TEN PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person

The first social teaching proclaims the respect for human life, one of the most
fundamental needs in a world distorted by greed and selfishness. The Catholic Church teaches
that all human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation for all the
social teachings. This theme challenges the issues of abortion, assisted suicide, human cloning
and the death penalty. The Catholic Church holds the belief that every human life is precious and
is a gift from God, and that every institution is measured by whether it threatens or enhances the
life and dignity of the human person.

2. Common Good

A community is genuinely healthy when all people, not only one or several segments,
flourish. The Russian novelist Doestoevski put it this way: “The degree of civilization in a society
can be judged by entering its prisons.” “Every social group must take account of the needs and
legitimate aspirations of other groups, and even of the general welfare of the entire human
family.” This concept of the common good seems to be ‘missing in action’ in contemporary public
life, “not the utilitarian formula of the greatest good for the greatest number, but the moral
formula of the greatest good for all,” simply on the basis that they are human beings and
therefore inherently worthy of respect.”

3. Call to Family, Community, and Participation

The social teaching proclaims that the human person is not only sacred, but also social. It
stresses that how we organize society in economics, politics, and law or policy directly affects
human dignity and community. Society often proclaims the importance of individualism, but
Catholic social teaching argues that human beings are fulfilled in community and family. The
Catholic Church believes we have the responsibility to participate in society and to promote the
common good, especially for the poor and vulnerable.

4. Rights and Responsibilities

Human dignity can only be protected if all human rights are protected and responsibilities
of all human beings are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to the basic
needs of life. The Catholic Church teaches that every person has a duty and responsibility to help
fulfill these rights for one another, for our families, and for the larger society. Public debate in
our nation is often divided between those who focus on personal responsibilities and those who
focus on social responsibilities, but the Catholic tradition insists that both are necessary to
respond to the basic and fundamental rights of every human being.

5. Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

This world is shaped by the division between growing prosperity for some and poverty
for others. The Catholic Church proclaims that the basic moral test of a society is how the most
vulnerable members are faring. Our society is marred by a deepening division between rich and
poor. From the Last Judgment reading (Mt 25:31-46), all people are instructed by God to put the
needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

6. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

The Catholic Church teaches that the economy must serve the people. Too often the
marketplace takes precedence over the rights of workers. Work is more than a way to make a
living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. The rights to productive work, to
decent and fair wages, to the organization of unions, to private property, and to economic
initiative are all part of protecting the dignity of work by protecting the rights of the workers.
Respecting these rights promotes an economy that protects human life, defends human rights,
and advances the well-being of all.

7. Solidarity

Our society often stresses individualism, indifference and sometimes isolationism in the
face of international responsibilities. The Catholic Church proclaims that every human being has
a responsibility to our brothers and sisters, wherever they live. We are one human family,
whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Solidarity is about
loving our neighbors locally, nationally, as well as internationally. This virtue is described by
John Paul II as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good;
that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all
(Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 38).
8. Care for God’s Creation

The Catholic tradition insists that every human being show respect for the Creator by our
stewardship of His creation. We are called to protect people and the planet by living our faith
with respect for God’s creation. In a society with controversy over environmental issues, the
Catholic Church believes it is a fundamental moral and ethical challenge that cannot be ignored.

9. Subsidiarity

The word subsidiarity comes from the Latin word subsidium, which means help, aid or
support. The principle of subsidiarity means being wide-eyed clearly determining the right
amount of help or support that is needed to accomplish a task or to meet an obligation: “not too
much” (taking over and doing it for other: thereby creating learned helplessness or
overdependence) and “not to little” (standing back and watching people thrash about, thereby
increasing frustration and perhaps hopelessness). “Instead of ‘the less government the better’,
the principle might be better summarized as ‘no bigger than necessary, no smaller than
appropriate’.”

10. Universal Destination of Goods

God intends for the goods of creation to be at the service (or destined for) all of humanity
(universally). Everyone has the right to access goods to meet their needs. People and nations
have no right to squander resources when others are in need. Saint Ambrose summed it up over
1500 years ago when he said of charitable giving, “You are not making a gift of your possessions
to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common
for the use of all, you have arrogated (taken up) to yourself. The world is given to all, and not
only to the rich.”