What are the principles of Catholic social teaching?
Catechism Meditation:
The Church’s social teaching proposes principles for reflection; it provides criteria for judgment; it gives guidelines for action: Any system in which social relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the nature of the human person and his acts. ―No. 2423
REFLECTION: There are seven principles of Catholic social teaching—respect for the human person, promotion of the family, the individual’s right to own property, the common good, solidarity, the dignity of work and workers, and pursuit of peace and care for the poor. However, at the heart of Catholic social teaching is something both simple and noble: an effort to make the actions and words of Jesus real again today to transform and uplift social life for all people in light of the gospel.
The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. It offers moral principles and coherent values that are badly needed in our time. In this time of widespread violence and diminished respect for human life and dignity in our country and around the world, the Gospel of life and the biblical call to justice need to be proclaimed and shared with new clarity, urgency, and energy.
As Catholics, we cannot blindly follow politics and must align our principles to God’s truths. Imagine what this country would look like if all of us Christians truly started living and loving as Jesus and His Church teaches. Imagine the effect of that type of love.
PRAYER. Loving God, we believe that every person is created in Your image and that all life is sacred. May we work to protect life and promote dignity in law and policy.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“There are ultimately only two possible adjustments to life; one is to suit our lives to principles; the other is to suit principles to our lives. If we do not live as we think, we soon begin to think as we live. The method of adjusting moral principles to the way men live is just a perversion of the order of things.” ― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen