About Catholic Social Teaching
Concerned with the well being of all people and their common good, the Church’s social teachings lay out what is necessary to live a dignified human life in today's world and our joint responsibility to each other to make that happen. The social teachings provide principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and guidelines for action.
Through this, the Church describes what a just society looks like, says Pope Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est, but it is up to the lay faithful - working within their political system - to create that society
Catholic Social Teaching In-Depth
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church - commissioned by Blessed John Paul II - summarizes the entire body of Catholic social teaching. The teaching is summarized here with introductions to each of the social encyclicals since Rerum Novarum in 1891; seven themes used to group the various teaching - starting with the right to life as the most important; and an in-depth look at Charity in Truth, written by Pope Benedict XVI, characterized as the latest social encyclical.California Bishop Statements
The newest statement from the California Catholic Conference is In Search of the Common Good: A Moral Framework for Addressing the California Budget Crisis.
Faithful Citizenship
Every four years the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) encourages us to examine our call to be engaged in public policy decisions. Catholics generally take their participation in their communities seriously, but have become just as susceptible to the 30-second sound bite and fear-inducing pundits as the next person.