CST Themes and Principles

The growing body of official Catholic Social Teaching, beginning with On the
Condition of Labor (Rerum Novarum), comprises a collection of efforts by the
Church to read the signs of the times in industrial life. During this period, certain
values and principles have emerged as consistent recurrent themes offering
special insight into what the faith community believes God is doing and inviting
us to do in this historical period.

There have been various attempts through the years to summarize these key
themes of Catholic social teaching. What we will use for this course is the
summary done by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1999 which contains
7 general principles. As we discuss these core principles, we will also identify
important related principles and we will illustrate more clearly the important
implications of these principles to our lives in today’s world.

1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person

As children of God created in God’s image, human persons have a
preeminent place in creation. Human dignity is the result of human
existence. It is not earned by achievements or bestowed by any authorities
other than God. It is not dependent on race, creed, color, economic class,
political power, social status, culture, personal abilities , gender, sexual
orientation or any other dimensions by which people discriminate social
groupings. There is a unique and sacred worth that is present in each
person simply because he or she exists. (Populorum Progression)

Major Areas of Concern:

• Authentic Human Development
The sacred character of human dignity clearly demands that authentic
human development not be understood simply as economic
development. Full and authentic human development embraces the
social, cultural, political and spiritual dimensions of human life as well.
It involves developing one’s skills and gifts for service to the common
good. Because of this, no form of government should be dominated
by the concerns and established laws of economic development
 alone. True human development involves a commitment of solidarity
with all people, especially with those in poverty and situations of
oppression.

• Love and Justice

It is not uncommon, in ordinary conversations, to hear love and
justice contrasted. In this view, love is personal, generous, free, life-
giving, Christian. It is distinguished sharply from justice which is seen
as impersonal, harsh, punitive, socially desirable but secular. This is
NOT the position of authentic Catholic social teaching.

In CST, love of neighbor is an absolute demand for justice because

love must manifest itself in actions and structures which respect
human dignity, protect human rights and facilitate human
development. To promote justice is to transform structures which
block love (Justice in the World).

• Dialogue
The sacred dignity of each person and the call to love one’s neighbor
as an essential element of one’s love of God combine to demand
that all differences be explored and all conflicts be addressed
through respectful dialogue. This applies to religious differences as
well as political, economic, social and cultural ones. Only through
patient, respectful dialogue do people grow beyond the limitations
of their experience, perceptions, opinions and values. Only through
dialogue can new levels of understanding and appreciation be
achieved in the human community. The conditions for dialogue are
destroyed and human dignity violated when demonizing rhetoric is
used in times of conflict.

2. Call to Family, Community and Participation

Human dignity can be recognized, developed and protected only in
community with others. Each person is brother or sister to every other and
can develop as a healthy human person only in a community of
relationships rooted in love and justice. The foundational community for
each person is his or her immediate family; the full community of each is
the extended family of the whole human race through history within the
larger community of created being. Each person benefits from the efforts
of earlier generations and of their contemporaries and are therefore under
obligation to them as well. (Populorum Progressio)

Major Areas of Concern:

• Common Good
The common good is the total of all those conditions of social living-
economic, political, sociological and cultural- which make it possible
for women and men readily and fully to achieve the perfection of
their humanity. Individual rights are always experienced within the
context of the promotion of the common good.

In CST, the common good is not simply the sum of individual goods.
It is not, as in utilitarian ethics, the sum of the good of the greatest
number of people. (This approach presumes that some people will,
realistically, be left out or excluded from the benefits of social
advance-and accepts that fact.) But CST emphasizes and insists upon
the participation of each and every person in the common good.

CST’s vision of promoting the common good involves working on

developing in society all those conditions of social living through
which each and every person can be enabled to achieve their
authentic human development more fully.

• Liberation
Liberation from oppressive social, political and economic situations
and structures is an important part of the Church’s activity.
Liberation, however, must encompass the entire person, including
the spiritual and religious dimensions.

Liberation theology began in Latin America in response to the

slavery of poverty that still afflicts the vast majority of people there.
It highlighted the uneven and unjust power relationships that have
created the poverty, thereby identifying much poverty as the result
of oppression rather than as evidence of a simple lack of
development, so-called “underdevelopment.” Liberation theology
has spread around the world, stimulating theological reflection on
 the forms of oppression and slavery to be found in different cultures
and social concerns.

• Participation
Essential to human dignity is the recognition of the right and duty to
equally participate in all areas of our social life. Each person
possesses knowledge and capabilities that can contribute to the
enhancement of the common good. The Church, thus, emphasizes
the importance of individual initiatives, the formation of groups and
associations from the grassroots in order to promote their rights. It is
a human right and the responsibility of each person to participate in
decision-making and action in all areas of politics, economy, culture
and religion in the pursuit of the common good. (Pilario, Faith in
Action)

3. Solidarity
We all belong to one human family. As such we have mutual obligations to
promote the rights and development of all people across communities,
nations and the world, irrespective of national boundaries. In particular, the
rich nations have responsibilities toward the poor nations, and people with
wealth and resources are linked in the divine economy with those who lack
them. Those who remain untouched or unchanged by the suffering of their
brothers and sisters around the world are suffering from serious spiritual
underdevelopment. They need solidarity for their own salvation. The
structures of the international order must reflect true biblical justice. And
conflicts should always be resolved in the most peaceful ways available,
ways which respect and build solidarity among peoples.

Major Areas of Concern

• Unity of Humanity
From the very beginning of the CST through its latest utterances, all
of humanity- every man, woman and child- is understood to be one
family under God. Human dignity is the foundation of all rights,
privileges and responsibilities. Divisions of the one human
community into we/they, while useful for developing identity and
cultures, must not be allowed to become divisions for privilege or
conflict.
 The core truth of CST is the recognition that we are all one in being
children of God. No one’s fulfillment and salvation can be completely
isolated from any other in the web of existence. Each depends
ultimately on solidarity in the fulfillment and salvation of all. CST
challenges us to promote that vision, which is essential to the Gospel
of Christ, and to develop principles to guide the achievement of that
reality in human society.

• Peacemaking
Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon solidarity and
right order among humans and among nations. CST demands an
end to the arms race and widespread trafficking in arms. Progressive
disarmament is essential to future security. In order to promote
peace and the conditions of peace, an effective international
authority is necessary (Pacem inTerris).

Shalom as the Fullness of Life

The word shalom is often read in the Bible and is usually related to
the word peace. Based on the biblical concept, shalom may be
considered as the understanding of peace during the time of Jesus.
The word is associated with the Arabic word, salaam. Thus, if a
Muslim brother/sister greets another with “Al-salaam alaykum,” it is
like saying, “God’s peace be with you.” It is a greeting that can be
used daily like “hello.”

Among the Jews, shalom means “abundance in life”- the fullness of

one’s life in all its aspects, an experience of well-being in the social,
economic, religious, political and family levels of one’s existence. The
equivalent word in Filipino would be “ginhawa.” Peace is thus an
experience of kaginhawaan. “In the biblical revelation, peace is much
more than the simple absence of war; it represents the fullness of
life.” (CSDC, 489)

The Hebrew prophets in the Old Testament also viewed peace as the
webbing together of God, humans and all creation in justice,
fulfillment and joy. It is the abundant life that Jesus promised which
he also brings to completion.

Shalom as Interior Peace

In the midst of fear and unrest that the disciples experienced with
the death of Jesus, he appeared to them and said: “Peace, I leave
with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world
gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be
afraid” (John 14:27).

St. John and St. Paul talk about peace within oneself, inner peace and
interior serenity. God loves us so much that he established peace
within us through Jesus. For the Christian, interior peace can only be
achieved in the context of our relationship with God. It is this all-
embracing love that challenges us to forgive others and in the
process also achieve external peace.

Other religions have almost the same message: Peace begins with
oneself. One of the sayings attributed to Buddha is, “Those who are
free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” We need to master our
own emotions and passions. With interior peace, we create webs of
energy that spread outside unto others.

Peace as a Social Vision

Beyond interior harmony, peace is also a social vision. “Peace is the
goal of life in society, as it is made extraordinarily clear in the
messianic vision of peace: when all peoples go up to the Lord’s
house, and he will teach them his ways and they will walk along the
ways of peace” (CSDC, 490; cf. Isaiah 2: 2-5)

St. Augustine calls this dimension of peace as the “order of

tranquility.” By this, he refers to a political community where people
live in truth, charity, freedom and justice for the good of all.
According to St. Augustine, peace is not merely inner peace. Jesus
himself announces an exterior and political shalom.
 If the essence of shalom is to bring about social and political peace,
we believe that this peace can be achieved in this world. It is true
that peace will only be fully achieved in the Kingdom of God at the
end of time. But this Kingdom can slowly be established here and
now through God’s grace and our human efforts. With our struggle
to transform our lives together, all creatures will slowly experience
shalom in the world and fully in the coming of God’s kingdom.

4. Rights and Responsibilities

Human rights flow from the intrinsic sacred dignity of the person in his or
her vocation to serve the community. They are to be recognized by
communities and governments; they do not derive from the dictates of
governments. Nor are they earned or won by successful competition in the
marketplace. It is the responsibility of each to respect and protect the
human rights of all.

Major Areas of Concern

• Human Rights and Responsibilities
CST presents its most extensive delineation of human rights in Pope
John XXIII’s encyclical Peace on Earth (Pacem in Terris). They include
basic economic, social, and cultural rights such as the rights to life,
food, clothing, shelter health care, education, work or employment
with a just and sufficient wage, and leisure- all the basic human
needs. And they include also the civil and political rights to the social
goods of freedom of speech, religion, association, migration, and
participation in society.

In CST, the full panoply or collection of human rights implies

extensive responsibilities. The development of each person, the
honoring of her or his rights, and the common good of all the
human family are the responsibility of each and of all. Each person is
the heir of previous generations and the beneficiary of
contemporaries. This grounds the responsibility to contribute back
to the well-being of contemporaries and that of generations to come
(Mater et Magistra). That fundamental responsibility is meant to
guide each person’s and each organization’s participation in society.
• Private Property and the Universal Destination of Goods
In CST, everyone has a right to private property. Property is
important to human development and is, therefore, a right that
should be defended and protected. This is an essential value of
market societies.

However, in CST, the right to private property is NOT an ABSOLUTE

RIGHT. It is limited by the common or universal purpose and
destination of all goods: to serve the needs and development of the
whole human community. Recent social teaching documents have
retrieved the strong position held in the first centuries of the
Church’s life: no one has the right to accumulate more private
property than he or she needs while others on the planet lack the
very basics for survival and development. Everyone has the right to a
share of earthly goods adequate for one’s personal development
and for that of his or her family. (Economic Justice for All, Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis, Centesimus Annus).

• The Principle of Subsidiarity

CST thus envisions a complex, layered society founded on individual
initiative and shared responsibility, which expresses itself through
participation in a vast variety of organizations. The interrelationships
of those organizations must be coordinated and regulated in such a
way that they actually serve the common good- locally, nationally,
globally- and protect the common goods of the human community.
That coordination and regulation constitute the role of the
government.

The principle guiding all these complex social relationships and

defining the proper activities of governments is the “principle of
subsidiarity.” It is a two-edged instrument.
- Subsidiarity insists that it is wrong for higher levels of social
organization or government to do for individuals and groups
what they can accomplish by their own initiative and hard work.
Social activity is meant to enable the participants to develop
themselves and care for their families and communities. On this
 edge, the principle of subsidiarity supports “grassroots” or
“bottom up” forms of social development.
- On the other edge, subsidiarity also requires that what individuals
and local organizations cannot do for themselves to secure the
common good must be done by higher forms of social
organization or government. CST demands higher levels of
organization and authority when lower ones cannot protect and
support the development of each person and serve the common
good of all.

5. Preferential Option for the Poor

People in poverty have been at the heart of Judeo-Christian social vision.
They are the people most often forgotten, exploited and marginalized in
societies. Their sacred dignity and authentic development are most likely to
be overlooked or abused. They are the people who experience and reveal
the failings and shortcomings of our social systems. Their experiences,
insights and concerns offer important evidence in the search for the more
just systems of social life to which God is calling the human community.

As early as 1931, Pope Pius XI warned of the serious danger of the

consolidation of wealth which is the natural result of the unregulated free
market system. The market does not reward attention to all needs in
society. It responds only to the needs and desires of those with the
resources to reward those who serve them. Those in poverty are excluded.
The more the control of wealth is consolidated in the hands of the few, the
more the majority of people are deprived of their basic needs and desires
and are excluded from meaningful participation in society.

As the gap grows between the wealthy and those in poverty, social unrest
is inevitable, leading far too often to the violent conflict of crime, terrorism,
or war. Since the market is such a central and strong social institution, it is
important for the sake of the common good to give special attention and
concern to the needs of those in poverty, those whom the market excludes
and ignores.
6. The Dignity of Human Work and the Rights of Workers
While work is not the source of human dignity, it is the means by which
persons express and develop both being and dignity. Persons are the
subjects of work and are not to be looked upon simply as a means of
production of a human form of capital. Work must be organized to serve
the workers’ humanity, support their family life, and increase the common
good of the human community- the three purposes of work. Workers have
the right to organize and form unions to achieve these goals. (Laborem
Exercens)

Major Areas of Concern:

• The Priority of Labor Over Capital
The primary concern must always be with the development and well-
being of the workers, not the efficiency, productivity, profits and
competitiveness of the business, though these are important to its
survival. Any business that does not enhance its workers and serve
the common good is a moral failure no matter how healthy its
financial bottom line appears.

The fundamental question to ask about economic development is

“What is it doing to people? What is it doing for people? What is it
enabling people to do themselves and to participate in?” (Economic
Justice for All)

• Religious and Social Development

As the process of development of human persons and communities,
it is intimately involved with the dynamic of the Kingdom of God.
Human products and services express personal and community
values and play a part in the future of people’s lives, forming the
context and the structures that shape subsequent human
development. Therefore, the sacred and the secular are not distinct
realms; faith and justice are necessarily linked together. And they
pertain to every part of life. (Gaudium et Spes, Centesimus Annus)
 7. Care for Creation
People are to respect and share the resources of the earth, since we are all
part of the community of creation. By our work we are co-creators in the
continuing development of the earth. CST has explicitly addressed
environmental and ecological concerns only in rather recent times. But the
concern for respecting, sharing and caring for creation has always been
part of the tradition. Recent statements on the importance of
environmentally and socially sustainable patterns of consumption and
development have built solidly upon that part of the tradition.

This vision is rooted solidly in the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Still, CST has
explicitly addressed environmental and ecological concerns only in rather
recent times. As it became clear that exploitation and disruption of intricate
natural systems could and did have serious consequences across all
boundaries, the Second Vatican Council, episcopal synods, encyclicals, and
other Vatican publications began to address them. They note the need for
a unified moral vision, a global ethic and global solidarity in addressing
ecological problems.

Church documents identify many factors contributing to ecological

degradation, including war, population growth, industrial pollution,
poverty, and the maldistribution of the goods of creation. They devote the
most attention to the importance of environmentally and socially
sustainable patterns of consumption and development, pointedly warning
that richer nations must find ways to simplify their lifestyles and to share
with all peoples and future generations.

Sources:

Pilario, Daniel Franklin (editor). Faith In Action: Catholic Social Teaching on the
Ground. Quezon City: St. Vincent School of Theology, 2017.

DeBerri, Edward P., James E. Hug, Peter J. Henriot and Michael J. Schultheis.
Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret. New York: Orbis Books, 2003.