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Catholic Social Teaching is the label given to the areas of Catholic doctrine which relate to human dignity and the common good. Although it has deep roots – going back to the patristic era and ultimately to the teachings of Jesus – the nomenclature of Catholic Social Teaching was originated in the nineteenth century. This was a period of great political upheaval and the Church was called on during this period to answer the claims made by new political ideologies: socialism, social democracy, liberalism, anarchism and capitalism. In response the Church created a new strand of political philosophy which drew upon influences both secular and Christian tradition. Over the five weeks of this course, we will examine five key principles of Catholic Social Teaching, examining the doctrinal basis, the history and the practical applicability of each one.
Week 1 – Protection of the Family
At the heart of Catholic Social Teaching is an a priori commitment to the value of the family. The family is considered, within Catholic teaching, to be the basic unit of society. All social policies, according to Catholic Social Teaching, should be devised in the interests of protecting the autonomy of the family unit insofar as is practically feasible. For Catholics, the model of the family is represented, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in the model of the Holy Family: Joseph, Mary and Jesus. How, though, can this Biblical model – overlayed with the social thought of the scholastic tradition – help Catholics living in secular, democratic, twenty-first century societies? How does Catholic social teaching on the family navigate issues relating to divorce, migration, child protection and urbanisation?
Week 2 – Preferential Option for the Poor
In the parables and teachings of Jesus, the poor are frequently described as favoured by God. The ‘first will be last and the last first,’ as Jesus teaches his disciples. In the twentieth century, the concept of the ‘preferential option for the poor’ became a source of friction within the Church. Some argued that this principle was a fundamental tenet of Christian belief. Others argued that it was being abused by those who sought to smuggle Marxist ideas into the body of Catholic thought. Over time, the concept of the ‘preferential option’ has become more mainstream. Nevertheless, it continues to raise issues and questions, in relation both to systematic theology and to the political life of Catholics.
Week 3 – The Dignity of Work
In the nineteenth century, many Church leaders actively supported those who wished to improve the lot of the working classes through trade union activism. This supportive attitude was codified in the text of Rerum Novarum. Implicit in this support for workers was the belief that work had an edifying effect on the human soul. The world of work has changed, beyond recognition, from that time to this. The power of trade unions has declined in the West along with the decline of mass, man powered industry. At the same time, with the advent of automation and artificial intelligence, some predict a ‘post-work’ society in the imminent future. In the twenty-first century, can we still say that work is a ‘natural and dignified and dignifying’ aspect of the human experience?
Week 4 – Care of Creation
In the past three decades, humanity as a whole has been awakened to the cries of creation by the clarion of climate change. All around us, in our world, we can see the destruction wrought by human activity. This clarion call has caused religious leaders of all faiths to revisit their traditional ethical teachings, in light of a new understanding of humanity’s place in creation. The leaders of the Catholic have been at the forefront at this effort. In this week’s session, we will discuss the successes and failures of the Laudato Si’ effort and will consider its indebtedness to Catholic Social Teaching along with its more innovative elements.
Week 5 – Catholic Social Teaching in Action
Catholic Social Teaching, at its best, must be about actions rather than words. It is easy to become bound up in the – at times – arcane distinctions and dogmatism which we encounter in the pages of papal encyclicals. But all around the world, and for many decades, Catholics have fought and campaigned and even died for the values which are expressed in these documents. In this week’s course we will survey just a few of these stories.
Pope Francis, AmorisLætitia (2016)
1. “The Bible provides a template for the traditional family.”Do you agree?
2. Is the individualism to blame for the ‘weakening of family bonds’?
3. What role does migration play in changing attitudes to the family?
4. Is the family the basic unit of society?
5. Is the family a microcosm of society?
6. “We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them.” What does Pope Francis mean by this?
Gustavo Gutierrez, Theology of Liberation (1971)
1. What does Jesus mean when he says that it is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle?
2. What does Jesus mean when he says that the poor are always with us?
3. Can an omniscient, benevolent God choose sides when it comes to class?
4. Is violence ever justified in the pursuit of the Catholic vision of social justice?
5. Do you agree with the Churches actions against Gutierrez, Cardenal and Boff?
6. Do you agree with the statement that the original concept of the ‘preferential option’ has become meaningless in its current usage?
Reading Week 3
1. Why is work good?
2. Why does St Paul say: “those who shall not work, shall not eat”?
3. “The concept of work as understood by the people of ancient Israel has no relevance to us today.” Do you agree?
4. What is the right to work?
5. Heinrich Pesch wrote that ‘Without continuing orderly work mankind cannot survive and the world of nature will not be brought to subjection.’ Is the Thomist view of work inevitably linked with human dominion over nature?
6. By claiming that work is ‘the vocation of humanity’ does the Church efface the dignity of the lives of those who are not able to work?
7. “Catholic Social Teaching is not equipped to deal with the era of automation.? Do you agree?
Reading Week 4
1. “Genesis 1 is a handbook for anthropocentrism.” Do you agree?
2. Is Christianity fundamentally anthropocentric?
3. Is Pope Benedict right to warn against biocentrism?
4. How does Francis’ attitude differ from the attitude of his predecessors?
5. What is the technocratic paradigm? What are some examples of it?
6. Can we trace the cultural roots of the ecological crisis to “Promethean” modernity?
7. Is Care of Creation a coherent part of the Catholic Social Teaching tradition?
1. Adolph Kolping was disturbed by the loss of solidarity caused by industrialisation and urbanisation in the nineteenth century.
a. What would he think about the state of solidarity in 2024?
b. What would he do in response to these new challenges?
2. “Chesterton’s vision of a Distributist society is nothing more than nostalgia.” Do you agree?
3. “Fascism is a distorted version of Catholic Social Teaching.” Do you agree?
4. Are the tenets of the Catholic Worker movement in keeping with the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching as you understand it?
5. Is it possible to have corporatism or solidarism without authoritarianism?
6. Has the principle of subsidiarity been a force for good in the world?
7. Catholic Social Teaching has inspired a very diverse array of political movements. Does this suggest that it lacks coherence as a political philosophy?
Thank you for participating in Catholic Social Teaching II.
We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to provide us with feedback on your experience with our course. Please complete an evaluation form here:
Evaluation Form - Catholic Social Teaching II · ChurchSuite Forms
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With best wishes,
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
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Aidan is a tutor in Social and Environmental Justice stream. He completed his PhD at the Divinity Faculty of the University of Cambridge in 2018. During his doctoral studies he ran as a Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party. He is the author of two academic books: Jewish Christians in Puritan England (2020) and Israelism in Modern Britain (2021). Between 2020 and 2022 he worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at St Mary's University in London.
