ORDO WEEK 31 SATURDAY MORNING PRAISE
COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abbreviations
Biblical Abbreviations
Letter of Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Presentation
INTRODUCTION
AN INTEGRAL AND SOLIDARY HUMANISM
a. At the dawn of the Third Millennium
b. The significance of this document
c. At the service of the full truth about man
d. In the sign of solidarity, respect and love
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
GOD'S PLAN OF LOVE FOR HUMANITY
I. GOD'S LIBERATING ACTION IN THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL
a. God's gratuitous presence
b. The principle of creation and God's gratuitous action
II. JESUS CHRIST, THE FULFILMENT OF THE FATHER'S PLAN OF LOVE
a. In Jesus Christ the decisive event of the history of God with mankind is fulfilled
b. The revelation of Trinitarian love
III. THE HUMAN PERSON IN GOD'S PLAN OF LOVE
a. Trinitarian love, the origin and goal of the human person
b. Christian salvation: for all people and the whole person
c. The disciple of Christ as a new creation
d. The transcendence of salvation and the autonomy of earthly realities
IV. GOD'S PLAN AND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
a. The Church, sign and defender of the transcendence of the human person
b. The Church, the Kingdom of God and the renewal of social relations
c. New heavens and a new earth
d. Mary and her “fiat” in God's plan of love
CHAPTER TWO
THE CHURCH'S MISSION AND SOCIAL DOCTRINE
I. EVANGELIZATION AND SOCIAL DOCTRINE
a. The Church, God's dwelling place with men and women
b. Enriching and permeating society with the Gospel
c. Social doctrine, evangelization and human promotion
d. The rights and duties of the Church
II. THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH'S SOCIAL DOCTRINE
a. Knowledge illuminated by faith
b. In friendly dialogue with all branches of knowledge
c. An expression of the Church's ministry of teaching
d. For a society reconciled in justice and love
e. A message for the sons and daughters of the Church and for humanity
f. Under the sign of continuity and renewal
III. THE CHURCH'S SOCIAL DOCTRINE IN OUR TIME: HISTORICAL NOTES
a. The beginning of a new path
b. From Rerum Novarum to our own day
c. In the light and under the impulse of the Gospel
CHAPTER THREE
THE HUMAN PERSON AND HUMAN RIGHTS
I. SOCIAL DOCTRINE AND THE PERSONALIST PRINCIPLE
II. THE HUMAN PERSON AS THE “IMAGO DEI”
a. Creatures in the image of God
b. The tragedy of sin
c. The universality of sin and the universality of salvation
III. THE MANY ASPECTS OF THE HUMAN PERSON
A. The unity of the person
B. Openness to transcendence and uniqueness of the person
a. Open to transcendence
b. Unique and unrepeatable
c. Respect for human dignity
C. The freedom of the human person
a. The value and limits of freedom
b. The bond uniting freedom with truth and the natural law
D. The equal dignity of all people
E. The social nature of human beings
IV. HUMAN RIGHTS
a. The value of human rights
b. The specification of rights
c. Rights and duties
d. Rights of peoples and nations
e. Filling in the gap between the letter and the spirit
CHAPTER FOUR
PRINCIPLES OF THE CHURCH'S SOCIAL DOCTRINE
I. MEANING AND UNITY
160. The permanent principles of the Church's social doctrine [ 341] constitute the very heart of Catholic social teaching. These are the principles of: the dignity of the human person, which has already been dealt with in the preceding chapter, and which is the foundation of all the other principles and content of the Church's social doctrine; [342] the common good; subsidiarity; and solidarity.
161. These are principles of a general and fundamental character, since they concern the reality of society in its entirety: from close and immediate relationships to those mediated by politics, economics and law; from relationships among communities and groups to relations between peoples and nations
162. The principles of the Church's social doctrine must be appreciated in their unity, interrelatedness and articulation. This requirement is rooted in the meaning that the Church herself attributes to her social doctrine, as a unified doctrinal corpus that interprets modern social realities in a systematic manner
163. The principles of the social doctrine, in their entirety, constitute that primary articulation of the truth of society by which every conscience is challenged and invited to interact with every other conscience in truth, in responsibility shared fully with all people and also regarding all people
These principles have a profoundly moral significance because they refer to the ultimate and organizational foundations of life in society.
II. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE COMMON GOOD
a. Meaning and primary implications
164. The principle of the common good, to which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its fullest meaning, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily”.
The common good does not consist in the simple sum of the particular goods of each subject of a social entity. Belonging to everyone and to each person, it is and remains “common”, because it is indivisible and because only together is it possible to attain it, increase it and safeguard its effectiveness, with regard also to the future.
165. A society that wishes and intends to remain at the service of the human being at every level is a society that has the common good — the good of all people and of the whole person [347] — as its primary goal. The human person cannot find fulfilment in himself, that is, apart from the fact that he exists “with” others and “for” others. This truth does not simply require that he live with others at various levels of social life, but that he seek unceasingly — in actual practice and not merely at the level of ideas — the good, that is, the meaning and truth, found in existing forms of social life.
b. Responsibility of everyone for the common good
166. The demands of the common good are dependent on the social conditions of each historical period and are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights[349]. These demands concern above all the commitment to peace, the organization of the State's powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation, basic health care, the freedom of communication and expression, and the protection of religious freedom
167. The common good therefore involves all members of society, no one is exempt from cooperating, according to each one's possibilities, in attaining it and developing it[
Everyone also has the right to enjoy the conditions of social life that are brought about by the quest for the common good.
c. Tasks of the political community
168. The responsibility for attaining the common good, besides falling to individual persons, belongs also to the State, since the common good is the reason that the political authority exists[355].
169. To ensure the common good, the government of each country has the specific duty to harmonize the different sectoral interests with the requirements of justice[3
170. The common good of society is not an end in itself; it has value only in reference to attaining the ultimate ends of the person and the universal common good of the whole of creation. God is the ultimate end of his creatures and for no reason may the common good be deprived of its transcendent dimension, which moves beyond the historical dimension while at the same time fulfilling it[359].
III. THE UNIVERSAL DESTINATION OF GOODS
a. Origin and meaning
b. The universal destination of goods and private property
c. The universal destination of goods and the preferential option for the poor
IV. THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY
a. Origin and meaning
b. Concrete indications
V. PARTICIPATION
a. Meaning and value
b. Participation and democracy
VI. THE PRINCIPLE OF SOLIDARITY
a. Meaning and value
b. Solidarity as a social principle and a moral virtue
c. Solidarity and the common growth of mankind
d. Solidarity in the life and message of Jesus Christ
VII. THE FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF SOCIAL LIFE
a. The relationship between principles and values
b. Truth
c. Freedom
d. Justice
VIII. THE WAY OF LOVE
PART TWO
CHAPTER FIVE
THE FAMILY, THE VITAL CELL OF SOCIETY
I. THE FAMILY, THE FIRST NATURAL SOCIETY
a. Importance of the family for the person
b. Importance of the family for society
II. MARRIAGE, THE FOUNDATION OF THE FAMILY
a. The value of marriage
b. The sacrament of marriage
III. THE SOCIAL SUBJECTIVITY OF THE FAMILY
a. Love and the formation of a community of persons
b. The family is the sanctuary of life
c. The task of educating
d. The dignity and rights of children
IV. THE FAMILY AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN SOCIAL LIFE
a. Solidarity in the family
b. The family, economic life and work
V. SOCIETY AT THE SERVICE OF THE FAMILY
CHAPTER SIX
HUMAN WORK
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
a. The duty to cultivate and care for the earth
b. Jesus, a man of work
c. The duty to work
II. THE PROPHETIC VALUE OF “RERUM NOVARUM”
III. THE DIGNITY OF WORK
a. The subjective and objective dimensions of work
b. The relationship between labour and capital
c. Work, the right to participate
d. The relationship between labour and private property
e. Rest from work
IV. THE RIGHT TO WORK
a. Work is necessary
b. The role of the State and civil society in promoting the right to work
c. The family and the right to work
d. Women and the right to work
e. Child labour
f. Immigration and work
g. The world of agriculture and the right to work
V. THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS
a. The dignity of workers and the respect for their rights
b. The right to fair remuneration and income distribution
c. The right to strike
VI. SOLIDARITY AMONG WORKERS
a. The importance of unions
b. New forms of solidarity
VII. THE “NEW THINGS” OF THE WORLD OF WORK
a. An epoch-making phase of transition
b. Social doctrine and the “new things”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ECONOMIC LIFE
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
a. Man, poverty and riches
b. Wealth exists to be shared
II. MORALITY AND THE ECONOMY
III. PRIVATE INITIATIVE AND BUSINESS INITIATIVE
a. Business and its goals
b. Role of business owners and management
IV. ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS AT THE SERVICE OF MAN
a. Role of the free market
b. Action of the State
c. Role of intermediate bodies
d. Savings and consumer goods
V. THE “NEW THINGS” IN THE ECONOMIC SECTOR
a. Globalization: opportunities and risks
b. The international financial system
c. Role of the international community in an era of a global economy
d. An integral development in solidarity
e. Need for more educational and cultural formation
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
a. God's dominion
b. Jesus and political authority
c. The early Christian communities
II. FOUNDATION AND PURPOSE OF THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY
a. Political community, the human person and a people
b. Defending and promoting human rights
c. Social life based on civil friendship
III. POLITICAL AUTHORITY
a. The foundation of political authority
b. Authority as moral force
c. The right to conscientious objection
d. The right to resist
e. Inflicting punishment
IV. THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM
a. Values and democracy
b. Institutions and democracy
c. Moral components of political representation
d. Instruments for political participation
e. Information and democracy
V. THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY AT THE SERVICE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
a. Value of civil society
b. Priority of civil society
c. Application of the principle of subsidiarity
VI. THE STATE AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
A. Religious freedom, a fundamental human right
B. The Catholic Church and the political community
a. Autonomy and independence
b. Cooperation
CHAPTER NINE
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
a. Unity of the human family
b. Jesus Christ, prototype and foundation of the new humanity
c. The universal vocation of Christianity
II. THE FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
a. The international community and values
b. Relations based on harmony between the juridical and moral orders
III. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
a. The value of international organizations
b. The juridical personality of the Holy See
IV. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
a. Cooperation to guarantee the right to development
b. The fight against poverty
c. Foreign debt
CHAPTER TEN
SAFEGUARDING THE ENVIRONMENT
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
II. MAN AND THE UNIVERSE OF CREATED THINGS
III. THE CRISIS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAN AND THE ENVIRONMENT
IV. A COMMON RESPONSIBILITY
a. The environment, a collective good
b. The use of biotechnology
c. The environment and the sharing of goods
d. New lifestyles
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE PROMOTION OF PEACE
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
II. PEACE: THE FRUIT OF JUSTICE AND LOVE
III. THE FAILURE OF PEACE: WAR
a. Legitimate defence
b. Defending peace
c. The duty to protect the innocent
d. Measures against those who threaten peace
e. Disarmament
f. The condemnation of terrorism
IV. THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHURCH TO PEACE
PART THREE
CHAPTER TWELVE
SOCIAL DOCTRINE AND ECCLESIAL ACTION
I. PASTORAL ACTION IN THE SOCIAL FIELD
a. Social doctrine and the inculturation of faith
b. Social doctrine and social pastoral activity
c. Social doctrine and formation
d. Promoting dialogue
e. The subjects of social pastoral activity
II. SOCIAL DOCTRINE AND THE COMMITMENT OF THE LAY FAITHFUL
a. The lay faithful
b. Spirituality of the lay faithful
c. Acting with prudence
d. Social doctrine and lay associations
e. Service in the various sectors of social life
1. Service to the human person
2. Service in culture
3. Service in the economy
4. Service in politics
CONCLUSION
FOR A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE
a. The help that the Church offers to modern man
b. Starting afresh from faith in Christ
c. A solid hope
d. Building the “civilization of love”
Index of references
Analytical index