In a world where opinions are absorbed from our favorite podcast or other self-proclaimed experts, it is often difficult to discern what the Catholic Church actually teaches, especially when it comes to the social doctrine of the Church. There are plenty of people who assure us that what they believe is, conveniently, what the Church teaches. The social teaching of the Church, however, is vast and complex. Proponents of Catholic social doctrine usually categorize it into eight principles, which are presented here to help the reader understand Catholic Social Teaching (CST).
Human Dignity: Human dignity is the first and most important CST principle. Because humans have a transcendent dignity—being made in the image and likeness of God—anything that takes away from this dignity is immoral, and all social and moral virtues contribute to human dignity. As important as the other principles of CST may be, they can never contradict the dignity of the individual person. The good of a society must be sought without harming individual human dignity.
All sin takes away from the dignity of the human person, so individuals and society have a responsibility to resist and correct sin. Some social sins that commonly affect human dignity include oppression, poverty, racism, sexism and exclusion of various types. It goes without saying that anything that extinguishes human life also directly harms human dignity, such as war, violence, starvation and abortion. Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical asks us to consider how technology—particularly artificial intelligene—affects human dignity.
All virtues uphold human dignity, but of these, love has no equal. From love flows the other virtues, and without it nobody can sustain virtues. As the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says, “No legislation, no system of rules or negotiation will ever succeed in persuading men and peoples to live in unity, brotherhood and peace; no line of reasoning will ever be able to surpass the appeal of love” (207).
Common Good: The “common good” is intrinsically connected to the dignity of all people. It is, according to the Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et Spes “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment”(26). Because of the universal connection that people have to the common good, everyone at every level of society has a responsibility to uphold and support it. This aspect of CST—which is second only to human dignity—emphasizes that the human person is not an isolated entity, but necessarily exists in communion with others.
Subsidiarity: Subsidiarity is one of the most constant principles of CST, but it is one of the most misunderstood. Subsidiarity means that the higher levels of a society must help and support the lower levels of society. If a higher level were to absorb or interfere with what is proper for a lower level to handle, that would be a breach of the principle of subsidiarity. This principle, however, does not encourage the removal of higher levels of society, but rather emphasizes the importance of cooperation between the different levels. Assistance is important so that the lower levels can perform their proper functions, but there is also a limit to assistance. Too much can remove individual initiative. A family is responsible for managing what is proper to a family, but they cannot solve a disastrous flood, so a natural disaster would be properly dealt with by a higher level of society which is equipped to handle it. Just as the higher levels need to provide for the empowerment of the lower levels, so the lower levels must empower the higher levels to perform their duties and provide for the common good of all.
Solidarity: Solidarity builds upon human dignity and the common good to emphasize the connection between all people. Solidarity is more than a feeling of empathy or sympathy for others—it involves a will to action. What happens to one of us happens to all of us, and if someone has their human dignity offended or is excluded from the common good, we are also offended.
Solidarity has historically been practiced by workers and labor unions, but it is not limited to the workplace. Society in general can focus on the commonality between all people and the need to work together for the common good. Solidarity can be fostered among people who work or live in various circumstances and can cross traditional lines of division.
Preferential Option for the Poor: A consistent principle of CST is the Preferential Option for the Poor. This principle suggests that policies and actions should be evaluated considering how they affect the poor. Because they are vulnerable, the poor—including the spiritually, culturally or educationally poor—hold a special place of concern for the Church and even for God, who identified Himself with the poor in those famous phrases from Matthew 25. All people are called to assist the poor in accord with their ability. The Church has long held that true charity and care for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love for riches (James 5:1-6). We have a responsibility to take care of our less fortunate brothers and sisters. As Saint Gregory the Great says, “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice” (Regula Pastoralis).
Rights and Dignity of Workers: The Church recognizes a great value in labor as well as the need for cooperation between labor and wealth. Work is not a punishment of the Fall since work preceded the Fall. Work, then, is a gift from God to participate in the creative powers of Him to care for the world. Christ himself took on the role of a worker, thus emphasizing the dignity of work and workers.
The Church also recognizes the tendency of workers to be exploited by wealth. Workers have families and require rest and dignity, which are often neglected in the search for greater profits. Work is not done for the sake of work—God rested and ordained it so that workers may also rest from their labors. Work helps activate the inherent dignity of people, men and women alike, and cannot be used as a weapon or punishment against people.
Universal Destination of Goods: “God destined the Earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity” (Gaudium et Spes, 69). The Church recognizes that the world has been given to humans to provide for their needs and work toward their sanctification. The Universal Destination of Goods focuses on the right of all peoples to have access to the necessary means for their full development. This will look different for different people. This is not advocating the removal of ownership for the sake of open access to all resources. It is a means by which people secure for themselves what they need for their fulfillment and development—not a means to exclude others from their respective fulfillment and development. To achieve the fulfillment of all, this principle of CST should complement the Preferential Option for the Poor and Solidarity.
Care for our Common Home: Care for our Common Home is the most recently recognized of the principles of CST. Pope Francis emphasized it in his encyclical Laudato Si. It focuses on the reality that all people live on this planet, and anything that affects the planet affects everyone. He reminds us that God put humans in a garden, not a concrete jungle. We must, then, care for the environment. We are responsible for what God has given us to govern and care for, including people.
In all that we do as a Church, we are to remember that our activity affects others. How we work toward holiness affects the efforts of those around us. When making decisions, it helps to consider the principles of CST so that we can all, together, achieve our fulfillment and sanctity in accord with the wisdom of the Church and the vision of the Gospel.
