Catholic Social Teaching (CST)

 Best-kept secret of the Church

- It is not heard or preached often enough
- Some want to keep it a secret because it disturbs them
 Set of principles that lead people to live a decent, just, and peaceful society
 Seeks to reflect on social realities, ethical principles, and the application of those principles to current
circumstances
 The foundation and primary object are human dignity with its inalienable right which forms the nucleus of
the truth about the human person
 Involves a three-fold task imposed upon the church
1. Announce the truth about human dignity and rights
2. Denounce unjust situations in society
3. Contribute to positive changes in society and real human progress
 Has various names
1. Social doctrine
o The term doctrine bears an authoritative weight, denotes the universality of the
pronouncement, and means fixed and unchanging
2. Catholic Social Thought
o The phrase implies a deep philosophical reflection and serious theological discernment
o Runs the risk of remaining within the realm of thought and not on the action
3. Catholic Social Tradition
o Connotes old rules and practices that the CST doesn’t
o Emphasizes the practices of ordinary persons
4. Catholic Social Teaching
o Encompasses the lived experiences of ordinary persons and not only the teachings of popes
and bishops
 Has various sources
1. Sacred scriptures
o To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God is an exhortation to a
commitment to help build a just and merciful community in which no one is excluded
2. Reason
o We are capable of judging what is essential to human life
3. Tradition
o Written documents and lived witnessing of the members of the church
4. Human Experience
o Because God communicates with the events of history as the sign of times

Encyclicals

 Long letters that are written by popes and other catholic leaders which are used in CST
 Talks about issues that affect society
 Comes from the Greek word enkyklios (‘circular’ or ‘general’)
 Letter on matters about faith and morals issued by the pope to a group of bishops/bishops all over the world
1. Rerum Novarum (of new things) — the condition of labor (1891) — Leo XIII
- Talks about just wages and workers’ rights
- Addressed industrialization, urbanization, and poverty
2. Quadragesimo Anno (after forty years) — the reconstruction of the social order (1931) — Pius XI
- Talks about subsidiarity as a guide to government interventions
- Addressed great depression, communism, and fascist dictatorships
 3. Pacem in Teris (peace on earth) (1963) — John XXIII
- Talks about a philosophy of human rights and social responsibilities
- Addressed the arms race and the threat of nuclear war
4. Gaudium et Spes (joy and hope) — pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world (1965) —
Vatican II
- Talks about how the church must scrutinize external signs of times
- Addressed younger generations questioning traditional values
5. Populorum Progressio (the development of peoples) (1967) — Paul VI
- Talks about how development is a new word for peace
- Addressed the widening gap between rich and poor nations
6. Justitia in Mundo (justice in the world) (1971) — Synod of Bishops
- Talks about justice as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the gospel
- Addressed how structural injustices and oppression inspire liberation movements
7. Laborem Exercens (on human work) (1981) — John Paul II
- Talks about how work is the key to human dignity
- Addressed how capitalism and communism treat workers as mere instruments of production
8. Sollicitudo rei Socialis (on social concern) (1987) — John Paul II
- Talks about how the structures of sin are responsible for global injustices
- Addressed persistent underdevelopment
9. Caritas in Veritate (charity in truth) — on the integral human development (2009) — Benedict XVI
- Talks about the responsible stewardship of creation and people-centered ethics
- Addressed the worldwide financial crisis, unemployment, environmental degradation, and advances in
biotechnology
10. Laudato Si — on the care of our common home (2015) — Francis
- Talks about integral ecology — the link between care for the environment and the protection of people
- Addressed climate change, environmental degradation, and global inequality
11. Fratelli Tutti — on the fraternity and social friendship (2020) — Francis
- Talks about commitment to the common good
- Addressed the disintegration of communities and social relationship

Basic Themes of CST

1. Life and dignity of the human person

- Every man and woman is created by God, making them sacred and bestowed with dignity
o This belief is the foundation of all principles of CST
- Life is sacred, it must be taken care of and receive attention and protection at all stages of life
- Nations must work to ensure the right to life of individuals and communities
2. Call to family, community, and participation
- Human persons are social beings
- How society is organized and directly affects human dignity and how everyone grows in the community
- Marriage and families are important institutions that must be supported and strengthened
- Everyone has the right and duty to participate in the community in the promotion of the common good
3. Rights and responsibilities
- Everyone has the right to life and the corresponding rights attached to it to live a decent life
- Human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved if human rights are protected
- Duties and responsibilities are attached to our rights
4. Option for the poor and the vulnerable
- Gap between the rich and the poor arises amidst the division in society
- A good society must acknowledge and prioritize the poor and the most vulnerable of its members
 5. The dignity of work and the rights of workers
- Work must usher to human flourishing as it is more than a living, it is a participation in God’s creation
- Rights of workers must be respected for the dignity of work to be protected
- Workers are first and foremost human persons and not mere tools for economic progress
6. Solidarity
- At the core of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace
- The expression of love for all humanity as our brothers and sisters regardless of any differences
demands the promotion of peace in a world tainted with violence and conflict
7. Care for God’s creation
- We are stewards of God’s creation
- Care for the Earth is a requirement of our faith
- Caring for the earth bears with its fundamental moral and ethical dimensions

Muslim Social Teaching

 5 formal acts of worship that help strengthen a Muslim’s faith and obedience
 The 5 pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam
- First and last are personal actions, the rest gives eloquent expression to that inclusive community itself
- The three other pillars underscore the communal character of Islam
o They consist of actions undertaken in solidarity with other believers or designed to alleviate
the lot of the community’s less fortunate members
- The umma (the community) prominently figures in all aspects of Islamic life and practice which is
initiated into through the first profession of faith
- Muslims characterize Islam as an entire way of life rather than merely a religion
1. Shahada (profession of faith)
- The belief that “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God” is central to Islam
o One becomes a Muslim by reciting this phrase with conviction
2. Salat (prayer)
- Muslims pray facing Mecca 5 times a day (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after-dark)
- Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on Friday
o Women are welcome but not obliged to participate
- After a prayer, a sermon focuses on a passage from the Qur’an, followed by prayers by the imam and a
discussion of a particular religious topic
3. Zakat (alms)
- Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need, following Islamic law
- Many rulers and wealthy Muslims build institutions both as a religious duty and to secure the blessings
associated with charity
4. Sawm
- All healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink during the daylight hours of
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar
- They renew their awareness of and gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives through this
temporary deprivation including the Qur’an which was first revealed during this month
- They share the hunger and thirst of a needy as a reminder of the religious duty to help the less fortunate
5. Hajj (pilgrimage)
- Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must visit at least once, the holy city of Mecca (Saudi
Arabia)
- The Ka’ba, a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings is at the center of the Haram
Mosque in Mecca
- Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction
(qibla) when they pray
Life and dignity of the human person

 The first basic theme of CST which is the cornerstone or foundation of CST
 The book of Genesis is the source of the Church’s teaching on human dignity
 Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God
 Human beings have the natural right to be recognized as free and responsible beings
 Imago Dei means that humans reflect God in our ability to be creative, make free rational decisions, and love
 The dignity of a human person must be respected
 Each person must treat every neighbor as another self, considering the means necessary to live with dignity
 Human life is sacred
 One must consider other’s needs, pray for them, uphold their rights, act in solidarity, and care for the earth
as it was given to anyone
 CST asks everyone to treat other people with dignity
 There’s nothing anyone can do to gain or take away one’s human dignity as it is God-given and not earned
- Because of this, people believe that every life is sacred and that no life, born/unborn, is disposable
 Some acts transgress human life and dignity
- Includes morally wrong actions such as the death penalty, cloning, killing of civilians in civil wars, etc.
- Discrimination in all forms also contradicts human dignity
- Any action that does not respect life does not honor dignity
 Jesus taught us that our basic value as humans depends on God and not on any measurable worldly standard

Six areas of life and death issues

1. Refugees and migrants

- There are several refugees and internally displaced people who are fleeing hunger, disease, and violence
2. The death penalty
- This is a direct opposition to the Catholic belief as it teaches that the death penalty is inadmissible
3. Environment
- Care for the world must be a high priority as there wouldn’t be life if we didn’t have a world to live in
4. Healthcare
- Poor people especially can’t afford healthcare services that they desperately need
o Due to unemployment/underemployment and/or being uninsured/underinsured
5. Racism
- The church considers racism to be a sin
6. LGBT issues
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth have higher risks of suicide
- Transgender people experience a spike of fatal violence against them

How can one live a life of dignity?

1. Relation to others
- By loving our neighbor
- Manifested in our Filipino values of magaling makisama, mapagmahal and mapagmalasakit
2. Relation to society
- By working for the common good
1. Political concerns
 Society must ensure the freedom that gives everyone a chance to flourish and develop
2. Economic concerns
 People must be able to participate in the economic activity
3. Cultural concerns
 There should be an effort to unity and common understanding of everyone
 3. Relation to material things
- Through work, people produce and deliver services that cater to their needs
- The good things people produce and consume enhance one’s lives and dignity through being responsible
stewards
4. Relation to self
- By being faithful to one’s true nature as humans (starting from accepting our being God’s creation)

Call to family, community, and participation

 The second basic theme of CST which focuses on the family in relation to the greater society
 Affirms what we already know about the family as the “smallest group we belong, where we learn to love
and get along, and is the building block of the family, the community is formed”
 The family, being a community, is the seed bank where participation in the life of the community is first
experienced.
 Emphasizes that each person should be able to be a part of their community, participate in the activities of it,
and have a government that protects both the community and the family
 The first and fundamental structure for human ecology is the family which is founded on marriage
 It is in the family that the children become aware of their dignity and prepare to face their unique destiny
 The family is a community of persons that serve life through procreation and education of offspring,
participating in the development of society, and sharing in the mission of the church
 The family is the privileged place where new human life is generated, welcomed, and cared for
 Filipinos have traditionally recognized children as a gift from God
 Natures of the family
1. As a covenant
o The family is a community of love, parents and children, brothers and sisters with one
another, and relatives and other members of the household
2. As the domestic church
o The family both reveals and realizes the communion in Christ and the spirit that is proper to
the church
3. As the first and vital cell of society
o The family is the place of origin and the most effective means for humanizing and
personalizing the members of society
 The principle of participation recognizes that everyone has something valuable and unique to contribute
- Participation is foremost as a clear option for solidarity, co-responsibility, the decision to be a
constructive member of the family of God, to work for the common good
- Participation is the involvement on every social level in the promotion and safeguarding of social justice
and peace, volunteering with local community groups and work associations, or church organizations
- Participation empowers others to unveil their talents and do their best which is both a gift and a call
which can make a reach change for a better world
 The norm for determining the scope and limits of governmental intervention is the principle of subsidiarity
- It is only when smaller institutions can no longer provide for themselves should high institutions like the
government should directly intervene
- The government should come up with an intervention that is guided by the principle of subsidiarity
- The government should contribute effectively to the social well-being of smaller communities like
families and supplement their activity
 The Pope spoke about our unique dignity as human persons that call us to live in communion with God, with
others, and the rest of creation
- We should fight indifference and take care of each other as we are social beings, we need to live in this
social harmony