Catholic Social Teaching

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Catholic Social Teaching

• A Key to Catholic Identity

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Why the renewed focus on Catholic social teaching?

• U.S. Bishops Task Force
• Vatican II teaching
• Jubilee Year of Charity and Justice

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Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Education

• U.S. Bishops statement -- June, 1998Sharing
  Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and
  Directions
• Assessment -- Whats the problem?
• Action -- What can we do about it?

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The Problem

• Far too many Catholics are unfamiliar with the
  basic content of Catholic social teaching. More
  fundamentally, many Catholics do not adequately
  understand that the social mission of the Church
  is an essential part of Catholic faith.
• This poses a serious challenge for all Catholics,
  since it weakens our capacity to be a Church that
  is true to the demands of the Gospel. We need to
  do more to share the social mission and message
  of our Church.
• Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and
  Directions
• U.S. Bishops, 1998

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A Key to Catholic Identity

• Just as the social teaching of the Church is
  integral to Catholic faith, the social justice
  dimensions of teaching are integral to Catholic
  education and catechesis. They are an essential
  part of Catholic identity and formation.
• If Catholic education and formation fail to
  communicate our social tradition, they are not
  fully Catholic.
• Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and
  Directions
• U.S. Bishops, 1998

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Four Major Findingsfrom U.S. Bishops Statement

• General lack of knowledge among Catholics
• Need for leadership formation and faculty
  training
• Need to be more explicit in teaching the
  principles of Catholic social thought
• Need to go beyond direct service to social
  justice

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Vatican IIs Ecclesiology

• The Church is a sign and a safeguard of the
  dignity of the human person.
• A religious organization whose purpose it is to
  help bring about the reign of God in history.
• The social mission is constitutive not
  extra-curricular or optional.

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Justice in the World, 1971 Synod

• Action on behalf of justice and participation in
  the transformation of the world fully appear to
  us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching
  of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the
  Church's mission for the redemption of the human
  race and its liberation from every oppressive
  situation.

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U.S. Bishops

• The central message is simple our faith is
  profoundly social. We cannot be called truly
  Catholic unless we hear and heed the Church's
  call to serve those in need and work for justice
  and peace.
• Communities of Salt and Light, U.S. Bishops,
  1993

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Constitutive Elements of Church

• Scripture -- hearing the Good News
• Sacraments -- worship, prayer life, etc.
• Social Mission -- action for social justice

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Catholic Social Teaching

• Rooted in the Bible
• Continually developed in Catholic Social
  Teaching -- Observe, judge, act

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• In biblical faith, the doing of justice is the
  primary expectation of Yahweh.
• Walter Brueggeman

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Biblical themes of justice

• God is active in human history
• Creation
• Covenant relationship
• Community
• Challenge of the prophets
• Anawim -- "the widows, orphans and aliens
• The example of Jesus reign of God, healing

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Cycle of Baal
Community,State of Blessing
Become Owners
Restoration
Cry out forDeliverance
Forget thePoor
ForgetYahweh
Kill theProphets
Create Other Gods
ProphetsThe Poor
SelfDestruction
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Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II, 1965
The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the
anxieties of the men and women of this age,
especially those who are poor or in any way
afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the
griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.
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Vatican II

• This split between the faith which many profess
  and their daily lives deserves to be counted
  among the more serious errors of our age.
• Long since, the Prophets of the Old Testament
  fought vehemently against this scandal and even
  more so did Jesus Christ Himself in the New
  Testament threaten it with grave punishments.

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Modern Catholic Social Teaching
Modern Catholic Social Teaching
1891 Rerum Novarum Leo XIII 1931 Quadragesimo
Anno Pius XI 1961 Mother and Teacher John
XXIII 1963 Peace on Earth John
XXIII 1965 Church in the Modern World Vatican
II 1967 The Development of Peoples Paul
VI 1971 A Call to Action Paul VI 1971 Justice
in the World Synod of Bishops1979 Redeemer of
Humanity John Paul II 1981 On Human Work John
Paul II 1988 On Social Concern John Paul
II 1991 The One Hundredth Year John Paul
II 1995 The Gospel of Life John Paul II
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Society
Distributive
Social
Contributive
Justice
Individual
Individual
Commutative (Contractual)
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Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching

• Human dignity
• Community / Common Good
• Rights and duties
• Option for the poor
• Global Solidarity
• Promotion of Peace
• Stewardship of Creation
• Dignity of work and the rights of workers
• Role of Government / Subsidiarity
• Free Markets / Private Property

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1. Human dignity

• The person is sacred, made in the image of God.

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2. Community / Common Good The social nature
of the human person

• The fact that human beings are social by nature
  indicates that the betterment of the person and
  the improvement of society depend on each
  other.humanity by its very nature stands
  completely in need of life in society.
• Vatican II, The Church in the Modern World

Every man for himself, said the elephant as he
danced among the chickens. Charles Dickens
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3. Rights and duties

• Civil/political
• Economic/social
• Every person has a right to the basic material
  necessities that are required to live a decent
  life.

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4. Option for the Poor

• Remember the widows, orphans, and aliens.
• A necessary element of the common good

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5. Global Solidarity

• Solidarity -- a firm and persevering
  determination to commit oneself to the common
  good that is to say, to the good of all
  ...because we are all really responsible for
  all. Pope John Paul II, On Social Concern,
  1987

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6. Promotion of Peace

• Peace is not just the absence of war.Peace is
  the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right
  order among human beings and human institutions.

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7. Stewardship of Creation

• The goods of the earth are gifts. We hold them
  in trust, as stewards.

The Second Vatican Council has reminded us God
destined the earth and all it contains for all
people and nations so that all created things
would be shared fairly by all humankind under the
guidance of justice tempered by charity. All
other rights, whatever they are, including
property rights and the right of free trade must
be subordinated to this norm. On the
Development of Peoples
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8. The dignity of work and the rights of workers

• Work has dignity because it is performed by the
  human person.
• People are more important than things labor is
  more important than capital.
• People have a right to productive work and fair
  wages.
• All worker have the right to form unions.

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Role of Government

• The state has a positive moral function.It is an
  instrument to promote human dignity, protect
  human rights, and build the common good
• Subsidiarity
• As small as possible
• As big as necessary

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10. Free Markets / Private Property

• The teaching critiques both collectivism and
  unfettered free market capitalism
• Markets must be kept within limits because many
  needs cannot be met by the market
• Private property is a right, but not unlimited

No one is justified in keeping for his exclusive
use what he does not need, when others lack
necessities.
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Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching

• Human dignity
• Community / Common Good
• Rights and duties
• Option for the poor
• Global Solidarity
• Promotion of Peace
• Stewardship of Creation
• Dignity of work and the rights of workers
• Role of Government / Subsidiarity
• Free Markets / Private Property

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Catholic Social Teaching

• A Key to Catholic Identity

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Implications for Catholic Educators

• Catholic schools, religious education and faith
  formation programs are vitally important for
  sharing the substance and values of the Catholic
  social justice heritage.
• Just as the social teaching of the Church is
  integral to Catholic faith, the social justice
  dimensions of teaching are integral to Catholic
  education and catechesis. They are an essential
  part of Catholic identity and formation.
• Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges
  and Directions U.S. Bishops, 1998

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Essential Elements

• Faculty formation and training
• Integration into all classrooms
• Social teaching in the religion curriculum
• Support from key decision makers
• Mission statement, admissions, orientation
• Ongoing support mechanisms for teachers
• Provide service and justice experiences
• Internal policies and procedures
• Prayer and worship life
• Co-curricular activities

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Faculty Formation and Training

• Familiarize faculty with biblical roots, basic
  principles of Catholic social teaching
• Provide initial opportunities
• Create space for ongoing education and development

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Integration into all classrooms

• Not just the role of theology or campus ministry
  departments
• Find the teachable moments
• New way for students and teachers to think about
  subject matter

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Social teaching in the religion curriculum

• Religion and theology departments have a unique
  role to play
• Consider a mandatory course on social teaching
• Emphasize biblical roots papal encyclicals
  distinctions between charity and justice

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Support from administration, board, and
sponsoring bodies

• Key decision makers who help shape culture of a
  school
• Provide early opportunities for them to get
  invested
• Create opportunities to teach them about Catholic
  social teaching
• Establish clear lines of communication
• Enlist their support in working with parents

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Mission statement, admissions, and orientation

• Clearly express a dedication to learning and
  acting on Catholic social teaching
• Enhances Catholic identity of a school
• Make this clear to prospective students and
  parents
• Helps avoid surprising parents

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Provide ongoing support mechanisms for teachers

• Space for ongoing education, leadership
  development
• Space for sharing stories, successes, struggles
• Space for identifying common strategies
• Space to pray together and build body of Christ
• Release time a key ingredient

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Provide service and justice experiences

• Service projects and service learning widespread
• Include opportunities for reflection and analysis
• Get students to ask the why questionsto
  identify root causes of social problems
• Provide avenues for addressing root causes

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Internal policies and procedures

• Day-to-day decisions speak volumes about a
  commitment to social teaching
• Improves the school as an institution
• Sends strong message about schools mission to
  community
• Wages, racial diversity, scholarships, discipline
  are all areas for evaluation

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Prayer and worship life

• Liturgy is our school for social justice
• Encourage a spirituality that is public and
  social, not just private and interior
• Include social mission in retreats, other
  intensive prayer experiences

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Co-curricular activities

• An opportunity to teach Catholic social teaching
  outside the classroom
• Choice of a school play, mission and activities
  of student government among activities that might
  be reviewed.

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Essential Elements

• Faculty formation and training
• Integration into all classrooms
• Social teaching in the religion curriculum
• Support from key decision makers
• Mission statement, admissions, orientation
• Ongoing support mechanisms for teachers
• Provide service and justice experiences
• Internal policies and procedures
• Prayer and worship life
• Co-curricular activities

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Seven Commandments for Social Teaching

• Rooted in prayer and worship.
• Integrate, dont isolate.
• Content counts study the documents.
• Competency really counts.
• Charity (social service) is not enough.
• Thou shalt observe, judge, act.
• Thou shalt have fun!

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Make sure the teaching is rooted in prayer and
worship. Cultivate a spirituality that is not
just private, but also public and social.
Catholicism does not call us to abandon the
world, but to help shape it. This does not mean
leaving worldly tasks and responsibilities, but
transforming them. Everyday Christianity To
Hunger and Thirst for JusticeU.S. Bishops,
November, 1998
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Integrate, dont isolate

• The commitment to human life and dignity, to
  human rights and solidarity is a calling every
  Catholic educator must share with his or her
  students. It is not a vocation for a few
  religion teachers, but a challenge for every
  Catholic educator.
• Therefore, we emphasize that the values of the
  Church's social teaching must not be treated as
  tangential or optional. They must be a core part
  of teaching and formation.
• Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and
  Directions, U.S. Bishops, 1998

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Content counts Study the documents.

• There is a universal need to be more explicit in
  teaching the principles of Catholic social
  thought and helping people apply and act on those
  principles.
• Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and
  Directions
• U.S. Bishops, 1998

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Social Teaching Moral principles Teaching
Documents
Social Action Works of Justice Works of Charity
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Competency really counts

• We strongly urge Catholic educators and
  administrators to create additional resources and
  programs that will address the lack of
  familiarity with Catholic social teaching among
  many faculty.Sharing Catholic Social Teaching
  Challenges and DirectionsU.S. Bishops, 1998

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Charity (social service) is not enough.

• There is a need for Catholic educational and
  catechetical programs not only to continue
  offering direct service experiences, but also to
  offer opportunities to work for change in the
  policies and structures that cause injustice.
• Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and
  DirectionsU.S. Bishops, 1998

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Thou shalt observe, judge, act

• Observe the facts know the reality
• Use social analysis and moral values to make
  judgments about the facts
• Plan a realistic and effective strategy for
  action

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Thou shalt have fun

• No one likes a grim do-gooder!

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Conclusion

• Salt and Light for the World

Youre supposed to be the leaven in the loaf,
not part of the lump.
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Internet Resources on Catholic Social Teaching

• http//www.osjspm.org/cst
• http//www.osjspm.org/justed.htm
• http//www.mcgill.pvt.k12.al.us/jerryd/cm/cst.htm

• This Powerpoint presentation can be downloaded
  at the following web address
• http//www.osjspm.org/justed/csted.ppt

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Catholic Social Teaching

• A Key to Catholic Identity

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Society
Politics