Principles of Catholic Social Teaching

​The Church's social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and espicopal documents.   The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents. In these brief reflections, we (U.S.Catholic Bishops) highlight several of the key elements that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.

 -  The Right to Life and the Dignity of the Human Person
-  Call to Family, Community, and Participation 
-  Rights and Responsibilities
-  Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
-  Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
-  Solidarity
-  Caring for God’s Creation

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Seven Works of Justice and Peace

1. Live simply and justly in solidarity with the poor and marginalized and be a good  neighbor. Make no war on them, rather, be one with them in spirit, truth, and love.
2. Hear the truth when it is spoken to you. Discern the signs of the times and speak truth - to power, to the people, and to the Church.
3. Make injustice visible - witness, remember, teach, proclaim, tell. Light candles, do not curse the darkness.
4. Protect the poor and powerless - listen, learn, educate, organize, empower participation, and respect life from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.
5. Work for reconciliation with truth, evangelism and catechesis.
6. Celebrate life, goodness, beauty, virtue, responsibility, and joy. Practice peace, non-violence, servant leadership, harmony, community, voluntary cooperation, and the proper stewardship of God's creation. Pray without ceasing.
7. Ensure fair distribution, subsidiarity, economic opportunity, justice, and food security for everyone everywhere.
justpeace.org

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​Laudato Si'
On Care for Our Common Home

Pope Francis’s encyclical on ecology and climate change flows from the deep well of Catholic teaching about the environment.
(Encyclical: a papal letter sent to Bishops of a particular country or all Bishops of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis, at the beginning of the encyclical says, "...I wish to address every person living on the planet.")

"Let us sing as we go.
May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope."

Learn more 

​Catholics care about climate change.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION TOGETHER.

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Year of Mercy : Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy 

​Mercy is “the beating heart of the Gospel”
                                                               Pope Francis

​The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy 2015 began on Tuesday, December 8
and ended on Sunday, November 20, 2016.

Even though the Year of Mercy is done,  it is never too late for Catholics to contemplate just how merciful God has been to them and to understand better how they are called to be merciful to others in turn.

Mercy, the pope wrote, is “the beating heart of the Gospel.”
Before the Year of Mercy began Pope Francis wrote, “How much I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God,”   “May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the kingdom of God is already present in our midst.”
Nothing in the church’s preaching or witness, he said, can be lacking in mercy. Let us continue to bring "the goodness and tenderness of God" to everyone we encounter, "both believers and those far away..."

What does a door have to do with the year of mercy? Click on the door to open the answer.