Church Social Teaching

My friend Trevor employs Rosa, a woman from El Salvador, to clean his apartment. Each time she comes to clean Trevor’s place, he goes out to get lunch for Rosa and for himself. Though she hates to take a break, Trevor encourages Rosa to sit and eat with him before continuing on with her tasks. As a result, Trevor and Rosa have gotten to know each other in a way that may not have happened if he didn’t buy lunch and if they didn’t eat together. By performing these simple acts and without knowing it, Trevor is practicing Catholic social teaching. By paying Rosa a just wage, he recognizes the dignity of her work. By buying her lunch and by inviting her to eat with him he shows that he respects her and is in solidarity with her. All of these elements, showing respect for human beings, honoring the dignity of work, and being in solidarity have long been part of Catholic social doctrine, which some call the Church’s best-kept secret.

What is the Church’s social teaching?

The social teaching of the Church instructs the faithful on how to live the teachings of Christ amidst the challenges of a changing society. Rooted in Scripture, these teachings have been shaped by Popes, Bishops and Church Councils to correspond to the needs of the time.

The seeds of Catholic social teaching were planted by Pope Leo XIII in his 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which means new things. Rerum Novarum addressed social and economic issues at a time when the industrial revolution and sweeping political changes created a widening gap between the wealthy and the working poor. Rerum Novarum affirmed the dignity of the poor, and a worker’s right to just wages, the right to form trade unions, and the right to own property. The Pope offered a new structure to guide relationships between workers and employers, governments and citizens, saying the primary purpose of the state was to provide for the common good.

Several themes in Rerum Novarum helped form today’s social teaching.

Life and Dignity of the Human Person

God created man and woman in his image. Genesis 1:26-31

The foundation of all Church social teaching is the understanding that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God and is therefore sacred. This fundamental belief, the Church says, is the basis for a moral society:

“Human personhood must be respected with a reverence that is religious. When we deal with each other, we should do so with the sense of awe that arises in the presence of something holy and sacred.”(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 28)

Anything that insults human dignity—from abortion to capital punishment to social and economic disparities--is contrary to Catholic social teaching and to the Gospel.

Call to Family, Community and Participation

What you own belongs to the Lord and is given for the good of all. Leviticus 25:23-42

Humans are social beings who depend on one another in good times and in bad times. The human community has a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and the well-being of all. At the heart of the community is the family.

“Efficiency and competition in the marketplace must be moderated by greater concern for the way work schedules and compensation support or threaten the bonds between spouses and between parents and children.” (USCCB, Economic Justice for All, no. 93)

The family, the domestic church, is a sign of unity and gives witness to the Gospel by participating in human institutions for the betterment of society.

Rights and Responsibilities

Just as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me. Matthew 25:31-46

Because every human life has value, all persons, regardless of status, are entitled to basic human rights, including the right to life, the right to health, the right to work, the right to food, the right to shelter, the right to family, and the right to participate in society. Along with those rights comes the responsibility to ensure that others are afforded those same human rights.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

True worship is to work for justice and care for the poor and oppressed. Isaiah 58:5-7.

The Church’s love and concern for the most vulnerable is rooted in Jesus’ compassion for the poor. The commitment to the poor is not simply for the sake of charity, it is to help the poor become active participants in society so that they might contribute to the common good.

“The ‘option for the poor,’ therefore, is not an adversarial slogan that pits one group or class against another. Rather it states that the deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community. The extent of their suffering is a measure of how far we are from being a true community of persons. These wounds will be healed only by greater solidarity with the poor and among the poor themselves.” (USCCB, Economic Justice for All, no. 88)

The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

All workers should be paid a just and living wage. Matthew 20:1-16

According to Catholic social teaching, having a job is more than simply making a living; it is a participation in God’s work. Therefore, the worker must be protected by rights such as the right to productive work, the right to decent wages and benefits, the right to organize, the right to own property and the right to economic initiative.

Solidarity

If one member of Christ’s body suffers, all suffer. If one member is honored, all rejoice. 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Despite our ethnic, economic, and political differences, we are one human family. In a world that is becoming more and more global it is critical to focus on what we have in common rather than what makes us different. As the pandemic has taught us, we depend on one another in

ways never before imagined. At the heart of solidarity is the desire for and pursuit of peace and justice, not only for ourselves but for the entire human community.

Care for Creation

Humans are commanded to care for God’s creation. Genesis 2:15

Care for the environment is not just a popular trend or a political stance; it is a mandate of our faith. Human beings have been entrusted as the stewards of all creation. We are called to do our part to protect and preserve our common home, to temper consumption with moral considerations for the poor, for humanity as a whole and for future generations.

What is known as the Church’s best-kept secret, Catholic social teaching, has now been told once again in brief. For some this teaching brings comfort, for others, challenge. Reflect on which of the teachings noted above challenge your beliefs and which affirm your beliefs. Read documents such as Rerum Novarum, the Second Vatican Council document, Gaudium et Spes, the U.S. Bishops’ document, Economic Justice for All, Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium, Amoris Laetitia, and Laudato Si’. Discern how you might be called to act so that the Church’s social teaching is no longer a secret but a new way of being for the whole human race.