that we can completely do away with
poverty in the world (Mt. 26: 11). Only at Christ’s Second Coming will this be possible.

IS PRIVATE PROPERTY PERMISSIBLE?

It is reasonable. Through his work, a person shapes the earth and makes a piece of it his own.
Private property makes people free and independent; it encourages the individual to preserve his
property, care for it, and protect it from destruction. In contrast, things owned in common often
deteriorate because no one feels responsible for them.

Having material goods at our disposal prompts us to take on responsibility and tasks in the
community. Thus, the right to private property is an important element of civic freedom –

The basis of a truly democratic economic order, since a share for everyone in the profits from
economic activity becomes possible on through private property.

WHAT ARE THE LIMITS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY?

1
Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized
competent authority. Political decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority.
The right to PP must never be considered absolute. Rather, anyone who own property must make
use of it in a manner consistent with the good of all. This is true of public goods, e.g. street
lights, but it also applies to privately owned things, i.e. cell phone. Consequently, I must let
another person use my phone if he needs help and must make an emergency call. PP should serve
only as an instrument for the better management of the earth’s good. Someone has to feel
responsible for particular things. PP cannot take priority over the common good, since, in
principle, all goods must serve all people.

WHAT DOES THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY (PS) INVOLVE?

Every societal task is always assigned in the first place to the smallest possible group that can
perform it. A group at higher level may assume responsibility only if the smaller association is
not capable of resolving the problem. If the smaller association needs help, however, the higher
level must help.

This arrangement is summed up in the Principle of Subsidiarity2 and the Offer of Assistance3.
The Princ. Subsidiarity is supposed to strengthen the freedom of the individual and of groups and
associations and prevent too much centralization. Private initiative should be encouraged because
being able to help oneself is an important component of the dignity of the human person. The PS
was first formulated in 1931 in the Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno by Pius XI.

DOES THE PS APPLY TO POLITICS AS WELL?

Only in cases where a local government cannot resolve a problem by itself may the government
claim competence. In principle, however, there can be situations in which a higher level must
intervene, e.g. there is a sufficiently large natural disaster or when human rights are violated.

2
Principle of Subsidiarity: The superior level (i.e. the State) must not claim competence if the lower level (i.e. the
family) can solve the problem by itself.
3
Offer of AssistanceL if the lower-level association is overburdened by a problem, the next higher-level must offer
help.