GUIDING PRINCIPLES

How is man to use these gifts – what are his guiding principles? Catholic social teaching
provides us with the following guiding principles.
1. Society is an organic association directed to the benefit of the person.
2. The moral foundation for society is the natural law.
3. Society is ordered for the common good.
4. Society must promote the spiritual good of the human person.
5. A fundamental end of society is social justice.
6. Human life must be protected by society.
7. All members of society have rights and responsibilities.
8. Public authority has important duties and powers to promote the common good.
9. The material goods of the world are entrusted to humanity for the benefit of all,
especially the poor.
10. Economic activity is a right and obligation of all members of society, and is dedicated
to the service of the person.
11. Society and all citizens have an obligation to seek and preserve peace.
12. Society must strengthen and protect the family.
13. Religious belief has a privileged role in the life of society.

Fourteen Major Lessons of Catholic Social Teaching

1. Link of religious and social dimensions of life. The “social” – the human
construction of the world – is not “secular” in the sense of outside of God’s plan, but
is intimately involved with the dynamic of the Reign of God. Therefore faith and
justice are necessarily linked together (The Church in the Modern World; One
Hundred Years)
2. Dignity of the human person. Made in the image of God, women and men have a
preeminent place in the social order. Human dignity can be recognized and protected
only in community with others. The fundamental question to ask about social
development is: What is happening to people? (Peace on Earth; On Human Work).
3. Political and economic rights. All human persons enjoy inalienable rights, which are
political-legal (e.g., voting, free speech, migration) and social-economic (e.g., food,
shelter, work, education). These are realized in community. Essential for the
promotion of justice and solidarity, these rights are to be respected and protected by
all the institutions of society (Peace on Earth).
4. Option for the poor. A preferential love should be shown to the poor, whose needs
and rights are given special attention in God’s eyes. “Poor” is understood to refer to
the economically disadvantaged who, as a consequence of their status, suffer
oppression and powerlessness (Call to Action).
5. Link of love and justice. Love of neighbor is an absolute demand for justice, because
charity must manifest itself in actions and structures which respect human dignity,
protect human rights, and facilitate human development. To promote justice is to
transform structures which block love (Justice in the World).
6. Promotion of the common good. The common good is the sum total of all those
conditions of social living – economic, political, cultural – which make it possible for
men and women readily and fully to achieve the perfection of their humanity.
 Individual rights are always experienced within the context of the promotion of the
common good. There is also an international common good (Christianity and Social
Progress).
7. Subsidiarity. Responsibilities and decisions should be attended to as close as
possible at the level of individual initiative in local communities and institutions.
Mediating structures of families, neighborhoods, community groups, small
businesses, and local governments should be fostered and participated in. But larger
government structures do have a role when greater social coordination and regulation
are necessary for the common good (The Reconstruction of the Social Order).
8. Political participation. Democratic participation in decision making is the best way
to respect the dignity and liberty of people. The government is the instrument by
which people cooperate together in order to achieve the common good. The
international common good requires participation in international organizations
(PiusXII, “Christmas Message,” 1944; The Missionary Activity of the Church).
9. Economic justice. The economy is for the people and the resources of the earth are to
be shared equitably by all. Human work is the key to contemporary social questions.
Labor takes precedence over both capital and technology in the production process.
Just wages and the right of workers to organize are to be respected (On Human
Work).
10. Stewardship. All property has a “social mortgage”. People are to respect and share
the resources of the earth, since we are all part of the community of creation. By our
work we are co-creators in the continuing development of the earth (On Human
Work).
11. Solidarity. We belong to one human family. As such we have mutual obligations to
promote the rights and development of all people across communities, nations, and
the world, irrespective of national boundaries. In particular the rich nations have
responsibilities toward the poor nations, and the structures of the international order
must reflect justice (The Development of Peoples; The Social Concerns of the
Church; One Hundred Years; Family Life).
12. Promotion of Peace. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon the right
order among humans and among nations. The arms race must cease and progressive
disarmament take place if the future is to be secure. In order to promote peace and the
conditions of peace, an effective international authority is necessary (Peace on
Earth).
13. Work. Work can and must serve an individual’s humanity and dignity. Work is a way
that humans share in the activity of God. People have a right to work, a right to
receive a just wage, and a right to form unions (The Condition of Labor; On
Human Work).
14. Liberation. Liberation from oppressive social, political, and economic situations and
structures is an important part of the church’s activity. Liberation however must
encompass the entire person, including the spiritual and religious dimensions (The
Missionary Activity of the Church).
 EQUALITY

Equality: two things are equal when one is neither more nor less than the other in an
identified respect
Inequality: consists in one being more, the other less – one superior, the other inferior –
in some respect

What differs as one distinguishes different dimensions:

 Character of subjects
 Mode of predication
 Qualifications attached to the predications

Personal and Circumstantial Equality

Personal equality refers to human beings while circumstantial equality refers to everything else.

Personal / Human Equality

1. that which arises from endowments that persons bring into the world at birth, e.g. height,
degree of intelligence; also termed natural equality / inequality.
2. that which derives from their attainments, e.g. how one develops one’s intelligence or
athletic ability; also termed acquired equality / inequality

Circumstantial Equality
1. of condition: political, economic, social (resulting conditions); equality of condition may
be either an equality in the status granted individuals; an equality in the treatment
accorded them; or an equality with respect to their possession of one or another basic
human good (often depends upon factors controlled by society, not entirely by the
individual).
2. of opportunity: political, economic, social (initial conditions)

Equality That Does / Ought to Exist

1. declarative – descriptive – does exist
2. prescriptive – ought to exist

In the sphere of Human Equality / Inequality declarative statements make sense but prescriptive
statements (ought statements) make no sense.

In the sphere of Circumstantial Equality / Inequality both declarative and prescriptive make
sense.

Justice enters into the picture as regulative only in the sphere of circumstantial equality /
inequality because only there can one make prescriptive proposals. Personal equality / inequality
is neither just nor unjust it simply IS.

Only human beings can be just or unjust in the proposals they advance with regard to an equality
of conditions or with regard to an inequality of results. Where an inequality of conditions exists
but ought not to prevail, justice may call for rectifying this by establishing an equality of
conditions in its place (cf. affirmative action). With regard to individuals who make unequal
contributions by the work they do or the goods they produce, justice may call for an inequality of
results in the rewards they receive.

Equality of Kind and Inequality of Degree

Equality of kind and inequality of degree is a crucial distinction.
1. equality of kind: an equality of conditions that exist or ought to exist without any
attendant difference in degree
2. inequality of degree: an equality of conditions that exists or ought to exist but which is
accompanied by differences in degree and so by inequalities among those who are equal
in a given respect.
3. Equality that prevails among HAVES is an equality of kind. Inequality between HAVES
and HAVE NOTS is an inequality of kind. Inequality among HAVES is an inequality of
degree.

We are entitled to certain equalities due to the nature of man. The equalities we are entitled to are
circumstantial not personal and are equalities of condition – of status, treatment, opportunity.

Equality of being human, in humanity, of/as persons does not admit of degree and are the basis
for being entitled to equalities of condition.

In both the political and economic spheres, justice requires only as much equality of conditions
as human beings have a right to on the basis of their natural needs. That is: justice requires that
all shall be HAVES but does not require that all shall be HAVES to the same degree.
 STEWARDSHIP

Public policies and institutions must be at the service of all people especially the poor.

Human dignity, realized in community with others, is the primary criterion for evaluating every
social and economic institution.

The justice of a community is measured by its treatment of the powerless in society most often
described as the widowed, the orphan, the poor and the stranger in the land.

The underlying theme in these statements from the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral letter on the economy
is STEWARDSHIP.

What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is the responsible use of resources. No human person owns anything absolutely;
everything we possess we hold in trust for all, including future generations. The contemporary
problems of global scarcity and environmental pollution demand renewed efforts at preservation
and conservation. “The world is given to all, and not only to the rich…Private property does not
constitute for anyone an absolute and unconditional right. No one is justified in keeping for his
exclusive use what he does not need, when others lack necessities.” (Development of Peoples,
#23) “If someone who has the riches of this world sees his brother in need and closes his heart to
him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1Jn 3:17)

The fundamental idea of stewardship is that wealth possessed is held in trust for others. Man has
been entrusted with wealth that ultimately belongs to God. In other words man has been
entrusted with a gift and will be judged in accordance with what he does with it (sharing).

The goal is to share property without grumbling.

 The use of property is common
 The ownership of property may be private
 Free enterprise is limited by stewardship
 What then of the right to accumulate property? What is the moral limit on the
right to pass property on to one’s own heirs or beneficiaries of one’s own
choosing?
 Theology can give no more precise answer to these and related questions than St.
Peter gave when he wrote:
Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since “love covers
over many a sin”. Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling.
Each of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for
all these different graces of God put yourselves at the service of others (1Peter
4:8-11)
 The reply can be summed up in “share without grumbling” and “we must live in
service to others”.
Four priorities emerge from these demands of justice.
1. Ownership of property may be private but the use of property is to be common – i.e. for
the common good
2. The fulfillment of the basic needs of the poor is of the highest priority
3. Increasing the active participation in the economic and political life by those who are
presently excluded or vulnerable is a high priority
4. The investment of wealth and talent and human energy should be specially directed to
benefit those who are economically insecure

The practical obstacle to realizing these priorities is a crisis of faith.

1. Too few believe that the dominion is God’s and that we own nothing absolutely. How
often have you reflected on all that you have been given in this life: talents and abilities
that you did not merit, advantages and privileges of birth over which you had no control?
2. Too few of us regard ourselves as stewards of wealth, seriously obliged to use it for the
good of others. How often have you wasted the goods that you have in excess while
others want for basic needs?
3. Too few of us have the courage to conclude that our salvation literally depends on our
willingness to take the Lord seriously when he declares himself as owner and us as
guests. How often have you clothed the naked, fed the hungry and given drink to the
thirsty and in so doing responded to the call of Christ?
4. In consequence too few of us are willing to pay up so that many of our society’s
problems can be put down. Are you willing to let people continue to suffer and die while
you have so much that you could give to help them?
Progress will only come about to the extent that those in possession of property, power and
prestige are willing to let go.