THE COMMON GOOD

Module 5 – Activity 1d: Exposition - Common Good

 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good each individual is necessarily related to the common
good, which in turn can be defined only in reference to the human person: Do not live entirely isolated,
having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified, but gather instead to seek the
common good together. (CCC1905).
 By common good is to be understood “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as
groups or individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.” The common good
concerns the life of all. It calls prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office
of authority. It consists of three elements: (CCC 1906).
 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good,
public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person.
Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good
resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedom indispensable for the development of
the human vocation, such as “the right to act according to a sound norms of conscience and to
safeguard...privacy, and rightful freedom also in the matters of religion.(CCC 1907)
 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself.
Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to
arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests, but it should make
accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education
and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on. (CCC 1908).
 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is the stability and security of a just order. It
presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its
members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense. (CCC 1909)
Module 5 – Activity 1f: Final Exposition
 ● The distribution of the Social Amelioration Fund (SAF) during the current COVID 19 pandemic is one
of the example of the common good being shared to the vulnerable segment in society.
 ● The Church through its various charitable institution also dynamically expresses the sharing of the
common good to the poor.
 ● It is our moral obligation to share the blessings God has given us as Christians.

Solidarity
Module 5 – Activity 2e: Exposition on Solidarity
 The new relationships of interdependence between individuals and peoples, which are de facto forms
of solidarity, have to be transformed into relationships tending towards genuine ethical-social
solidarity. This is a moral requirement inherent within all human relationships. Solidarity is seen
therefore under two complementary aspects: that of a social principle (1939-1941) and that of a moral
virtue.(CCC 1942).
  Solidarity must be seen above all in its value as a moral virtue that determines the order of institutions.
On the basis of the “structures of sin” (St. John Paul II; 1988) that dominate relationships between
individuals and peoples must be overcome. They must be purified and transformed into structures of
solidarity through creation of appropriate modification of laws, market regulations, and judicial
systems.
 Solidarity is also an authentic moral virtue, not a “feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at
the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering
determination to commit oneself to the common good. That is to say to the good of all and of each
individual, because we are all really responsible for all.(St. John Paul II; 1988).
 Solidarity and the common growth of mankind (The Church’s social doctrine regarding solidarity clearly
shows that there exists an intimate bond between solidarity and the common good, between solidarity
and the universal destination of goods, between solidarity and equality among people, between
solidarity and peace in the world.) (St. John Paul II; 1988).
 It expresses the need to recognize the ties that unite men and social groups among themselves, the
space given to human freedom for common growth in which all share and in which they participate.
(Pontifitical Council for Justice & Peace; 2004).
 ● The apex of solidarity is indicated here in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the New Man, who is one with
humanity even to the point of “death on the cross” (Phil 2:8).
 ● In the light of faith, solidarity seeks to go beyond itself, to take on the specifically Christian
dimensions of gratuity, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Module 5 – Activity 2g: Final Exposition
 Solidarity is to become one with another. It is for the uplifting of all in the context of sharing for the
total development of persons. A concrete expression of this is the mystery of the incarnation, where
Jesus came to be one of us that ultimately lead to his sacrificial death on the cross that brought
salvation to all.

SUBSIDIARITY
 Subsidiarity is where responsibilities are given to the people in order for them to find ways in attaining
human development and sets limits for state intervention. It is a way of harmonizing the relationships
between individuals and societies.
Exposition
 Socialization also presents danger. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom
and initiative. The teachings of the Church has elaborated the principle of Subsidiarity, according to
which “community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower
order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to
coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always in view of the common good.(CCC
1883).
 God has not willed to reserve to himself all exercise of power. He entrusts to every creature the
functions it is capable of performing, according to the capabilities of its own nature. This mode of
 governance ought to be followed in social life. The way God acts in governing the world, which bears
witness to such great regard for human freedom, should inspire the wisdom of those who govern
human communities. They should behave as ministers of divine providence. (CCC 1884).
 The principle of Subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention.
It aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies. It tends toward the
establishment of true international order. (CCC 1885).
Final exposition
 Subsidiarity therefore can be understood as people’s empowerment or allowing the people to find
their own way of solving problems geared towards improvement of their human condition. The higher
authorities are just there to assist in cases where the people does not have a way of helping
themselves.
 This embraces all aspects of human existence (governance, politics, economics, health and others).

PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR

Module 5 – Activity 4d: Exposition
 Alms giving to the poor is a witness to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God. (CCC
2462)
 The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (5) states that love faces a vast field of work and
the Church is eager to make her contribution with her social doctrine, which concerns the whole
person and is addressed to all people. So many are waiting for help.
 Poverty comes in many ways, it can be inadequacy of material resources, education, food, medical as
well as social assistance, Poverty is a complex problem which can directly be connected to the political
realm. Government assistance cannot reach the real poor and the marginalized which can be a
commission of both in the lower up to the highest government position because of corruption. Due to
lack of education as a results to poverty, they become voiceless and therefore disregarded, despised
and exploited.
 PCP II (312) states that it is the demand of Christ that we should love and give preference to the poor.
The common good dictates that more attention must be given to the less fortunate members of
society. We as church should help what is considered to be the little ones, the poor and marginalized in
our society. This is essential option of Christian faith, an obligatory choice. Eternal salvation depends
on the living out of love of preference for the poor because the poor and needy bear the privileged
presence of Christ.
 PCP II (313) continues to illustrate that solidarity “must be present whenever it is called for by the
social degrading of the subjects of work, by exploitation of the workers, and by the growing areas of
poverty and even hunger. It is the mission of the Church that she can be the “Church of the poor”.
 PCP II (314) clearly reminds us that in the Old Testament God sends prophets to denounce all sorts of
injustices against the poor. They viewed God as the liberator of the oppressed and defender of the
poor (Amos 5:12). In the New Testament, the Beatitudes indicate how Jesus considered the poor and
the lowly clearly inscribed in the gospel. (Luke 6:20).
  Love and preferential option for the poor has a truly evangelical basis it impels us to be more
concerned on issues concerning street children, the unemployed, poor fishermen, farmers and
workers, exploited women, slum dwellers, sidewalk vendors and beggars, tribal Filipinos and others at
the margin of human and social life.

Final Exposition
 The existence of the poor has been there since ancient times. We also can see that God loves the poor
as he always sends prophets in defense of them. Jesus also reiterated this in his sermon on the mount,
the “Beatitude” (Luke 6:20) and Jesus directly identified himself with the poor (born in a manger, lives
in poverty and does not have any place to stay).
 DIGNITY OF WORK

Genesis 1:26-28
26 
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the
sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move
along the ground.”
27 
So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.
28 
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule
over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

What is work?
“The fundamental good of the human person, the primary element of economic activity, and the key to the
entire social question.” Laborem Exercens (1981)
To work is man’s first calling- Work is a vocation of man (Vocation: God at work)
GENESIS 1: 28 “FILL THE EARTH AND SUBDUE IT”
Gen 2:2,15 God fashions man in his image and invites him to work the soil, to cultivate and care for the garden
of Eden in which he has placed him
SCRIPTURAL BASIS

 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In
all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:34-
35).
 “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with
you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and
day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to
give you in ourselves an example to imitate” (2 Thessalonians 3:7-9).
 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger” (Proverbs 19:15).
 “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys” (Proverbs 18:9).
REASON FOR WORK
“Work has a place of honor because it is a source of riches, or at least of the conditions for a decent life, and
is, in principle, an effective instrument against poverty.
ITS LIMITS
One must not succumb to the temptation of making an idol of work, for the ultimate and definitive meaning of
life is not to be found in work. Work is essential, but it is God—and not work— who is the origin of life and
the final goal of man” (Prov. 10:4; 15:16).
THE HIGH POINT OF BIBLICAL TEACHING ABOUT WORK
• THE COMMANDMENT TO REST ON THE SABBATH OR SUNDAY
• By interrupting work and attending Holy Mass on Sunday, man sights are directed toward the real goal
of life.
• The Commandment to rest on the Sabbath is thus a bulwark against (voluntary or compulsory)
enslavement of human beings by work.
The Commandment to keep the Sabbath was established for both purposes:
1. to free man for divine worship,
2. to protect mankind, especially the poor, from exploitation by their masters
The Example of Jesus:
“In his preaching, Jesus teaches that we should appreciate work. He himself…devoted most of the years of his
life on earth to manual work at the carpenter’s bench in the workshop of Joseph…” (L.E., 6).
TWO DIMENSIONS OF WORK
• OBJECTIVE DIMENSION
• SUBJECTIVE DIMENSION
DIMENSIONS OF WORK

PRODUCT WORKER
WORK
OR
OBJECT SUBJECT
RESULT

OBJECTIVE DIMENSION/SENSE
- the sum of activities, resources, instruments and technologies used by men and women to produce things…
SUBJECTIVE DIMENSION OF Work/SENSE
- Work is the activity of the human person…that corresponds to his personal vocation” (LE, 6)
Work as the activity of the human person
Work as an “Actus Personae”:

 It is the essential expression of the human person. The human person is the measure of the dignity
of work” (L.E., 6).
 The dignity and value of work does not depend on what people produce or on what type of activity
they undertake, but only and exclusively, on their dignity as human beings. (CSDC 270)

 The dignity of work does not lie on what people produce

The subjective dimension of work
• has to be the primary basis of the value of work, and not what work objectively produces.
• The human person is the subject work and must not be treated as an instrument of production. The
human person has the primacy over things.
WORK: Ordered to Personal Perfection

 “Human work not only proceeds from the person, but it is also essentially ordered to and has its final
goal in the human person. Independently of its objective content, work must be oriented to the
subject who performs it” (L.E., 6).
Work as a Moral Duty: WORK IS AN OBLIGATION

 1. His Creator has commanded it and in order to respond to the need to maintain and develop his own
humanity. Work remains a good thing, not only because it is useful and enjoyable, but because it
expresses and increases the workers’ dignity. “Through work, we not only transform the world; we are
transformed ourselves, becoming “more a human being”(LE 9)

 2. With respect to one’s neighbor,

1st: one’s own family,
2nd: the society to which one belongs….
Work is the ordinary way for human beings to fulfill their material needs.
* work is needed to form and maintain family
* Work is needed to have a property

Work is a duty: If anyone will not work, let him not eat.
Work honors the creator’s gifts and the talents received from him. (CCC 2427)

 3. Work enables people to contribute to the well-being of the larger community. Work is not only for
oneself. It is for one’s family, for the nation, and indeed for the benefit of the entire human family.
We are heirs of the work of generations and at the same time shapers of the future of all who will live
after us” (L.E., 16).
THROUGH WORK, HUMAN BEINGS HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF CONTRIBUTING SOMETHING TO THE
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD
Spirituality of work
WORK- A PARTICIPATION IN GOD’S WORK:
CREATION AND REDEMPTION
WORK
-a participation in God’s act of creation
-Work is more than making a living. It is a form of participation in the creative work of God
-MAN BY HIS WORK IS called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one
another.
(CCC ,2427)
-Through work, man fulfills his dignity by engaging in and cooperating with the creative work of God
THROUGH WORK, MAN not only- transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves
fulfilment as a human being and indeed, becomes more a human being. Laborem Exercens

 PARTICIPATING IN THE WORK OF CREATION

 Fruits of Agricultural work
 Food Processing Workers
 Medical Field of Work- Scientists at a biochemical research/Medical Laboratory Technician
 Electronics manufacturing workers
 ENGINEERING WORKS
 ARCHITECTURAL WORKS
WORK
- A PARTICIPATION IN THE WORK OF REDEMPTION

 Work: Fundamental dimension of human existence as participation in the act of redemption

How do the following participate in the work of redemption?
1. Farming (Farmers)
2. Teaching (Teachers)
3. Doctors
4. Driving (Drivers)
5. Engineering (Engineers)

Work is a participation in Jesus’ work of redemption (CSDC 263

Those who put up with the difficult rigors of work in union with Jesus cooperate, in a certain sense, with the
Son of God in His work of Redemption and show that they are disciples of Christ bearing his cross, every day,
in the activity they are called to do.
Thus, work can be considered a means of sanctification and an enlivening of earthly realities with the Spirit of
Christ” (L.E., 27).
WORK As Witness:
“Believers are to undertake their work in the style of Christ and make it an occasion for Christian witness…”
(cf. 1 Thes. 4:12).

TEACHINGS OF THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH ON WORK

WORK AS “Opus Humanum”

 By means of work, man governs the world with God…. Idleness is harmful to man’s being, whereas
activity is good for his body and soul (St. John Chrysostom)

 “ Every worker is the hand of Christ that continues to create and do good”. [St. Ambrose].”

 “By his work and industriousness, man…makes the cosmos…more beautiful. [St. Irenaeus].

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LABOR AND CAPITAL

PRIORITY OF Labor over Capital

 According to the church Teaching, Labor has an intrinsic priority over capital. This principle directly
concerns the process of production. In this process, labor is always a primary efficient cause, while
capital, the whole collection of means of production remains a mere instrument- instrumental cause.
There must exist between work and capital; a relationship of complementarities. “Capital cannot
stand without labor, nor labor without capital.
 Products and technologies are the fruits of work and part of the universal heritage of the human
family. People always take priority over products, profits and production systems. (LE) The primary
concern must always be with the development and well being of the workers, not the efficiency,
productivity, profits and competitiveness of business, though these are important to its survival.
 Any business that does not enhance its workers and serve the common good is a moral failure no
matter how healthy is its financial bottom line appears. This is a central issue of justice in the process
of globalization of production and trade.

THE RIGHTS of Man associated with Work

A. Right to Work
Work is a fundamental right and a good for mankind, a useful good, worthy of an individual because it
is an appropriate way for him to give expression to and enhance his human dignity.
WORK IS NECESSARY FOR THREE (3) REASONS:
1. To form and maintain a family
2. To have a right to property
 3. To contribute to the common good of the human family
The Church teaches…UNEMPLOYMENT IS A “REAL DISASTER”

WORK IS A GOOD
TO ALL PEOPLE and MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL WHO ARE CAPABLE OF ENGAGING IN IT.
B. RIGHT TO REST
…SO THAT HUMAN BEINGS MIGHT ENJOY SUFFICIENT REST AND FREE TIME THAT WILL ALLOW THEM
TO TEND TO THEIR CULTURAL, SOCIAL, AND RELIGIOUS LIFE. REST FROM WORK IS A RIGHT.
Workers’ Rights (CSDC 301-304)
The rights of workers, like all other rights, are based on the nature of the human person and his transcendent
dignity.

STC has seen fit to list some of these rights:

• Right to just wage
• Right to rest
• Right “to a working environment and manufacturing processes which are not harmful to the workers’
physical health and to their moral integrity.
• The right that one’s personality in the workplace should be safeguarded
• The right to appropriate subsidies that are necessary for subsistence of the unemployed workers and
their families
• The right to a pension and insurance for old age, sickness, and in case of work-related accidents
• The right to social security connected with maternity
• The right to assemble and form associations;
• He right to strike
• The right for fair remuneration and income distribution (CSDC 302)
Remuneration is the most important means for achieving justice in work relationships. The “just wage” is the
legitimate fruit of work”. A salary is the instrument that permits the laborer to gain access to the goods of the
earth.
The simple agreement between employee and employer with regard to the amount of pay to be received is
not sufficient for the agreed-upon salary to qualify as “just wage”, because just wage “must not below the
level of subsistence” of the worker.
Work is…… dignified and an intrinsic good, and workers must always be respected and valued
DIGNITY OF WORK
  Work promotes dignity because it provides family with things they need to live and flourish.
 Good work promotes dignity because it is a reflection of God’s work of Creation

LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 442, AS AMENDED

 MODULE 7
THE ECONOMIC LIFE
• Module 7 deals with “The Economic Life” as part of the Catholic Social Teachings. In this module
students shall acquire knowledge and skills about ‘The Economic Life” as discussed or expressed in the
following sub topics; biblical aspects, morality and the economy, private initiative and business
initiative, economic institution at the service of man, and the new things in the economic sector.
• Economic life as part of the social doctrine of the church is very important in the growth and
development of the human person and the society. Economic justice is what Jesus wants for us to
enjoy in this life. Economic life as foundation of man for growth and development should be anchored
on the gospel values of Jesus. This official teaching injects the gospel values of justice, peace, unity and
love for the fulfillment of the human person and the society. With this and for this, God is glorified now
and forevermore.

At the end of this module, students will be able to:

• 1. demonstrate clear knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Social Teachings on the topics of
“Economic Life;”
• 2. critically reflect and analyze the topics of Economic Life of the Catholic Social Teachings;
• 3.w rite a reaction paper with reflection on the effects of this pandemic to the economic situation of
the family at the same time make a weeklong budget proposal of the basic needs of the family in this
time of COVID -19 pandemic.

I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS (CSDC # 377-383)

a. Man, poverty and riches (CSDC# 323-327)
• In the Old Testament a twofold attitude towards economic goods and riches is found. On one
hand, an attitude of appreciation sees the availability of material goods as necessary for life.
• Those who recognize their own poverty before God, regardless of their situation in life, receive
particular attention from him: when the poor man seeks, the Lord answers; when he cries out, the Lord
listens.
• When sought or accepted with a religious attitude, poverty opens one to recognizing and
accepting the order of creation.
• Jesus takes up the entire Old Testament tradition even with regard to economic goods, wealth and
poverty, and he gives them great clarity and fullness (cf. Mt 6:24, 13:22; Lk 6:20-24, 12:15-21; Rom
14:6-8; 1 Tim 4:4).
• In the light of Revelation, economic activity is to be considered and undertaken as a grateful
response to the vocation which God holds out for each person.
• Economic activity and material progress must be placed at the service of man and society.
• Faith in Jesus Christ makes it possible to have a correct understanding of social development, in
the context of an integral and solidary humanism.
 b. Wealth exists to be shared (CSDC# 328-329)
• Goods, even when legitimately owned, always have a universal destination; any type of
improper accumulation is immoral, because it openly contradicts the universal destination assigned to
all goods by the Creator.
• Riches fulfil their function of service to man when they are destined to produce benefits for
others and for society.

II. MORALITY AND THE ECONOMY

The Church's social doctrine insists on the moral connotations of the economy.
The relation between morality and economics is necessary, indeed intrinsic: economic activity and
moral behavior are intimately joined one to the other. The necessary distinction between morality and the
economy does not entail the separation of these two spheres but, on the contrary, an important reciprocity.
The moral dimension of the economy shows that economic efficiency and the promotion of human
development in solidarity are not two separate or alternative aims but one indivisible goal.
If economic activity is to have a moral character, it must be directed to all men and to all peoples.
The economy has as its object the development of wealth and its progressive increase, not only in
quantity but also in quality; this is morally correct if it is directed to man's overall development in solidarity
and to that of the society in which people live and work.
In the perspective of an integral and solidary development, it is possible to arrive at a proper
appreciation of the moral evaluation that the Church's social doctrine offers in regard to the market economy
or, more simply, of the free economy
III. PRIVATE INITIATIVE AND BUSINESS INITIATIVE (CSDC# 336-345)
• The Church's social doctrine considers the freedom of the person in economic matters a
fundamental value and an inalienable right to be promoted and defended.
a. Business and its goals (CSDC# 338-342)
• Businesses should be characterized by their capacity to serve the common good of society
through the production of useful goods and services.
• A business' objective must be met in economic terms and according to economic criteria, but
the authentic values that bring about the concrete development of the person and society must not
be neglected.
• All those involved in a business venture must be mindful that the community in which they
work represents a good for everyone and not a structure that permits the satisfaction of someone's
merely personal interests.
• The social doctrine of the Church recognizes the proper role of profit as the first indicator that a
business is functioning well: “when a firm makes a profit, this means that productive factors have been
properly employed”.
 • It is essential that within a business the legitimate pursuit of profit should be in harmony with the
renounceable protection of the dignity of the people who work at different levels in the same
company.
• Although the quest for equitable profit is acceptable in economic and financial activity,
recourse to usury is to be morally condemned: “Those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to
the hunger and death of their brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide, which is
imputable to them”.
• Businesses today move in economic contexts that are becoming ever broader and in which
national States show limits in their capacity to govern the rapid processes of change that effect
international economic and financial relations.
b. Role of business owners and management (CSDC# 343-345)
• Economic initiative is an expression of human intelligence and of the necessity of responding to
human needs in a creative and cooperative fashion.
• The roles of business owners and management have a central importance from the viewpoint
of society, because they are at the heart of that network of technical, commercial, financial and
cultural bonds that characterizes the modern business reality.
• Business owners and management must not limit themselves to taking into account only the
economic objectives of the company, the criteria for economic efficiency and the proper care of
“capital” as the sum of the means of production. It is also their precise duty to respect concretely the
human dignity of those who work within the company.
• The Church's social doctrine insists on the need for business owners and management to strive
to structure work in such a way so as to promote the family, especially mothers, in the fulfilment of
their duties;

IV. ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS AT THE SERVICE OF MAN (CSDC# 346-360)

One of the higher priority issues in economics is the utilization of resources, that is, of all those goods
and services to which economic subjects — producers and consumers in the private and public spheres —
attribute value because of their inherent usefulness in the areas of production and consumption.
• Resources in nature are quantitatively scarce, which means that each individual economic
subject, as well as each individual society, must necessarily come up with a plan for their utilization in
the most rational way possible, following the logic dictated by the “principle of economizing”.
• Both the effective solution of the more general, and fundamental, economic problem of limited
means with respect to individual and social — private and public — need, and the overall structural
and functional efficiency of the entire economic system depend on this.
• This efficiency directly involves the responsibility and capacity of the various agents concerned,
such as the market, the State and intermediate social bodies.
a. Role of the free market (CSDC# 347-350)
• The free market is an institution of social importance because of its capacity to guarantee effective
results in the production of goods and services.
• The free market cannot be judged apart from the ends that it seeks to accomplish and from the values
that it transmits on a societal level.
• The Church's social doctrine, while recognizing the market as an irreplaceable instrument for regulating
the inner workings of the economic system, points out the need for it to be firmly rooted in its ethical
objectives, which ensure and at the same time suitably circumscribe the space within which it can
operate autonomously.
• The market takes on a significant social function in contemporary society, therefore it is important to
identify its most positive potentials and to create the conditions that allow them to be put concretely
into effect.
• Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 41: AAS 63 (1971), 429-430.
b. Action of the State (CSDC# 351-355)
• The action of the State and of other public authorities must be consistent with the principle of
subsidiarity and create situations favorable to the free exercise of economic activity.
• The fundamental task of the State in economic matters is that of determining an appropriate
juridical framework for regulating economic affairs, in order to safeguard “the prerequisites of a free
economy, which presumes a certain equality between the parties, such that one party would not be so
powerful as practically to reduce the other to subservience”.
• It is necessary for the market and the State to act in concert, one with the other, and to
complement each other mutually.
• The State can encourage citizens and businesses to promote the common good by enacting an
economic policy that fosters the participation of all citizens in the activities of production.
• With a view to the common good, it is necessary to pursue always and with untiring
determination the goal of a proper equilibrium between private freedom and public action,
understood both as direct intervention in economic matters and as activity supportive of economic
development.
• Tax revenues and public spending take on crucial economic importance for every civil and
political community. The goal to be sought is public financing that is itself capable of becoming an
instrument of development and solidarity.
c. Role of intermediate bodies (CSDC# 356-357)
• The social-economic system must be marked by the twofold presence of public and private
activity, including private non-profit activity. In this way sundry decision-making and activity-planning
centers come to take shape.
• Private non-profit organizations have their own specific role to play in the economic sphere.
These organizations are marked by the fearless attempt to unite efficiency in production with
solidarity.
d. Savings and consumer goods (CSDC# 358-360)
 • Consumers, who in many cases have a broad range of buying power well above the mere
subsistence level, exercise significant influence over economic realities by their free decisions
regarding whether to put their money into consumer goods or savings.
• Purchasing power must be used in the context of the moral demands of justice and solidarity,
and in that of precise social responsibilities.
• The phenomenon of consumerism maintains a persistent orientation towards “having” rather
than “being”.

V. THE “NEW THINGS”IN THE ECONOMIC SECTOR (CSDC# 361-376)

a. Globalization: opportunities and risks (CSDC# 361-367)

• Our modern era is marked by the complex phenomenon of economic and financial
globalization, a process that progressively integrates national economies at the level of the exchange
of goods and services and of financial transactions.
• Globalization gives rise to new hopes while at the same time it poses troubling questions.
• In analyzing the present context, besides identifying the opportunities now opening up in the
era of the global economy, one also comes to see the risks connected with the new dimensions of
commercial and financial relations.
• Looking after the common good means making use of the new opportunities for the
redistribution of wealth among the different areas of the planet, to the benefit of the underprivileged
that until now have been excluded or cast to the sidelines of social and economic progress.
Two developments that are considered responsible for globalization
• 1. Technology- The first that made globalization possible is the advancement in technology. The
technological revolution that has emerged from the natural sciences, particularly physics and
chemistry. Specifically, two areas of technological progress have made globalization possible.
• . Communication technology
• . Transportation technology
• 2. Liberalism- Liberalism is the second development responsible for globalization. Liberalism,
because of its idea of liberty, is expressed most basic ally in the assertion that all men and women are
 equally valuable and thus should be free from unfulfilling human constraints imposed by other persons
including those of the state.
• Trade represents a fundamental component of international economic relations, making a decisive
contribution to the specialization in certain types of production and to the economic growth of
different countries.
• An adequate solidarity in the era of globalization requires that human rights be defended.
• As globalization spreads it must be accompanied by an ever more mature awareness on the
part of different organizations of civil society of the new tasks to which they are called on a worldwide
level.
• Special attention must be given to specific local features and the cultural differences that are
threatened by the economic and financial process currently underway:
• In the era of globalization solidarity between generations must be forcefully emphasized:
“Formerly, in many places, solidarity between generations was a natural family attitude; it also
became a duty of the community”.
• Globalization must not be a new version of colonialism.

b. The international financial system (CSDC#368-369)

• Financial markets are certainly not an innovation of our day: for a long time now, in different
forms, they have been seeking to meet the financial needs of the productivity sector. The experience
of history teaches that without adequate financial systems, economic growth would not have taken
place.
• A financial economy that is an end unto itself is destined to contradict its goals, since it is no
longer in touch with its roots and has lost sight of its constitutive purpose.
• The sudden acceleration of these processes, such as the enormous increase in the value of the
administrative portfolios of financial institutions and the rapid proliferation of new and sophisticated
financial instruments, makes it more urgent than ever to find institutional solutions capable of
effectively fostering the stability of the system without reducing its potential and efficiency.

c. Role of the international community in an era of a global economy (CSDC# 370-372)

• The loss of centrality on the part of States must coincide with a greater commitment on the
part of the international community to exercise a strong guiding role.
• The more the worldwide economic-financial system reaches high levels of organizational and
functional complexity, all the more priority must be given to the task of regulating these processes,
directing them towards the goal of attaining the common good of the human family.
d. An integral development in solidarity (CSDC# 373-374)
• One of the fundamental tasks of those actively involved in international economic matters is to
achieve for mankind an integral development in solidarity, that is to say, “it has to promote the good
of every person and of the whole person”.
• A more human development in solidarity will also bring benefit to the richer countries
themselves.
e. Need for more educational and cultural formation (CSDC# 375-376)
• For the Church's social doctrine, the economy “is only one aspect and one dimension of the whole of
human activity.
• Faced with the rapid advancement of technological and economic progress, and with the
equally rapid transformation of the processes of production and consumption, the Magisterium senses
the need to propose a great deal of educational and cultural formation

The Task of the Church

• In his message during the 1998 World Day of Peace, John Paul II spoke of globalization and on how the
world has been changing in a very fast pace.
• He said that in view of these changes, the Church has to create a more equitable and peaceful society
and thus, he laid down two principles:
• A greater sense of responsibility for the common good, and,
• A promotion and defense of the human person as the center of any social activity
• Based on the above discussions, it is very clear that the Church has the right to delve on economic
matters/life as part of her official teachings. Economic life as part of the moral order of the society
falls within the competence of the Holy Mother the Church. The economy must served the people of
God towards holistic salvation.
• The Church acts like a Mother and Teacher in this particular economy of salvation and so she has to
guard its moral order. Greed is the basic enemy of economic life, it dehumanizes the human person so
it must be eradicated. Hence, economic life must be grounded on the gospel values of Jesus. Jesus is
the Way, Truth, and Life of our economic activities.
• Economic life a part of human activity cannot be left totally on its own. The Church can never
relinquish her God given authority in safeguarding the faith and morals of the people specifically about
economic life.
• For the sake of salvation, the Church must intervene by putting the gospel values of unity, peace,
justice, and love in all aspects of the economic life of the people.
• Justice, peace, unity and common good must prevail in the promotion of economic life. Economic life is
part of humanity, so God is glorified when there is fulfillment in it, as what Saint Irenaeus of Lyons said
“the glory of God is man’s fully alive.”
 MODULE 8
THE POLITICAL LIFE
• Module 8 deals with the study of the “Political Community” as part of the Catholic Social Teachings. In
this module, students shall acquire knowledge and skills about “The Political Community” as expressed
or discussed in the following sub-topics, namely; Biblical Aspects of the Political Community,
Foundation and Purpose of The Political Community, Political Authority of the Political Authority and
the State and Religious Communities of the Political Community.
• Political community as part of the social doctrine of the church plays a vital role for the salvation of the
human person and the society. Salvation of the human person and the society is the plan of God for all
of us. The salvation brought by Jesus is both personal and societal and for this political community
must be grounded on the gospel values of Jesus. Hence all truths about political community must
submit to Jesus who is our ultimate Truth.
1. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
2. FOUNDATION AND PURPOSE
3. POLITICAL AUTHORITY
4. STATE AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS (CSDC# 323-329)
a. God's dominion (CSDC # 377-378)
• At the beginning of its history, the people of Israel are unlike other peoples in that they have no
king, for they recognize the dominion of Yahweh alone. It is God who intervenes on Israel's behalf
through charismatic individuals, as recorded in the Book of Judges.
• The prototype of the king chosen by Yahweh is David, whose humble origins are a favorite topic of the
biblical account (cf. 1 Sam 16:1-13).
• The failure of kingship on the historical level does not lead to the disappearance of the ideal of a king
who, in fidelity to Yahweh, will govern with wisdom and act in justice.
b. Jesus and political authority (CSDC#379)
• Jesus refuses the oppressive and despotic power wielded by the rulers of the nations (cf. Mk
10:42) and rejects their pretension in having themselves called benefactors (cf. Lk 22:25), but he does
not directly oppose the authorities of his time.
• Jesus, the promised Messiah, fought against and overcame the temptation of a political
messianism, characterized by the subjection of the nations (cf. Mt 4:8-11; Lk 4:5-8).

c. The early Christian communities (CSDC#380-383)

• Submission, not passive but “for the sake of conscience” (Rom 13:5), to legitimate authority
responds to the order established by God.
• Praying for rulers, which Saint Paul recommended even as he was being persecuted, implicitly
indicates what political authority ought to guarantee: a calm and tranquil life led with piety and dignity
(cf. 1 Tim 2:1-2).
• When human authority goes beyond the limits willed by God, it makes itself a deity and demands
absolute submission; it becomes the Beast of the Apocalypse, an image of the power of the imperial
persecutor “drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev 17:6).
• The Church proclaims that Christ, the conqueror of death, reigns over the universe that he himself has
redeemed. His kingdom includes even the present times and will end only when everything is handed
over to the Father and human history is brought to completion in the final judgment (cf. 1 Cor 15:20-
28).
II. FOUNDATION AND PURPOSE OF THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY
(CSDC #384-392)
a. Political community, the human person and a people (CSDC# 384-387)
• The human person is the foundation and purpose of political life.
• The political community originates in the nature of persons, whose conscience “reveals to them
and enjoins them to obey” the order which God has imprinted in all his creatures: “a moral and
religious order; and it is this order — and not considerations of a purely extraneous, material order —
which has the greatest validity in the solution of problems relating to their lives as individuals and as
members of society, and problems concerning individual States and their interrelations”.
• The political community finds its authentic dimension in its reference to people: “it is and should in
practice be the organic and organizing unity of a real people”.
 • The primary characteristic of a people is the sharing of life and values, which is the source of
communion on the spiritual and moral level.
• For every people there is in general a corresponding nation, but for various reasons national
boundaries do not always coincide with ethnic boundaries.
b. Defending and promoting human rights (CSDC# 388-389)
• Considering the human person as the foundation and purpose of the political community
means in the first place working to recognize and respect human dignity through defending and
promoting fundamental and inalienable human rights: “In our time the common good is chiefly
guaranteed when personal rights and duties are maintained”.
• The political community pursues the common good when it seeks to create a human
environment that offers citizens the possibility of truly exercising their human rights and of fulfilling
completely their corresponding duties.
• The full attainment of the common good requires that the political community develop a
twofold and complementary action that defends and promotes human rights.
c. Social life based on civil friendship (CSDC# 390-392)
• The profound meaning of civil and political life does not arise immediately from the list of
personal rights and duties. Life in society takes on all its significance when it is based on civil friendship
and on fraternity.
• A community has solid foundations when it tends toward the integral promotion of the person
and of the common good. In such cases, law is defined, respected and lived according to the manner of
solidarity and dedication towards one's neighbor.
• The human being is a person, not just an individual. The term “person” indicates “a nature
endowed with intelligence and free will”: he is therefore a reality that is far superior to that of a
subject defined by the needs arising solely from his material dimension.
• The gospel precept of charity enlightens Christians as to the deepest meaning of political life.
III. POLITICAL AUTHORITY (CSDC#393-405)
a. The foundation of political authority (CSDC# 393-395)
• The Church has always considered different ways of understanding authority, taking care to
defend and propose a model of authority that is founded on the social nature of the person.
• Political authority must guarantee an ordered and upright community life without usurping the
free activity of individuals and groups but disciplining and orienting this freedom, by respecting and
defending the independence of the individual and social subjects, for the attainment of the common
good.
• The subject of political authority is the people considered in its entirety as those who have
sovereignty.
b. Authority as moral force (CSDC# 396-398)
• Authority must be guided by the moral law. All of its dignity derives from its being exercised
within the context of the moral order, “which in turn has God for its first source and final end”.
• Authority must recognize, respect and promote essential human and moral values.
• Authority must enact just laws, that is, laws that correspond to the dignity of the human person
and to what is required by right reason.

c. The right to conscientious objection (CSDC# 399)

• Citizens are not obligated in conscience to follow the prescriptions of civil authorities if their
precepts are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or to
the teachings of the Gospel.
• It is a grave duty of conscience not to cooperate, not even formally, in practices which,
although permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to the Law of God.

d. The right to resist (CSDC# 400-401)

• Recognizing that natural law is the basis for and places limits on positive law means admitting
that it is legitimate to resist authority should it violate in a serious or repeated manner the essential
principles of natural law.
• The Church's social doctrine indicates the criteria for exercising the right to resistance
e. Inflicting punishment (CSDC# 402-405)
• In order to protect the common good, the lawful public authority must exercise the right and
the duty to inflict punishments according to the seriousness of the crimes committed .
• Punishment does not serve merely the purpose of defending the public order and guaranteeing
the safety of persons; it becomes as well an instrument for the correction of the offender, a correction
that also takes on the moral value of expiation when the guilty party voluntarily accepts his
punishment.
• In this regard, the activity that prison chaplains are called to undertake is important, not only in the
specifically religious dimension of this activity but also in defense of the dignity of those detained.
• The activity of offices charged with establishing criminal responsibility, which is always personal in
character, must strive to be a meticulous search for truth and must be conducted in full respect for the
dignity and rights of the human person; this means guaranteeing the rights of the guilty as well as
those of the innocent.
• In carrying out investigations, the regulation against the use of torture, even in the case of serious
crimes, must be strictly observed:
 • Officials of the court are especially called to exercise due discretion in their investigations so as not to
violate the rights of the accused to confidentiality and in order not to undermine the principle of the
presumption of innocence.
• The Church sees as a sign of hope “a growing public opposition to the death penalty, even when
such a penalty is seen as a kind of ‘legitimate defense' on the part of society.
IV. THE STATE AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES (CSDC# 421-427)
A. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT (CSDC# 421-423)
• The Second Vatican Council teaches that the Catholic Church commits herself to the promotion
of religious freedom.
• Freedom of conscience and religion “concerns man both individually and socially”.
• Because of its historical and cultural ties to a nation, a religious community might be given
special recognition on the part of the State. Such recognition must in no way create discrimination
within the civil or social order for other religious groups.
B. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY (CSDC#424-427)
a. Autonomy and independence (CSDC#424)
-Although the Church and the political community both manifest themselves in visible organizational
structures, they are by nature different because of their configuration and because of the ends they pursue.
-The duty to respect religious freedom requires that the political community guarantee the Church the
space needed to carry out her mission.
b. Cooperation (CSDC# 425-427)
The mutual autonomy of the Church and the political community does not entail a separation that
excludes cooperation. Both of them, although by different titles, serve the personal and social vocation of the
same human beings.
The Church has the right to the legal recognition of her proper identity.
The Church therefore seeks:
• freedom of expression, teaching and evangelization;
• freedom of public worship;
• freedom of organization and of her own internal government;
• freedom of selecting, educating, naming and transferring her ministers;
• freedom for constructing religious buildings;
• freedom to acquire and possess sufficient goods for her activity; and
• freedom to form associations not only for religious purposes but also for educational, cultural, health
care and charitable purposes.
In order to prevent or attenuate possible conflicts between the Church and the political community, the
juridical experience of the Church and the State have variously defined stable forms of contact and suitable
instruments for guaranteeing harmonious relations.
SUMMARRY

 Based on the above discussions it is evident that the Holy Mother the Church through her social
doctrine plays a vital role in the formation of conscience of the political community for the greater
glory of God. The Church provides moral precepts and guidance for the political community to be
molded and preserved according to the design of God’ plan of salvation for all of us.
• The Church through her doctrine clearly defines what are the roles and responsibilities of the political
community in the promotion of the common good and the development of the society. Common good,
justice, human dignity, and solidarity shall be the foundation of the political community for the greater
glory of God. This topic as part of the social teachings of the Church gives clear understanding for
students that the art of governance comes from God Himself.
• Political community as an institution in the promotion of the common good must be geared towards
justice and prosperity for all. The Church on the other hand sees to it that this positive development
must enhance human dignity and rights as mandated to her by our Lord Jesus Christ.
• There must be holiness in the political community for God is the author and source of true leadership
and governance. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect model of servant leadership. Political community
demands leadership like that of Jesus. Therefore, political community must be holy for all things shall
be holy and united in Jesus in the end of time.
POPE’S IMPORTANT CHURCH DOCUMENT
 SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHARITY
180. Recognizing that all people are our brothers and sisters, and seeking forms of social friendship that
include everyone, is not merely utopian. It demands a decisive commitment to devising effective means to
this end. Any effort along these lines becomes a noble exercise of charity. For whereas individuals can help
others in need, when they join together in initiating social processes of fraternity and justice for all, they
enter the “field of charity at its most vast, namely political charity”.[165] This entails working for a social
and political order whose soul is social charity.[166] Once more, I appeal for a renewed appreciation of
politics as “a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good”.
[167]
What are the key messages in this encyclical?
Fratelli Tutti is a radical challenge, offering a blueprint for a world after coronavirus. It turns the world upside
down, placing human dignity at the centre. And it links back to the message of interconnectedness which was
also at the heart of Laudato Si’. As Pope Francis said at the Angelus, just before Fratelli Tutti was released,
“The signs of the times clearly show that human fraternity and care of creation form the sole way towards
integral development and peace.”
The Gospel story at the heart of Fratelli Tutti is the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’s provocative story of
the foreigner who acts as a true neighbour to the man robbed and beaten by the side of the road offers the
"criterion for judging every economic, political, social and religious project” (FT, 69). This moves us to respond
to our sister or brother in need, whoever they are, wherever they may come from (FT, 72). We are challenged
to turn outwards, to act as neighbours, and to reach out to all those who are in need.
Also central to this encyclical is the conviction that love for all brothers and sisters will not shy away from
politics. As he insisted in the “Healing the World” Catechesis and Laudato Si’, love is civic and political, not
something that is only felt or acted upon amongst friends and families in the private sphere. Love is not only a
personal relationship, but should also be at the heart of our political decision-making: “Once more, I appeal
for a renewed appreciation of politics as ‘a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as
it seeks the common good’.” (FT, 180)
This encyclical calls for the creation of a new kind of solidarity to tackle the crises the world is currently facing.
Pope Francis calls on us all to play our part in building peace, and to focus on becoming a neighbour to others
– in particular to welcome migrants, and to resist racism, prejudice and discrimination.
Pope Francis mentions some specific threats to social friendship, peace, and dialogue, such as: political
nationalism, racism, trickle-down economics, relativism and consumerist individualism, a lost sense of history
and memory, the death penalty, and the development of weapons of war.
It is clear that we cannot return to the ‘old’ normal where there were already “dark clouds over a closed
world”. Instead Fratelli Tutti calls us to work together to develop a true understanding of progress. At CAFOD,
we believe this means moving towards a world where all can flourish and no one is beyond reach of the love
and support that they need.