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Dear Parishioners: The Catholic Bishops of the United States have recently written a letter to all of us concerning the importance of the social teaching of our Church. This week and next excerpts from the letter will be presented for your prayerful consideration. Father Vincent Ring Catholic Social Teaching: Major Themes The church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amid the challenges of modern society. It offers moral principles and coherent values that are badly needed in our time. In this time of widespread violence and diminished respect for human life and dignity in our country and around the world, the Gospel of life and the biblical call to justice need to be proclaimed and shared with new clarity, urgency and energy. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar and episcopal documents which explore and express the social demands of our faith. The depth and richness of this tradition can be best understood through a direct reading of these documents, many of which are cited in the appendix to the summary report of the task force. In these brief reflections, we wish to highlight several of the key themes which are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition. We hope it will serve as a starting point for those interested in exploring the Catholic social tradition more fully. Life and Dignity of the Human Person...... In a world warped by materialism and declining respect for human life, the Catholic church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and assisted suicide. The value of human life is being threatened by increasing use of the death penalty. The dignity of life is undermined when the creation of human life is reduced to the manufacture of a product as in human cloning or proposals for genetic engineering to create "perfect" human beings. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. Call to Family, Community, Participation...In a global culture driven by excessive individualism, our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society - in economics and politics, in law and policy - directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The family is the central social institution, which must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. While our society often exalts individualism, the Catholic tradition teaches that human beings grow and achieve fulfillment in community. We believe people have a right and duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Our church teaches that the role of the government and other institutions is to protect human life and human dignity and promote the common good. |
