Catholic 411 Catechism Prayer For Vocations Youth Update Archives Links
A whole collection of encyclicals and other documents published by the Roman Catholic Church over the last hundred years that show the Church's concern for life and the ways it is threatened around the world. These include teachings about public events in society such as political, cultural and economic issues. Examples include Pope Leo XIII's landmark 1891 letter <I>The Condition of Labor</I> that suggests concrete ways to protect worker's rights and dignity and the American bishops' 1986 letter <I>Economic Justice For All</I>. There are seven key themes at the heart of our Catholic social tradition. 1. Life and dignity of human persons: Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God; therefore, human life is sacred and must be treated with dignity. 2. A call to family, community and participation: The human person is not only sacred but inherently social. 3. As social beings, our relationships are governed by a web of rights and responsibilities. Each person has a fundamental right to life and to those things that allow one to live a decent life - faith, family, food, shelter, health care, housing, education, employment. 4. The Bible and the Church call on all of us to embrace a preferential love of the poor and vulnerable. 5. The dignity of work and the rights of workers: The economy must serve people, not the other way around! 6. Solidarity: Because of the interdependence of creation, we have a moral responsibility to commit ourselves to the common good everywhere. 7. Care for God's creation: Our stewardship of the earth is a kind of participation in God's act of creating and sustaining the world.