Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic social teaching calls us to work for the common good, help build a just society, uphold the dignity of human life and work for justice and the dignity of all our brothers and sisters, especially those in the greatest need.

So what is Catholic Social Teaching?

Catholic Social Teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is deeply rooted in the Catholic tradition. Pope John Paul II wrote, “The Church’s social teaching finds its source in Sacred Scripture, beginning with the Book of Genesis and especially in the Gospel and the writings of the Apostles. From the beginning, it was part of the Church’s teaching.

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic social teaching is social. Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself. Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse.

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic social teaching is an expression of the Church’s ministry of teaching. The Bishops call Catholic social teaching a “constitutive” part of the Church’s mission to the world. It is not only the prerogative of the institutional church, but of the entire community. “It is the expression of the way that the Church understands society and of her position regarding social structures and changes. The whole of the Church community—priests, religious, and laity—participates in the formulation of this social doctrine.”