Principles of Catholic Social Thought

This essay discusses the principles of Catholic Social Thought - dignity of human person, common good, and global solidarity. It explains how these principles can help in understanding self and the community.

Running head: PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT
Principles of Catholic Social Thought
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Catholic Social teaching refer to the catholic doctrines pertaining to human dignity
along with common good within the society. The catholic social doctrine wants to find
equilibrium between that of respect for the human liberty and consideration for whole society
(Novak, 2017).This essay elucidates on three important principles of catholic social teaching-
dignity of human person, common good and global solidarity. It discusses how these
principles can help in understanding self and the community. It also elaborates on how the
catholic social thought can help in understanding the relationship between self and the
community.
The three important principles in relation to Catholic Social Teaching are dignity of
the human person, common good and that of global solidarity. Human dignity forms the
bedrock of catholic social thought which suggests that the human beings were created in
likeness of God. It states that the individuals in the society have inherent dignity and the
human life can be said to be sacred. It speaks about equality in front of God because god was
instrumental in creating human beings. The common good in catholic social thought can be
reached when the people work collectively that can improve well-being of people within
society and in the broader world (Brady, 2017) .The rights that an individual has to the
personal possessions along with community resources should be balanced with those who are
disadvantaged in society. It states that collaboration between the different sectors of
community can help in the aspect of promotion of common good. The principle of global
solidarity helps in the valuing of fellow human beings and people cannot live independently
in the society (Thompson, 2015). Human beings can be called interdependent things and this
interdependence should be cherished in the society.
The catholic social thought can enable an individual in understanding his self in a
better manner and it can help in the complete realization of an individual. It can help a person
in contributing to the welfare of society by utilizing his complete potential. It can enable an

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individual in understanding his responsibilities towards himself along with that of the society.
It can help an individual in playing the role of a brother or a sister that can pave the path for
the development of the society. It helps an individual in understanding that we are individuals
who possess the element of dignity and human beings should act in a manner that can help in
protecting his respect in the society (Massaro, 2015). The catholic social thought harps on the
fact that individuals should make sacrifices in the society that can help those who are
marginalised in the society. These principles help in understanding self and it can strengthen
an individual to devote himself for the welfare of the society. It says that the individual
should participate in the social sphere that can pave the path for human fulfilment (Brennan,
2014). Catholic Social Thought stresses on the fact that an individual should not be shut out
from participating in those institutions and voluntary associations that can lead to the welfare
of the society.
The catholic social thought helps in providing a broad glimpse of the society and it
emphasizes on the fact that family as a social institution should be strengthened and it should
not be undermined. Catholic Social Thought says that loving one’s neighbour possesses
global dimensions. The principles of catholic social thought states that the organization of
society can help in affecting human dignity and it can enable individuals in growing within
the community. CST can serve a useful purpose by strengthening social institutions and it can
help people in seeking common good (Sullivan, 2015). The principles of CST states that
contributing and helping others within the society can help people in reaching their full
potential. Remaining insensitive to inequality within the world can prove to be disastrous for
the welfare of the society. Technology has helped in connecting the world and technology
can be used for bringing people together in the community (Ramose, 2015).
The principles of catholic social thought help in understanding the deeper relationship
between the individual and the community. It lays out that in the event of an individual acting

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on moral principles the whole society can flourish. The modern culture is one of intense
egoism but the principles sees to remind people that people is social along with being
sanctified. The capability that an individual has for growing in the community should be
sanctioned by the sharing of the common goods. It can enhance religious along with
sequential goods that is the right of the people living within the community. The principles of
catholic social thought talks about responsibility of individual that can help in developing
surrounding environment. The human beings can act as the caretaker of the world instead of
being proprietor of environment of creation (Brady, 2017). Social justice is the primary area
of concern of the Catholic leaders. It helps in understanding the interdependent relationship
that the people share in the society. It is an African principle which means “I am, because we
are”. The concept of Ubuntu is of great relevance for African philosophical discourse. This
philosophy helps in promotion of common good within the society. It states that humanness
is an essential element pertaining to human growth. The African culture lays a great amount
of stress on the community. The culture holds individuals to be an inseparable part of the
society and it stresses on the aspects of communalism sensitivity along with caring for other
people (Sullivan, 2015).
Human dignity forms the core in relation to catholic social thought and it brings forth
the fact that human beings had been created in image of God. The individuals within the
society have dignity and that the human life is sacred. It can help an individual in
understanding oneself in a better manner and it helps in complete realization of individual. It
can pave the way for betterment of society and it encourages individuals to utilize their
complete ability. The principle of catholic social teaching helps individuals in working along
moral ground that can help in flourishing of society.

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References:
Brady, B. V. (2017). Essential Catholic Social Thought 2nd edition. Orbis Books.
Brennan, P. M. (2014). Subsidiarity in the tradition of Catholic social doctrine. In Global
perspectives on subsidiarity (pp. 29-47). Springer, Dordrecht.
Massaro, T. (2015). Living justice: Catholic social teaching in action. Rowman & Littlefield.
Novak, M. (2017). Catholic Social Thought and Liberal Institutions: Freedom with Justice.
Routledge.
Ramose, M. (2015). Ecology through ubuntu. Emerging from Cultures and Religions of the
ASEAN Region, 69-76.
Sullivan, B. (2015). Access to Information: Citizenship, Representative Democracy, and
Catholic Social Thought.
Thompson, J. M. (2015). Introducing catholic social thought. Orbis Books.