Human Dignity
鈥淎ll principles of Catholic social teaching are based on the truth of human dignity.聽 Being created in God鈥檚 image means that, with God鈥檚 help, we can be like God and glorify Him with our thoughts, actions, and words.鈥�
(Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ – Grade 6)
Participation in Society
鈥淚n a global culture driven by excessive individualism, our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social.鈥�
(Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions)
Stewardship of Creation
鈥淥n a planet conflicted over environmental issues, the Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.鈥�
(Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, p 6)
Rights and Responsibilities
鈥淓very person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency.聽 Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities – to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.鈥�
(Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, p 5)
Solidarity
鈥淪olidarity highlights in a particular way the intrinsic social nature of the human person, the equality of all in dignity and rights and the common path of individuals and peoples towards an ever more committed unity.鈥�
(Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, p 494)
Community and the Common Good
鈥淏y common good is to be understood the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily鈥�
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, p 1906)
Peace
鈥淲orking for peace can never be separated from announcing the Gospel, which is in fact the 鈥済ood news of peace鈥� addressed to all men and women. At the centre of 鈥渢he gospel of peace鈥� remains the mystery of the cross, because peace is born of Christ’s sacrifice.鈥�
(Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, p 493)
Dignity of Work
鈥淲ork is more than a way to make a living:聽 it is a form of continuing participation in God鈥檚 creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected – the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.鈥�
(Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, p 5)
Care for People Who Are Poor and Vulnerable
鈥淚n a world characterized by growing prosperity for some and pervasive poverty for others, Catholic teaching proclaims that a basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring.鈥�
(Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, p 5)
