Catholic social teaching
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Catholic social teaching encompasses the teaching that has been prevalent in the Catholic Church on all matters dealing with the collective aspect of humanity, since the mid-19th century. While most of the teachings are far older, they were combined into one systematic approach to social issues only after Marxism and other socialist movements began to gain ground after the Industrial Revolution.
While not endorsing any particular political agenda, the Church holds that this teaching applies in the public (political) realm, not only the private.
Christian Democracy, a political movement in numerous European countries, took these principles as its main agenda. They have also influenced many other political movements in varying degrees throughout the majority Christian nations, even those that aren't Catholic.
The fundamental principles of Catholic Social Teaching are:
- Human life is sacred and the human dignity of every person must be recognized.
- Human rights: Every person has fundamental human rights, including the right to life. The Catholic Church condemns abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia because human beings do not have the right to end the life of another person. Also, the right to food, to decent work, to houseing and to health care are promoted to support life. The church does not believe in absolute property rights, considering it theoretically moral and just for its members to destroy property used in an evil way by others, or for the state to resdistribute wealth from those who have unjustly hoarded it. The church does not believe in the absolute right of kings or other human systems of government.
- Solidarity with, and compassion for, the poor: A whole society can be judged by how well it treats its most vulnerable members - the poor and those on the margin. This also applies on an international level with regard to the Global South. For example, the Church has habitually insisted that loans be forgiven during many occasions (during jubilee years.) Unjust systems or structures, such as the current world trade system, are the focus of CST; charity to individuals or groups must be accompanied by transforming unjust structures.
- Economic justice: Workers have a right to work, to a living wage, and to form unions. Though Catholic teaching opposes collectivist approaches such as Communism as it was practiced in the Soviet Union (and elsewhere) and upholds a right to private property limited by the concept of the social mortgage, it also opposes laissez-faire. This belief ties closely with compassion for the poor.
- Stewardship of creation: The world's goods are available for humanity to use only under a "social mortgage" which carries with it the responsibility to protect the environment.
- Disarmament and rejection of war: The Church now regards the circumstances under which military force is permissible as extremely limited (and rejects recent notable examples of military force such as the 2003 Invasion of Iraq). The circumstances under which military force is permissible are set out in the doctrine of just war, which forbids weapons of mass destruction, state or non-state terrorism, premptive war, and mistreatment of prisoners of war; this doctrine has changed in recent decades to become more restrictive.
- The state has a positive moral role to play: Under the principle of subsidiarity, state functions should be carried out at the lowest level that is practical.
In an American political context, some few Catholic social teachings (such as the principle of subsidiary and opposition to abortion and euthanasia) are held by the Republican Party, however most - opposition to capital punishment, solidarity with the poor, support of economic justice, stewardship, disarmament and rejection of warfare - are more in tune with the politics and policies of the Democratic Party.
