CATHOLIC SOCIAL

TEACHING
THE ROLES OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN THE SOCIETY
 “The Church as the Moral Center of
the Society”
◦ As stated by the Bishops through the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website,
the church, through its leaders, proposes moral principles that guide us in our decisions and
actions.
◦ Church leaders are tasked to relate the Gospel values, the Commandments of God, and biblical stories to the
specific issues of the day.

◦ Then, as members of the church, we are called to directly incorporate the teachings of the leaders of the
church into our specific relationships and works.
◦ As students and professionals and as married or single Christians, we are called to respond to the same mission.
(Refer to lessons 1 & 2).
 “Church and State: Separation &
Relation”
◦ It is common to think that the church has nothing to do with politics.

◦ Separation of the church from the state is often misunderstood and its meaning is not really clear for most of us.
◦ The separation of the two means that they are two independent institutions that have their own origins, way of proceeding, and objectives.

◦ The existence of one does not depend on the other.

◦ The Church does not impose itself on the State and the State does not impose itself on the Church.
◦ Despite the individuality of the two, the church is still expected to touch on the religious, economic, social, and political aspects of human
life; the state also helps the church with its mission.

◦ The church and the state serve the same people which is why a harmonious relationship between the two is what
we need.
 What is Catholic Social Teaching?
◦ CST is a body of social teachings containing principles and guidelines for
fulfilling social responsibilities that was developed by the Catholic Church.
◦ This presents the Catholic Christian response to key modern social problems.
◦ Through this, we are taught to read the signs of times and bring out the relevance
of the Christian faith in concrete life situations.

◦ It is developed through the Sacred Scripture, Church traditions, reason, and

experience.
 Catholic Social Teaching (CST)
◦ It is considered as the Church’s best-kept secret, as it has not yet penetrated
our ordinary Catholic life.
◦ The reason for this is it teaches HARD TRUTHS. For example:
◦ It stresses that the government is duty-bound to create political and economical policies that serve the
common good.
◦ It argues that media people must provide truly substantial forms of entertainment.

◦ It also calls the families to be responsible in establishing homes where authentic love prevails.

◦ In other words, it demands moral behaviors that are CHALLENGING.

 Two Basic Characteristics of Catholic
Social Teaching
Permanent Developing

◦ Most of the teachings are based on the Gospel ◦ The fundamentals of CST make up the
◦ Timeless in their fundamental values steadily growing collection of the
◦ Offers a permanent complex ideal to be pursued church’s social principles.
in the ever changing historical conditions and ways ◦ This means that the permanent
◦ Examples: human dignity and solidarity, value of characteristics of CST can be further
human work, people empowerment developed in our ever changing lives.
 SOURCES AND
METHODS
How do we read the signs of times and in what way shall we act on a certain situation?
 Sacred Scripture - The Bible

◦ The Bible has always been the starting point for Christian ethics.
◦ The Ten Commandments is the first thing that comes to mind when we are talking about morality.

◦ Another one is Justice, which is our faithfulness to the responsibilities covered in a

relationship.
◦ The Beatitudes that Jesus taught us; we must be poor in spirit in order for us to put our
trust in God and not in the possessions that tempt us to act as superior to other
people.
 Reason
◦ The Church holds that God created all of us with natural powers
that give us insights into the basic meaning and purpose of life.
◦ We were created with the capability to understand ourselves, other
people, and our environment.
◦ We can make reliable judgements about the basic human values needed
to lead a good life.
 Traditions
◦People (like Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas)

were reflective leaders of the Catholic Church.

◦ They held discussions and teachings of the social order all the time.

◦ However, their teachings were poorly or not at all documented.

◦That is why, the church only rely on published homilies and letters about the

Christian response to social challenges when it comes to traditions.

 HUMAN EXPERIENCE
◦ The process through which the Church reads and interprets “the signs of times”.
◦ Reading the signs of time is the process or intelligible method of arriving at a thorough understanding of a situation

◦ There are 5 steps:

1. See = knowing what is happening; gathering of data about relevant matters

2. Judge = seeing is not enough; critical analysis is very essential

3. Act = reacting or responding on what was seen and analysed

4. Celebrate = by sharing our life and faith together

5. Evaluation = capability to assess the processes and situations we experience; the right atmosphere for evaluation is prayer
◦ If evaluation is done in prayers, the evaluation is given right perspective and environment for arriving at a realistic and objective
assessment of the whole process.
THE END
 Reflection:

1. Visit the CBCP website at cbcponline.net > “Statement tab”. Find out the Philippine bishops’ statements on the following
issues (there are quite a few for each issue):
◦ Elections

◦ Media

◦ Population

2. What do you think of the statements of the bishops on each issue? Do you agree with them? Explain your answer thoroughly.

3. Choose one statement on a particular issue and write down your reaction and insights regarding that issue and the statement of
the bishops.