Preview

Sources of Catholic Social Teaching

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
710 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sources of Catholic Social Teaching
SOURCES OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

Catholic Social Teaching is a collection of teachings that are designed to reflect the Church’s social mission in response to the challenges of the day. The teachings are rooted in biblical values and reflections on Christian tradition. The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. In this essay, five sources of Catholic Social Teaching will be highlighted.
The first source of Catholic Social Teaching is the bible. The bible is a collection of inspired books which explains God’s wonders and what God has done throughout history. The bible is divided into parts which are the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is a collection of selected writings composed and edited by members of the Hebrew-Jewish community in the beginning of the Christian era. The Old Testament includes materials such as prophetic oracles, teachings of wise men, and instructions of priests and ancient records of the royal courts. The New Testament recounts the life of Jesus and is central to Christian faith. The New Testament is composed of good news and Acts of the Apostles.
The second source of Catholic Social Teaching is the magisterium. The magisterium is the official teaching of the church and authoritative voice of tradition. This official teaching of the church is exercised by the catholic bishops as well as groups appointed by the Pope. This teaching is expressed in the form of Papal encyclicals, encyclicals of the church councils and statement by Vatican offices. The magisterium highly recommends solidarity because it is capable of guaranteeing the common good and fostering integral human development.
The third source of Catholic Social Teaching is tradition. Tradition is referred to as the doctrine or custom which is passed on from generation to another generation. Tradition is the very life of the church itself as it

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Pope John XXIII’s call for the Second Vatican Council led the renewal of the Catholic Church and changes within the Liturgy. John XXIII reaffirmed the importance of the Scripture and Jesus by translating the Bible from Latin into the vernacular as outlined in the Vatican Document Dei Verbum. This was also combined with changes to the Liturgy as outlined in Sacrosanctum Concillium which included reconnecting the liturgy to the people by translating the liturgy into the vernacular as well. Translating from Latin in the language of the people demonstrated that the faith adapted to its global expansion and responded to the needs of the people. This allowed for greater involvement and understanding of the Mass and restored people’s connection to the practice of their faith. As a result, lay people have access to Revelation and can further understand the Gospels and Jesus’ message imbedded in them in order to live a holy life in accordance with Jesus’ teachers so that they may reach God’s Kingdom in the afterlife. The quote from John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” expresses…

    • 1080 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reformation DBQ

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout the history of Europe, people’s lives revolved around the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church taught its beliefs through the clergy and exercised its authority. In 1517, corruption, false teachings, and the challenging of Martin Luther led to a split that created the Protestant Church. During the Reformation, the Protestant belief in “sola scriptura” and “sola fides” was a major source of conflict with the Catholic teachings of a Church authority and salvation through good works.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perhaps a most natural starting point is to realize that the rise of the social gospel within the Roman Catholic Church occurred within the larger context of the economic situation in America during the late nineteenth century. Laissez-faire economics, which advocates economic freedom for the business class, ruled the day. Also, the Panic of 1873, which saw unprecedented unemployment among the lower classes and created bread lines in the urban areas greatly affected the national consciousness. During this time, labor unions and various trade organizations grew and developed. Child labor, women laborers, and the length of the working day were hotly disputed during this time as well.…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Solidarity: a constant commitment to the common good, based on the belief that "we are all really responsible for all." (a spirit of friendship- between individuals, group, and nations- is the basis for a just world.)…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    COLF’s mission is to provide lay people with working tools they can use to understand the Catholic Church’s teachings on key modern social…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, there are different opinions as to how to interoperate the Bible amongst Christians. Christians within the Protestant tradition place much greater emphasis on the literal interpretation of the scripture than those in the Catholic tradition. The traditional Catholic position is that moral authority has four forms: reason, scripture, tradition and magisterium, it recognises scripture as the central role as a source of moral authority but it is not a complete source of guidance without proper…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Flannery O'Connor

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thoughts. 27 Sep. 2007. Lane Center Lecture Series. 19 Oct. 2011…

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “There are around 2.1 billion Christians in the world today and about half of the Christian population are Catholic”(American Catholic 1). Catholicism is the faith, practice, and order of the Roman Catholic Church. However a Catholics religion tends have restrictions on more than the religious views of their congregation but also in their personal and political views. The church has incorporated giving to the poor, protesting euthanasia, and protecting marriage by fighting gay marriage into their teachings. These teachings limit the freedom Catholics and other Christians have in deciding their stance on some political issues as well as personal views. People are faced with…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cited: Massaro, Thomas, S.J., Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.…

    • 1831 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Texan Whataburger employee was fired after cursing out two police officers and refused to serve them. Whataburger apologized to Police Chief Jay Burch after a cashier denied the two officers of their food, having said: “cops beat up my boyfriend and are racists.” This act violates Solidarity, one of the Catholic Social Teachings. No matter our differences, humans should all get along despite any changing characteristics, in this case, race. Police should not discriminate against other races as they have recently, and other people should not discriminate against police. This hole is only getting deeper and wider as nobody is making a real effort to stop this feud, but it should not be something that is happening in the first place. Solidarity…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word Catholic does not necessarily mean where one belongs to a certain set of guidelines in an institution rather, it means to be a part of a “whole community” that represents God’s children. The phrase “whole community” is the town where one resides, the country in which one lives or visits, the people found within these boundaries. As a child of God, one is taught that every person is to be considered ones’ brother and sister in Christ. The word Catholic is simply a word until the individual sets forth a kind gesture which reflects the true meaning of God’s love.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catholic Church Events

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The catholic church has a long and extravagant history that begins itself over two thousand years ago when Jesus died and left behind his “church” to do His work. There have been many key people and events that have shaped the church through its two thousand year, roller-coaster history. Secular rulers and religious leaders, popes and laity have all played a significant role in this event filled history. In particular, Saint Peter, Pope Innocent III, and the Second Vatican Council were very influential in shaping the Catholic Church into what it is today.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This framework for living comes most explicitly from the social teachings of the Catholic Church, most tellingly from the Papal Encyclicals Laborens…

    • 2256 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Image of God

    • 2518 Words
    • 11 Pages

    References: Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000.…

    • 2518 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cited: "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church." Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays