THE WELL-KEPT SECRET OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

 It is by a similar statement that the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church is often referred to. Before writing this article, I launched a small survey in our parish in Dublin (Saint John Vianney, survey 2023) on what Catholic Social Teaching (abbreviated to CST) is and its main principles. It appears that some Christians do not know that there is a Social Teaching of the Church, or a document called the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (abbreviated to CSDC). The conclusions of this investigation reinforced my idea that the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church remains a hidden treasure, a “well-kept secret”[1]. The well-kept secret is not so much that the Church keeps a treasure that it refuses to reveal to the world, but because some Christians living out their faith on a daily basis do not know that they can refer to CST in the same way as they do with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

At the request of Pope Saint John Paul II in 2004, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace[2] published “a complete overview of the fundamental framework of the doctrinal corpus of Catholic social teaching.”[3] This is what is called the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church. For me this document should be one of the bedside books for every Christian, just like the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible. What is Catholic Social Teaching? What are the main principles? These are two questions that this article will try to answer.

The origin of the term “Social Doctrine” goes back to Pope Pius XI and it indicates the doctrinal “corpus” concerning issues relevant to our society. But the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum (1891) of Pope Leo XIII marks a beginning of a singular development of the Church's teaching in social matters (CSDC 87). CST is a corpus where can be found the principles for reflection, the criteria for judgment and the directives for action in our society. 

CST was formed over the course of time, through the numerous interventions of the Magisterium on social issues, and is found in various documents (the councils, encyclicals, papal addresses, and documents drafted by the offices of the Holy See) (CSDC 8). The purpose of CST is to interpret the social issues of our day and to guide the human person’s behaviour (CSDC 72-73). 

The human person is at the heart of CST[4]. Through its social teaching, the Church wants to proclaim the Gospel to men and women of our society but also to enrich and permeate society itself with the Gospel (CSDC, 62). CST is therefore a valid instrument of evangelisation. It finds its inspiration in two mains sources: biblical revelation and the tradition of the church (CSDC 74).  It is also referred to as a “work site” where the work is always in progress, where perennial truth penetrates and permeates new circumstances” (CSDC 86). What are the main principles of CST?

The Compendium highlights a few principles of CST. The dignity of the human person and human rights are the most important because they are the foundation of all other principles such as: the Common Good, the Universal Destination of Goods, the Preferential Option for the Poor, Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and Participation. All of this can only be achieved by the way of love. Let us now look at each principle.

1. The Dignity of the Human Person: The Church sees in every person the image and likeness of God: “God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). Since time immemorial, the Church has always taken the defence of human dignity to heart. Issues such as abortion, discrimination, social exclusion, euthanasia, and the dignity of workers are issues linked to the dignity of the human person. 

2. The Common Good: For Pope John XXIII, social conditions favour the full development of the human person[5]. The common good is “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily.”[6] As far as the dignity of each person and the pursuit of the common good are at stake, decisions should be taken for “better distribution of income, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor, which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality.”[7]

3. Universal Destination of Goods: This principle is one of the implications of the above principle, namely the Common Good. This concerns the well-being of each person and of the whole person. Every human being, created in the image and likeness of God, deserves to enjoy the riches of the earth. There must be no exclusion. God entrusted the world resources to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favouring anyone (CSDC, 174). The universal right to use the goods of the earth is based on the principle of the Universal Destination of Goods. Each person must have access to the level of well-being necessary for his full development. 

4. Preferential Option for The Poor: In the CSDC, this principle is included in the Universal Destination of Goods. I consider it to be a principle, given its importance in the history of the Church. Several theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez, Donal Dorr, Daniel G. Groody and Gerald Twomey agree that the term ‘Option for the Poor’ emerged about the year 1960 in the Latin American Church. This term implies the struggle against poverty, injustice, and oppression in society. The term “preferential” was added to the phrase Option for the Poor by the Conference of the Bishops of Latin America at Puebla in 1979. Even though the term “Option for the Poor” or “Preferential Option for the Poor” has been enriched over time in the CST, the expression is still questioned and debated today. 

Pope Francis has a very wide understanding of the principle. When referring to the poor, he emphasises that the poor are real people not just a category. We must not speak any more about the Preferential Option for the Poor, but with the poor. They are real people, and we must not think for them but with them[8]. The Holy Father goes further and doesn't stop at the Preferential Option for the Poor. He refers to all kinds of vulnerability such as loneliness, elderly people etc... Based on Pope Francis' understanding of who could be considered as poor today, I argue for the necessity of finding an alternative expression to the Preferential Option for the Poor, suggesting that the Preferential Option for the Poor should be replaced by the expression “Compassion for the Vulnerable”. I believe that the concept of vulnerability is more inclusive and reminds us of our common humanity[9].

5. Subsidiarity: The principle of subsidiarity was first underlined by Pope Pius XI in 1931 in his Encyclical Letter on the Reconstruction of Social Order “Quadragesimo Anno”. He then referred to the relation of individuals and smaller groups with larger or national governments. He considers it wrong to take from individuals what they can achieve by their own initiative in order to give it to the community.[10] The principle of subsidiarity protects people from abuses by higher-level social authority and calls on these same authorities to help individuals and intermediate groups to fulfil their duties (CSDD 187). It is opposed to certain forms of centralization, bureaucratization, and welfare assistance and to the unjustified and excessive presence of the State in public mechanisms.

6. Participation: The principle of Participation is an implementation of Subsidiarity, which enables everyone living in a society to participate, individually or in groups, in political, social, economic, and cultural life. The CSDC 189 called it "the civil community" to which the person or the group belongs: “Participation can be achieved in all the different relationships between the citizen and institutions: to this end, particular attention must be given to the historical and social contexts in which such participation can truly be brought about.” (CSDC 191)

7. Solidarity: This principle highlights the interdependence between people. It is fundamentally linked to the principle of human dignity, and it expresses “the need to recognize in the composite ties that unite people and social groups among themselves, the space given to human freedom for common growth in which all share and in which they participate. (…) The principle of solidarity requires that men and women of our day cultivate a greater awareness that they are debtors of the society of which they have become part.” (CSDC 194-95).

Conclusion: CST is a great treasure still largely hidden in our Church, not because the Church refuses to reveal it to the world, but because it is not well promoted. In my survey, I asked Christians in Dublin how the CST could be promoted. They suggested that it could be done through the parish newsletter, homilies, the parish website, and social media. I'm glad that Adventus Academy is offering me the chance to do it on their website. I thank Adventus Academy for giving me the opportunity to propose these few lines to encourage our readers to immerse themselves in this labyrinth. It's a fascinating teaching that should accompany our daily lives. Every Catholic Christian should have among their bedside books a Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

[1]The latest book on the subject is MarkP. Shea's book published in 2020:The Church's Best-Kept Secret: A Primer on Catholic Social Teaching(New City) .

[2] The dicastery for the promotion of Justice and peace was integrated into the dicastery for the promotion of integral development created by Pope Francis in 2017.

[3] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no 9, see https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html 

[4]Gaudium et Spes, 198.

[5]John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra on Christianity and Social Progress, no 65.

[6]Gaudium et Spes, 26.

[7]Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, no 204.

[8]Pope Francis launching the Economy of Francesco (EOF). See Pope Francis, Video Message, 21 November 2020.

[9]This is a PhD dissertation that was published: Michel Simo Temgo, Jon Sobrino and Pope Francis - A New Springtime for the Preferential Option for the Poor/Vulnerable?Xlibris publishers (Bloomington, Indiana), 2019.

[10]Christine Firer Hinze, “Commentary on Quadragesimo anno(After Forty Years),” in Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2005), 167.