An Introduction to the Principles of Catholic Social Thought

"We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a 'Gospel of life.' It invites all persons and societies to a new life lived abundantly in respect for human dignity." (Living the Gospel of Life, para. 20)

Central to the principle of human dignity is the understanding that, every human being is created in the image of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ, destined for union with God, and therefore worthy of respect as a member of the human family.

We are called to respect all persons with the sense of awe that arises in the presence of all that is sacred and holy. Our tradition teaches that every human person is sacred from conception to death. We believe that those who are weak, vulnerable, or marginalized deserve special respect, especially those who are unborn, disabled, elderly or dying. A key measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. One factor that denies the inherent dignity of each person is discrimination in its many forms, such as that based on race, gender or economic status.
This principle is not merely a prohibition against killing or harming life; rather, it calls us to proclaim a new culture of life by revering life, loving life and fostering life at all stages. Drawing our strength from Christ and following the example of Mary, we say "yes" to life in word and deed. We say "yes" in gratitude and joy at the incomparable dignity of each human being that impels us to share this message with everyone.

"The attainment of the worker's rights cannot … be doomed to be merely a result of economic systems which on a larger or smaller scale are guided chiefly by the criterion of maximization of profit. On the contrary, it is respect of the objective rights of the worker – every kind of worker: manual or intellectual, industrial or agricultural, etc. – that must constitute the adequate and fundamental criterion for shaping the whole economy." (Laborem Exercens, para. 17)

Human dignity grounds and is protected by a spectrum of human rights and corresponding duties. Society facilitates participation in all spheres of the social order through inter-related rights and duties. Every person has the right to means that are necessary for the development of life: food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care and the necessary social services. Likewise, all citizens have a duty to respect human rights and to fulfill their responsibilities to each other and to the larger society. The primary duty is to live in solidarity, that is, "a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good." 

It is important to see that all rights have a corresponding responsibility. "Those, therefore, who claim their own rights, yet altogether forget of neglect to carry out their respective duties, are people who build with one hand and destroy with the other."

The political rights of all persons set limits on the state, such as the freedom of association and freedom of speech. All persons have economic rights, as well, which set limits on market logic, such as the right to work, a just wage, humane working conditions, and health care.

Related to rights and responsibilities is the dignity of work and the rights of workers. In an economy where too often profits take precedence over the rights of workers, a moral analysis is necessary. The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work not only helps people make a living, it is a continuing participation in God's creation (Gen. 1:28, Matt. 6:25-34). "The basis for determining the value of human work is not primarily on the kind of work being done but on the fact that the one doing it is a person."

The dignity of work is Three issues related to work are distinguishable: the dignity of work; worker's unions and cooperatives; and workers sharing the ownership of the means of production. The dignity of work is safeguarded when worker's rights are respected. Workers have the strong support of the Church in forming and joining unions and worker associations of their choosing in the exercise of their dignity and rights. "The many proposals put forward by experts in Catholic social teaching … take on special significance: proposals for joint ownership of the means of work, sharing by the workers in the management and/or profits of business. … It is clear that recognition of the proper positions of labor and the worker in the production process demands various adaptations in the sphere of the right to ownership of the means of production."

"Positive signs in the contemporary world are the growing awareness of the solidarity of the poor among themselves, their efforts to support one another, and their public demonstrations on the social scene which, without recourse to violence, present their own needs and rights in the face of the inefficiency or corruption of public authorities. By virtue of her own evangelical duty the Church feels called to take her stand beside the poor, to discern the justice of their requests, and to help satisfy them, without losing sight of the good of groups in the context of the common good." (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, para. 39)

As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a preferential option for the poor, namely, to create conditions for marginalized voices to be heard, to defend the defenseless, and to assess lifestyles, policies and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. The option for the poor does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, it calls us to strengthen the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable.

From the Scriptures we learn that the justice of a society is tested and judged by its treatment of the poor. God's covenant with Israel was dependant on the way the community treated the poor and unprotected—the widow, the orphan and the stranger (Deut. 16.11-12, Ex. 22.21-27, Isa. 1.16-17). Throughout Israel's history and in the New Testament, the poor are agents of God's transforming power. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus proclaims that he has been anointed to bring good news to the poor (4.1-22). Similarly, in the Last Judgment, we are told that we will be judged according to how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoner and the stranger (Matthew 25.31-46).

Therefore, the preferential option for the poor is not optional. The Latin American bishops' conferences at Medillín (1968) and Puebla (1979) aimed to emphasize the use of option as a verb rather than as a noun. As such, each Christian must make a choice to lift up the poor and disadvantaged in very real and concrete ways. Preferential option for the poor means that Christians are called to look at the world from the perspective of the marginalized and to work in solidarity for justice.

"Christian love forbids choosing between people and the planet. It urges us to work for an equitable and sustainable future in which all peoples can share in the bounty of the earth and in which the earth itself is protected from predatory use. The common good invites regions of the country to share burdens equitably…It also invites us to explore alternatives in which our poor brothers and sisters will share with the rest of us in the banquet of life, at the same time that we preserve and restore the earth, which sustains us." (Renew the Earth, Section 4, para.C)

There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are ordered to glory and worship of the Creator. Humanity's dominion over inanimate and other living beings is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his or her neighbor, including generations to come. As such, the steward is a manager, not an owner. Accordingly, use of the mineral, vegetable and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from our moral responsibilities. Our stewardship of the earth enables us to be participants in God's act of creating and sustaining the world.

Studies on the state of environmental justice in this country cite race as a predictor of who bears a disproportionate burden of environmental degradation in the U.S. These studies state that, "African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, Asians and Pacific Islanders are among the highly vulnerable populations most susceptible to the injustices of racism, poverty, and environmental degradation."

Likewise, the conditions of the poor are often closely connected to environmental issues. In Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Pope John Paul II argues that the direct or indirect result of industrialization is frequently the pollution of the environment, which often has serious consequences to the health and well-being of the poorest members of society. Moreover, the overuse of natural resources by the West endangers their long and short-term availability, especially for the poor. Authentic development seeks to make a preferential option for the poor in the same way that it aims to care for creation.

"One should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry. So, too, it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and a disturbance of right order to transfer to the larger and higher collectivity functions which can be performed and provided for by lesser and subordinate bodies. For every social activity should, by its very nature, prove a help to the members of the body social, it should never destroy or absorb them." (Quadragesimo Anno, para. 79)

Regulating the movement from marginalization to participation for the sake of the common good is the principle of subsidiarity. This principle warns about the tendency of the state and other large scale institutions to usurp authority to control persons, thereby destroying individual liberty and initiative. The notion of subsidiarity is that activities or functions ought to be accomplished by the most local of smallest grouping possible, rather than be assumed by the larger groups or collectivity. In Quadragesimo Anno, Pius XI explicitly makes the principle of subsidiarity the guiding norm upon which the social order is to be restored. "Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of the right order to assign to a greater or higher association what a lesser and subordinate organizations can do."

The main effect of this principle is to limit the role of the state and other large scale institutions while empowering local efforts. But those needs which cannot be effectively addressed at a local level should be referred to at the next highest level of organization. This principle was initially used to protect individuals and groups, but more recently it has been employed to define the relationship between particular nation-states and worldwide public authorities.