THEOLOGY 3:

CHRISTIAN VISION OF THE CHURCH IN SOCIETY:

Principles and Values of the Social Teachings of the Church
 Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

Lord, true source of light and wisdom,

Give us a keen sense of understanding,
A retentive memory
And a capacity to grasp things correctly.
Grant us the grace
To be accurate in our expositions
And the skill to express ourselves
With thoroughness and clarity.
Be with us at the start of our work and study,
Guide its progress
And bring it to completion.
Grant this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

VIDEO ANALYSIS:
LET’S WATCH!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjWyOnp4LCs
Guide Questions for Critique:
• Based on the information that was presented vis-a-vis
your observations on present realities, do you think the
Development Plan of the government in view of the
SDGs has been fully concretized in our country
especially that we are now looking forward to the
advent of 2022?

• Cite examples of strengths and weaknesses(successes

or failures) that you have observed from on the ongoing
implementation of this Development Plan. Cite 1-2
examples each.
 Principles
and Values
of the Social
Teachings of
the Church
 Dignity of the Human
Person
This principle is
Belief in the Human life is grounded in the
inherent dignity sacred, and the idea that the
of the human dignity of the person is made
person is the human person is in the image of
foundation of all the starting point God. The person
Catholic social for a moral vision is the clearest
teaching. for society. reflection of God
among us.
 Common Good and
Community
Human beings grow
The human person is and achieve fulfillment
both sacred and social. in community. Human
We realize our dignity dignity can only be
and rights in realized and protected
relationship with in the context of
others, in community. relationships with the
wider society.
 How we organize our society -- in
economics and politics, in law and
policy --directly affects human
dignity and the capacity of
individuals to grow in community.

The obligation to "love our neighbor"

has an individual dimension, but it
also requires a broader social
commitment. Everyone has a
responsibility to contribute to the
good of the whole society, to the
common good.
Universal Destination
of Goods

This principle calls to facilitate

the conditions that will be
necessary for integral human
development so that everyone
can contribute to making a
more humane world.
The principle is rooted in our
understanding of a common humanity. If
we are all equal in dignity as human
persons, then the wide gap among us
should be a scandal against our common
humanity.
Option for the Poor

• The moral test of a society is how it treats

its most vulnerable members. The poor
have the most urgent moral claim on the
conscience of the nation.
• We are called to look at public policy
decisions in terms of how they affect the
poor.
• The "option for the poor," is not an
adversarial slogan that pits one group or
class against another. Rather it states that
the deprivation and powerlessness of the
poor wounds the whole community.
The option for the poor is an
essential part of society's
effort to achieve the
common good. A healthy
community can be achieved
only if its members give
special attention to those
with special needs, to those
who are poor and on the
margins of society.
 Rights and Responsibilities
Every person has a
fundamental right to life
Human dignity can be Corresponding to these
and a right to those
protected and a healthy rights are duties and
things required for
community can be responsibilities -- to one
human decency –
achieved only if human another, to our families,
starting with food,
rights are protected and and to the larger
shelter and clothing,
responsibilities are met. society.
employment, health
care, and education.
Role of Government and Subsidiarity
• The state has a positive moral function. It is an
instrument to promote human dignity, protect human
rights, and build the common good.
• All people have a right and a responsibility to participate
in political institutions so that government can achieve
its proper goals.
Economic Justice
• The economy must serve people, not the
other way around. All workers have a right
to productive work, to decent and fair
wages, and to safe working conditions.
• The priority of labour over capital is a key
principle in Catholic social thought.
Humanity comes before profit. Man is more
important than the products he makes. Man
is the subject of work, and all work is in the
service of man. he is not a mere instrument,
a cog in the machine. The whole purpose of
the economy is to provide him with the
essentials of life.
 Stewardship of God's Creation
There is a "social
mortgage" that guides
How we treat the
The goods of the earth our use of the world's
environment is a
are gifts from God, and goods, and we have a
measure of our
they are intended by responsibility to care for
stewardship, a sign of
God for the benefit of these goods as stewards
our respect for the
everyone. and trustees, not as
Creator.
mere consumers and
users.
 Promotion of Peace and
Disarmament

• Catholic teaching promotes peace as a

positive, action-oriented concept. In the
words of St. John Paul II, "Peace is not just
the absence of war. It involves mutual
respect and confidence between peoples
and nations. It involves collaboration and
binding agreements.”
• There is a close relationship in Catholic
teaching between peace and justice.
Peace is the fruit of justice and is
dependent upon right order among
human beings.
 Participation

It is a fundamental
demand of justice It is wrong for a
All people have a
and a requirement person or a group
right to participate
for human dignity to be excluded
in the economic,
that all people be unfairly or to be
political, and
assured a unable to
cultural life of
minimum level of participate in
society.
participation in society.
the community.
 Global Solidarity and Development
• We are one human family. Our
responsibilities to each other cross
national, racial, economic and ideological
differences. We are called to work globally
for justice.
• Authentic development must be full
human development. It must respect and
promote personal, social, economic, and
political rights, including the rights of
nations and of peoples.
 The Fundamental
Values of Social Life
 Truth

Caritas in Veritate (26) warns us

against the danger of eclecticism
(relativism) and leveling (loss of
identity). Instead, we are called to
give witness to the reality of our
Christian vocation.
 Part of our Christian vocation is
to speak the truth even during
those moments when being
truthful is inconvenient and
difficult. We are called to
proclaim the message of Christ
within a culture of openness and
dialogue that remain faithful to
the demands of justice and truth.
Freedom

The Compendium (199) teaches us that ‘freedom

is the highest sign in man of his being made in the
divine image and, consequently, is a sign of the
sublime dignity of every human person’.
 The social teaching of the Church believes that
human freedom requires that we should be
allowed to exercise our autonomy. At the same
time, however, Christian freedom is aware of its
limitations and responsibility.
 Justice and Love

The Christian tradition

opposes the tendency
to oppose justice from
love. In the Christian
perspective, there is no
authentic justice
without love.
 Christian understanding of
justice goes beyond the
understanding of justice as
retributive. Christian justice is
transformational and
liberative. Justice has to lead
to the CONVERSION of both the
victim and the oppressor; but
CONVERSION is best
guaranteed by the act of love.
 The ACT of CHRIST on
the CROSS is the best
illustration of justice: it
pays for our SINS but
such an act of sacrifice
and love transforms us
(restores us) to who we
really are as persons.
Following the social teachings of the Church, we can
affirm the following:
1. It is true that the world is NOT a perfect place. This is
the CITY OF MAN, tainted by sin, and where people are
prone to fall into the temptation of sinning.
Following the social teachings of the Church, we can
affirm the following:
2. The Church however reminds us that we are not fully
disgraced. THE HUMAN PERSON IS BY NATURE GOOD, and
such goodness could never be totally corrupted
Following the social teachings of the Church, we can
affirm the following:
3. There is then the invitation to continuously attempt to
BUILD A CIVILIZATION of love and make our world a better
place to live in.
INSTRUCTIONS:

You may start collaborating for the Part 1 of

your Course Inquiry Project. You may do
consultation with me about your assigned
topic at Zoom Course Room.