Scribd
Upload
87 views

Option For The Poor and Vulnerable

The document discusses four key sources that Catholic Social Teaching draws from: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. Scripture provides lessons on living justly from the Bible. Tradition involves teachings from popes, saints, and early church leaders. Reason refers to examining the world through natural law and rational analysis. Experience means God continues to communicate through human history, which social sciences can help interpret.

Uploaded by

Kim Cristian Maaño
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
87 views

Option For The Poor and Vulnerable

The document discusses four key sources that Catholic Social Teaching draws from: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. Scripture provides lessons on living justly from the Bible. Tradition involves teachings from popes, saints, and early church leaders. Reason refers to examining the world through natural law and rational analysis. Experience means God continues to communicate through human history, which social sciences can help interpret.

Uploaded by

Kim Cristian Maaño
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Social Teachings of the Church

Option for the poor and vulnerable

In the Gospel of Matthew (25:31–46), Jesus describes the last judgment, saying that we
will be judged based on how we treat the poorest and most vulnerable members of
society. Throughout the Scriptures, Jesus spends time with the sick and outcast,
revealing a special love for those most in need.

The Catholic social teaching principle Option for the Poor encourages us to imitate
Christ’s love for the poor by working to create a society where the needs of the poor are
always considered first.

Jesus always spends time with those who are most in need, including the sick or those
who are considered outcasts. We are invited to follow Jesus’ example and show a
special care for people, especially the poor, who are most in need.

Solidarity

As one human family, we are deeply connected to people around the world—wherever
they may be. And because we are one, we are affected by the joy and suffering of all. “If
one member of Christ’s body suffers, all suffer. If one member is honored, all rejoice.” (1
Corinthians 12:12–26) Living in solidarity means we take action to make sure that every
member of our human family is living in conditions that honor human dignity. “We are all
really responsible for all.” (St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 38) CATH

Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, even though they may be different from us. That
means our neighbors who live next door and those who live on the other side of the
planet. Jesus reminds us that we are all part of God’s great family.

Dignity of Human person

We believe that God created man and woman in his image (Genesis 1:26–27) and
because of this all people have inherent dignity. There is nothing anyone can do to gain
or take away their human dignity, since it is God given, not earned. Because of this, we
believe that every life is sacred and that no life—born or unborn—is disposable. All of
the principles of Catholic social teaching flow from the core belief that every person has
inherent dignity that must be respected.

“Every person is made in the image of God. This means that every life is sacred and all
people are worthy of respect, no matter who they are or where they live. We are called
to care for all human life.”

The call to family, community and participation

Catholics believe that every human life is sacred and should be respected from
conception until natural death. We also believe that human life is inherently social,
and that how we relate to each other in society impacts human dignity and our ability
to grow in community.

Marriage and family are foundational communities of society. In the Acts of the
Apostles, St. Paul describes what community looks like: Disciples of Christ shared
their food and possessions to make sure the neediest among them were taken care
of (Acts 2:42–47). These members of the early Church model a society in which all
members of a community care for one another.

“Human beings are social by nature. We, like the early disciples, are invited to come
together as a community, whether in our classroom, workplace or family. As God’s
family, we are called to look out for one another.”

Care for God’s creation

We believe that God created the world and all living things. Creation reflects God’s
glory: “Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power
and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.”
(Romans 1:20) We honor God by taking care of what he has created and being good
stewards of the earth. By caring for creation, we also help protect people and the
planet.

5 Ways of Getting to Know Catholic Social Teaching Better

1. Learn more about how the Church understands social justice


2. Think about how you understand what Catholic Social Teaching is
3. Learn about how to read the documents - and read some!
4. Find out about local Catholic Social Teachings
5. Research what Catholic Social Teaching has to say about an issue

Four Catholic Social Teaching Sources

Catholic ethics commonly draws on four major sources. They are Scripture, tradition,
reason and experience. When popes and bishops teach on social justice issues they
will typically draw on some, or all of these sources. Scripture and Catholic tradition are
faith sources while reason and experience are sources that others also use in their
ethics. They are all important in the development of the Catholic Social Teaching
tradition.

Scripture

Scripture plays an important role in any Christian effort to discern what is right and good,
and how to live justly together in society. Catholics draw on Scripture in a more literary
than literal way. We don’t look to the Bible for a detailed set of rules to guide just
behaviour in contemporary societies. There are however, lots of parts of the Bible that
teach us about living justly.

Tradition

Tradition doesn’t mean simply doing what was done in the past. It is about drawing on
the previous reflection and teaching of the Church. Tradition is often passed on through
formal teaching documents. Sometimes people mistake the documents for the tradition
that they communicate! Catholic Social Teaching is not just a series of Papal
documents. Tradition also includes the lived witness and writings of the saints, doctors of
the Church and the leaders of the early church. The wisdom that comes from the
experience of ordinary Christian communities trying to live the Gospel in different times
and places is part of tradition too.

Reason

Natural law has played a strong role in Catholic social ethics. It argues that we can
understand God’s will by using our reason to examine the world. The use of human
reason and rational analysis helps Catholic Social Teaching to enter ethical conversation
with people of different beliefs. The formal philosophical language linked with natural law
is less common in post Vatican II teachings.

Experience

Catholic Social Teaching draws on experience because we believe that God continues
to communicate with us through the people, places and events of human history. The
social sciences and other sources of human wisdom can help us to understand and
make use of experience to guide action.

You might also like