Catholic Social Thought and Community in Modern Society

This essay delves into the principles of Catholic Social Thought (CST), examining their influence on the concepts of "community" and "self." The introduction outlines CST's focus on moral principles in addressing societal issues, emphasizing human dignity and the common good. The essay then details key CST principles, including the common good, respect for human dignity, the call to family, community, and participation, and the option for the poor and vulnerable. Each principle is explained with examples. The essay further analyzes how these principles shape our understanding of individual (self) and community development, highlighting the interconnectedness of self and community, emphasizing that the well-being of individuals and the community are intertwined. The conclusion reiterates CST's aim to foster a morally conscious society where individuals consider the impact of their actions, promoting sustainable growth at both individual and community levels. The essay also references the importance of treating the vulnerable in society with respect and care. The assignment is a contribution to the Desklib platform, which offers a wide range of educational resources, including past papers and solutions, to support students in their academic pursuits.

Catholic Social Thought
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Principles of Catholic Social Thought.......................................................................................3
How principles help understand concept of “community” and “self”.......................................5
How self and community is interrelated....................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
Catholic Social Thought (CST) aims at addressing the issues related to politics, economy as
well as culture and society on the basis of moral thought. The teachings of CST aim to
inculcate the social teaching in our daily administrative as well as clinical encounters. The
CST teachings majorly revolve around human dignity and the greater good of the human race
and society. Apart from this, the teachings also talk about solidarity and common good of the
people that aims at improving the social conditions of individuals and community (Wright,
2017).
Principles of Catholic Social Thought
In order to inculcate the teachings of Catholic Social Thought in the society, it is being
preached in the form of principles of CST. Some of the most famous principles are discussed
below:
Principle of Common Good: According to the CST teachings, it is believed that a
community can grow in a healthy manner only when its people that is every single person is
flourishing. This principle is based on the moral principle of greatest good for all. This
principle believes that as human being everyone deserves to be respected (Centacare, 2019).
This principle talks about human dignity which ultimately leads to solidarity. As humans are
social beings, it is important that they fulfil their individual rights by keeping in mind to
promote the common good (University of Notre Dame, 2015).
Principle for respect of human dignity: According to this principle, a person deserves the
respect in the society and should be treated equally as they all are created by god and not on
the basis of what they have accomplished and what they possess. This principle says that
people in the society should not be treated adversely due to their personal weaknesses like
disability, poverty, lack of success, etc. (Meeting Point, 2019). The CST also says that the
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community should try and protect the life and dignity of the people and should try to resolve
their conflicts in a peaceful manner. CST teaching promotes that human beings are more
important than materialistic things and hence, it is the duty of each and every person to
protect and respect the life and dignity of every individual (United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, 2019).
Call to family, community and participation: Society plays a very crucial role in any
human beings life. The way we organize our society’s political as well as economic system
and the law and order, directly influences human dignity and has an impact on the
opportunity for individual growth in a community. Hence, it is very important that people
come together and think of the betterment of one another and accordingly develop the plans
and policies that have something for everyone. Marriage is also an important activity that
helps in strengthening the family ties at the social level. Apart from this, it is the duty and
right of every human being to participate in the development of society (Catholic Charities,
2019).
Option for the poor and vulnerable: A human beings moral is tested on the basis of how
they treat the most vulnerable population of the society. Today, there is a clear division
between the rich and the poor in the society. The CST teaching asks to recall the story of Last
Judgement (Mt 25:31-46) and instruct the people to prioritize the needs of poor people and
vulnerable section first. According to the United States Bishops, the requirements of the poor
should always be taken care of before the desires of the rich (USCCB, 2019). Like, for
example, the rights of the workers should be given priority instead of maximising profits, or
protecting the environment rather than uncontrolled industrial expansion (Meeting Point,
2019).
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How principles help understand concept of “community” and
“self”
On the basis of these principles, it can be said that they emphasis on the concept of self
(individual) and community. Like, when the CST teaching talks about common good and
human dignity, it focuses on the development of a person as an individual “self”. This gives
special attention to the respect and dignity that the individual (self) deserves in society
(Catholic Charities, 2019; Meeting Point, 2019).
Apart from this, the principle of option of poor and rich and the call for family, community
and participation emphasize on the concept of “community” development. This is so because,
these principle emphasis on the overall development of the society by keeping in mind about
all the sections of the community whether rich or poor. Also, these principles talks about
taking into consideration the vulnerable section of the society while making plans and
policies, so that everyone get the equal chance to grow (USCCB, 2019; Wright, 2017).
How self and community is interrelated
The principle of common good suggests that a community can develop only when the people
in it will progress. This reflects the interrelationship been shared between self and
community. That is in order to progress at greater level, it is important that the smaller
sections also grow only then, overall development can be achieved. This principle reflects
that how individual and community need to go hand in hand and think of the betterment of
each other (University of Notre Dame, 2015).
The principle of human dignity reflects that every man in the society needs to be treated
equally despite of their weaknesses. Only then a happy environment can be experienced in
the community. It is important to think of the people who are vulnerable in the society and
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help them in the best possible manner. If people consider the whole community as one only,
then they will learn to help each other and take care of each other like family (United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019).
Principle of family, community and participation also reflects the interrelationship between
self and community. Like adopting plans and policies that takes into consideration about the
need and requirement of every member of the society can form a prosperous community,
which offers equal opportunity to everyone to grow and develop. Also, when individuals will
participate to develop the community only then, an overall opportunity to grow both at the
individual level and community level is possible (Catholic Charities, 2019).
The principle of option for poor and vulnerable reflects that the rich people in community
should take care of the poor people and should not try to utilize every resource in their own
favour. This also reflects sustainable development of the community in which people think of
the other people as well as of the future and then utilize the resources in an optimal manner
(USCCB, 2019).
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that the Catholic Social Thought aims at developing a
community in which people think morally and take care of each other. This concept promotes
that in order to attain overall sustainable growth, it is important to grow at individual level as
well because community and individual share an unintentional interrelationship.
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References
Catholic Charities. (2019). The principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Retrieved from
catholiccharitiescamden.org: https://catholiccharitiescamden.org/principles-of-
catholic-social-teaching/
Centacare. (2019). Catholic Social Teaching. Retrieved from centacarebrisbane.net.au:
https://centacarebrisbane.net.au/about/our-faith/
Meeting Point. (2019). Ten principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Retrieved from
www.meetingpoint.org.au: http://www.meetingpoint.org.au/assets/mp_s17_tpocst.pdf
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2019). Life and Dignity of the Human
Person. Retrieved from http://www.usccb.org: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-
teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/life-and-dignity-of-the-human-
person.cfm
University of Notre Dame. (2015). An introduction to the principles of Catholic Social
Thought. Retrieved from Socialconcerns.nd.edu:
https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/content/introduction-principles-catholic-social-thought
USCCB. (2019). Seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching. Retrieved from Usccb.org:
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-
teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching.cfm
Wright, K. S. (2017). The principles of Catholic social teaching: A guide for decision making
from daily clinical encounters to national policy-making. The Linacre Quarterly,
84(1), 10-22.
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