UNIT SIX
The Church is Servant
6.1 The Social Doctrine of
the Church
The Church Acts
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“God’s place on earth is everywhere on
earth”
Called To Be A Servant
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Last Supper Jesus washed the feet of his
disciples. When he had finished he
instructed them to go and do the same for
others.
All Christians must do the same.
Christians cannot be the body of Christ on
earth, if power is chosen over
service
Gaudium et Spes
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Second Vatican Council document
One of the most serious mistakes made by
Catholics today is found in the difference
between what they say and how they live
from day to day.
Service is an intrinsic part of faith
Veritatis Splendor
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Pope John Paul II’s letter
Following Christ must shape us at the very
core of our being
“Being a follower of Christ means
becoming conformed to him who became
a servant”
A servant must surrender
power so as to empower
others
The Church’s Mission to Serve
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The Church is the primary instrument of
God’s grace on earth
Grace to:
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Serve others out of genuine love
Surrender one’s own power for the benefit of
another
The Church is called to serve
The Church has a mission to…
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Care for the downtrodden
Make Christ known by reaching out in his
name to those in need
Judge political, economic and social
matters

When the fundamental rights of the person or
the salvation of souls requires it
The Permanent Moral Code Of
The Church
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Begins with the Decalogue (10
commandments)
The social doctrine of the Church grows
out of the Church’s understanding of the
seventh and tenth commandments
We cannot be in union with
God if we fail to recognize and
respect the rights and
property of others
All people deserve to be
treated with respect
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The Church can only be true to its
covenant with God if it embraces the
commandments and works to see that
none are deprived against their will of the
things which God has given to them
The Church as a whole will
never abandon the poor
Social Doctrine

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Body of Church teachings which relate to
our economic and political interactions
within the world
Identifies the demands of peace and
justice
Grows out of the Church’s understanding
of the seventh and tenth
commandments
Subsidiarity

Principle of Catholic social doctrine which
says that no community of higher order
(such as a national or state government)
should do what can be done equally well
or better by a community of lower order
(such as a family or local community)
Common good

Sum of social conditions which allow
people either as groups or as individuals,
to teach their fulfillment more fully and
more easily
Key Church Documents on
social issues from the 19th and
20th centuries
1.
2.
3.
4.
Rerum Novarum (The Condition of
Labor)
Quadragesimo Anno (Reconstruction of
the Social Order)
Mater et Magistra (Christianity and Social
Progress)
Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth)
Key Church Documents on
social issues from the 19th and
20th centuries
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Gaudium et Spes (The Church in the
Modern World)
Populorum Progression (The
Development of Peoples)
Octogesima Adveniens (A Call to Action)
Justice in the World
Laborem Exercens (On Human Work)
Key Church Documents on
social issues from the 19th and
20th centuries
10.
11.
12.
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social
Concern)
Centesimus Annus (On the Hundredth
Anniversary of Rerum Novarum)
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching:
Challenges and Directions
Basic Principles Of Service
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Veritatis Spledor, Pope John Paul II
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Simplicity of acting morally
Called to abandon ourselves to Jesus
Allow ourselves to be “transformed by his
grace”
Must begin with prayer, trust and a willingness
to abandon our
quest for power and control
Basic Principles Of Service
HUMAN DIGNITY
SOLIDARITY
THE UNIVERSAL
DESTINATION OF
GOODS
SUBSIDIARITY
THE COMMON
GOOD
Human Dignity
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Respect for the dignity of every human
being is foremost among Church’s social
doctrine
Human beings have been created in the
image and likeness of God
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They hold a unique place in all of creation
Only creatures on earth God
has willed for own sake
Human Dignity
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Human beings are the only earthly
creatures who are able to know and love
God their Creator; Humans alone have
been invited to enter into a covenant
relationship with their Creator
No matter what a person does or what is
done to a person, his or her
dignity can never be lost,
taken away or destroyed
Human Dignity
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The human person is sinful, but also
righteous
Pope John Paul II criticized both socialism
and capitalism
SOCIALISM
CAPITALISM
Flawed
political system
because it does not show
proper respect for human
dignity
Flawed
People
Human
are seen only as
elements in the social
organism and are no longer
autonomous subjects with
free choice and a unique
responsibility for choosing
between good and evil
and undermines
human dignity in another
way
beings often
become alienated from one
another. Competition to
succeed becomes so
important that people are
unable or unwilling to give
of themselves in order to
establish true communities
Solidarity
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A genuine concern for the well-being of
other people
Capitalist Societies
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Individuals become means to some other
end rather than ends in themselves
Seen as valuable and important because
of what they can produce rather than
because of who they are
Human work holds high value
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Work is an expression of human dignity
Through work, human beings are able to
join with God in the shaping of the world
Through work we develop our gifts and
talents and become the people that God
created us to be
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We join in the redemptive work
of Christ turning the world from
death to life
Right to work
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Basic human right
People must work in a way that will give
them an opportunity to develop their
talents and their personalities even as
they do the work
The Universal Destination
of Goods
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All people have a right to use the riches of
the earth to provide for themselves and
their families.
Private property is acceptable.
Nonetheless, the right to private property
is secondary to the universal destination
of goods.
The Universal Destination of
Goods
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Giving from one’s surplus to help others
survive is not a demonstration of Christlike service
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It is the fulfillment of a basic obligation
Christ-like service demands far more,
including a sharing from our sustenance as
we work for a world in which the wealth of
the earth is distributed evenly
The Universal Destination of
Goods
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Reminder that human beings were not
created to live in isolation or to be saved
in isolation
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Both our physical and our spiritual well-being
are linked to he well-being of others
We believe that if one member of the body
suffers, all are suffering
The Common Good
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Everyone should promote the common good
Interdependence is a fundamental part of
human nature
Depends on three things
1.
2.
3.
Requires respect for individuals and individual
well-being
Requires social well-being and the development
of communities
Depends on peace, stability, and good order
The Common Good
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Each person has a responsibility to
promote the common good to the extent
that he or she is able
Solidarity
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Genuine friendship and care between
individuals both within and across
particular economic and social groups
Means accepting the needs and hopes of
another as one’s own needs and hopes
Opposite is destructive competition
Solidarity
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Demonstrated by a willingness to share
both material and spiritual goods across all
boundaries
Subsidiarity
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As human interdependence increases, the
role of states in ensuring equality and
justice must also increase
Danger that the state will intervene to
such an extent that individual freedom
and initiative will be lost
Obedience To The Truth
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Principles underlying catholic social
teaching represent the truth about
humankind
Truth is unchanging
First condition of freedom is obedience to
the truth
Each decision must be rooted in natural
moral law to be acceptable
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To be truly Christ-like it must reflect a desire
to give ourselves for the sake of others
In Conclusion
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The social message of the Gospel must
not be considered a theory but a basis and
a motivation for action.
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It is not enough to know what the Church
teaches, we must bring that teaching to life in
our actions.
Every person, regardless of his or her
faith, has an obligation rooted in natural
law to respect others and to avoid doing
anything which would harm the common
good.
In Conclusion
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We must not only avoid doing what is
wrong, we must actively pursue what is
good:
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Give our energy and our talents for the sake
of others
Obligation to stand with and to care for those
who are in need or on the margins of society
In Conclusion
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Some forms of service are more Catholic
than others
Action must respect the principles of
human dignity, the universal destination of
the earth’s goods, and the promotion of
the common good.
True Christ-like service must come from
our own want. Must be offered from a
position of solidarity with those whom we
serve.