The Church's Social Doctrine
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
Moral Teachings on Social Matters (2419-2420)
From the Gospel, the Church receives wisdom about man's social living. She proclaims man's dignity and the demands of peace and justice.
When human rights or the salvation of souls requires, the Church makes moral judgments on economic and social matters. She has a mission distinct from political authorities. The Church is concerned with temporal goods because they are ordered to man's salvation. She tries to inspire right attitudes to goods and economic relationships.
Catholic Social Teaching (2421-2422)
The Church's social doctrine developed in the nineteenth century when the Gospel confronted the new structures of production, new concepts of the state, and new forms of labor and ownership. The Church's Tradition has a permanent value which is always living and active.
In this social teaching (which comprises a body of doctrine), the Church interprets events in light of Christ's teachings. As Catholics follow this teaching, others will also accept it.
Three Doctrines (2423-2424)
This doctrine proposes the following:
- Any system determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the human person
- Any theory which makes profit the exclusive and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. It produces perverse effects and leads to conflicts.
- Any system which subordinates the basic rights of persons and groups to the collective organization is contrary to human dignity. Reducing persons to merely means of profit is enslavement.
Law of the Marketplace (2425)
Although rejecting "communism" and "socialism," the Church has also refused to accept the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace. There must be reasonable regulation of economic initiatives. Regulation solely by the "law of the marketplace" fails social justice.
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