Reflections on Catholic social teaching

Following is the Summary of a paper 'Reflections on Catholic social teaching' developed as part of the study program.

The CSSA program exposed us to several accounts of the development of Catholic social teaching, and to close engagement with several texts, including Gaudium et Spes from the Second Vatican Council and two recent encyclicals, Deus Caritas Est (2005) and Caritas in Veritate (2009). The program also included visits to agencies that were applying Catholic social teaching in their work.

We were left with a picture that is rich, and complex, and of Catholic social teaching as alive and developing. Differences in emphasis at various times, and differences in interpretation are opportunities to deepen our understanding of the whole.

Among particular themes that had some prominence during the program were the inter-relationship between charity and justice, the environment, acknowledgement of mistakes, and the Church and material wealth. The principles are not separable: the dignity of the human person, justice, the common good, subsidiarity, solidarity and an option for the poor are all inter-related.

‘See, judge, act’ is a methodology for applying the principles and methods of Catholic social teaching, but there is no simple calculus to be applied. Wisdom and patience are among the qualities to be brought to the task. But act we must.

Next steps towards more effective engagement with Catholic social teaching might include, at the personal level, a focus on character and formation; ‘leadership spirituality’, including changing perspective, contemplation and meditation; deepening one’s relationship with God; and further study.

At the organisational level further steps include:
o Continued exposure to organisations that apply Catholic social teaching
o Recruiting people who share the vision, and staff development
o Shared prayer, where appropriate
o Including Catholic social teaching as part of a dialogue with the Bishops, and as a bridge to Parish communities.

The full report is available at http://www.css.org.au/documents/CSSA_Leuven_Program_DFReport_14_October_2009_Catholic_Social_Teaching.pdf