Life and Dignity of the Human Person is the Catholic social teaching principle on which the others depend. It asks us to remember that all life is sacred and that we were “created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.” It is the foundation and motivation for treating others as our neighbor.
Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable asserts that a “basic moral test for our society is how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst.” Jesus repeatedly identified himself with the vulnerable in society, whether announcing his mission to bring “glad tidings to the poor” or calling us to feed and clothe the least of our brothers.
“St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: ‘Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs. The demands of justice must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Rights and Responsibilities must be acknowledged for the dignity of each person in society to be maintained. As people created in the image of God the foundational right that protects our bestowed dignity is the right to life; food, clothing and shelter being the most basic components of this right. But there are other rights that contribute to a life freedom from oppression and belittlement, including the right to choose our own religion, the right to work, and a right to education. These are the rights that we want for ourselves, and everyone around us.
Unfortunately, not all societies are structured in such a way that they are able to provide these rights. Some societies are plagued by corruption and civil war, some are plagued by apathy, but either, and everything in between, robs persons of a life lived with dignity. This is where we are called to intervene. There are responsibilities and duties that correspond to our rights, namely that we seek the common good for our neighbors, family and those most vulnerable in society, to ensure that they have the same rights we do.
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers recognizes that the ability to labor for a wage is another expression of our bestowed dignity. It allows us to be faithful stewards of our talents and energy, and to continually participate in God’s creation. But we must also make significant efforts to protect this expression of dignity. Often the most vulnerable in society are exploited for their labor by being overworked and underpaid. They are asked to work long hours, in harsh conditions, for a wage that will not support them and their family. This undermines the common good.
Employers are called to contribute to the common good by treating their workers fairly, providing a living wage, and producing quality goods and services. Likewise, workers are to give a full day’s work, do their job well, and respect the dignity of their employer. These are small steps each person can take on the journey for economic justice.
Solidarity asks of us to see each person as our neighbor. It recognizes that we are all related through a human family, because all are created by God and bestowed with dignity. Solidarity means that we not only acknowledge the people that we see every day, but also those around the world, with other views, and other customs. It also includes “the Scriptural call to welcome the stranger among us—including immigrants seeking work, a safe home, education for their children, and a decent life for their families.”
Solidarity takes form when we promote peace and seek justice for all, regardless of “national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.”
Care for God’s Creation recognizes that we are entrusted as stewards of God’s creation we not only seek to preserve the dignity of humanity, but we also seek to care for the environment, that it may sustain our life and future generations. When we take action to conserve the environment around us we express direct care and concern for all living things in God’s creation.
The catechism calls attention to the interdependence of creatures: “The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.”
In seeking the common good we should be compelled to work in collaboration with our environment, rather than against it. By doing so we fervently live out our faith.
Family, Community, and Participation recognizes that the human person is sacred, but it also recognizes that the human person is, by nature, social. This is certainly evident in the way in which a family functions. Each person in the family depends on the others so that they may, together, work for the common good of the family.
This is how we are called to participate in our communities as well. We each have a right, and a duty, to shape and define our societies by our political, economic, and spiritual decisions. In doing so we can contribute to the universal common good by making choices that recognize the dignity of persons in our community.
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