Social Teaching Documents

Modern Catholic social teaching is the compilation of the wisdom gained by understanding the papal, conciliar, and official Church documents dealing with social, economic, and political principals as expounded in the last two centuries. The office of social justice for the archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul has created an exhaustive, interactive set of links which allows one to understand the depth of the Church’s teachings on social justice issues. You can find this link here.

Key Principles of Catholic Social Teaching

The essence of Catholic social teaching can be summarized in ten key principles. They are: The right of human dignity for all. The sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is a foundational concept of our social teachings. Our global society requires that our governments and other institutions protect human life and dignity, and to promote the common good. Our teachings tell us that human dignity can only be protected in a healthy community only if human rights are protected and that everyone is guaranteed the right to life and those things required for human decency. Catholic teaching proclaims that a moral test is measured by looking at how those most in need are cared for by that society. Our teaching proclaims that we must put the poor and vulnerable first. We believe that everyone has a right to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of the society in which they live. To exclude them from these activities is to effectively discount their human dignity. Our teaching states that in order for the dignity of work to be protected, workers must be given the opportunity to be safe in their work, to earn a fair wage, and to organize and join unions to promote their welfare. We are called to protect people and our planet, and live our faith in relationship with all of God’s creations. We believe that the state has a function to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and build the common good. Government works best when it is performed at the lowest level. Finally, Catholic social teaching strongly advocates peace as appositive action-oriented concept. Peace is the fruit of justice and depends on the right interaction of the people in the world.

You can view these principles in a printer friendly version here.

JustFaith

JustFaith Ministries is an organization that provides workshops and parish activities which broaden our ability to see the opportunities to help the poor and marginalized around us. Their mission statement says, “JustFaith Ministries strives to provide faith formation processes and resources that emphasize the gospel message of peace and justice, Catholic social teaching, and the intersection of spirituality and action. The aim of Just Faith Ministries is to enable people of faith to develop a passion for justice and to express this passion in concrete acts of social ministry.”

Our diocese has an active JustFaith program in many of our parishes. If you would like to know more about JustFaith, you can contact Joyce Cottage at jcottage@cox.net. Additionally, the deacon in your parish can provide you information as to how you can experience this opportunity in living and experiencing Catholic social justice at your parish. You can interact with the national JustFaith Ministries website here.

Web Links

The peace and justice website of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul has an extensive set of web links on Catholic social teaching. You can access it by clicking here.