Principles Of Catholic Social Teaching Research Articles

Research Outlines of the Sustainable Profile of Believers in Croatia

The topic of this paper are sustainable habits and attitudes of the religious population in Croatia regarding the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’. Empirical work is based on CRO Laudato Si' project using survey method on a non-probabilistic sample of the religious population in Croatia, which in this paper are operationalized as active and occasional believers according to their regularity of attending religious ceremonies (N=1305). The analysis showed that active believers have a more pronounced sustainable profile (as they throw away less food, separate waste more, show greater readiness for saving water, electrical energy and have a more pronounced critical attitude about the need for greater application of the Laudato Si' within the Church and society) than the occasional believers. Given the nonrepresentative sample, the presented data cannot be generalized to the religious population in Croatia, shaping its fundamental contribution in stimulating future scientific analyses and reflections on the Church's relationship with religious practices, and emphasizing active believers as potential social leaders of sustainable lifestyles. Therefore, the sustainable habits of the surveyed believers represent a relational good and serve as the basis for building a culture of moderation that respects key principles of Catholic Social Teaching. In that perspective, we conclude that it is important for the Church to speak more often about the socio-environmental crisis and encourage strong responses to the crisis at all social levels, from households and families to the macro level.

Catholic Jesuit educational mission: Catholic social teaching and Arrupian justice approach in pursuit of racial justice at traditional Jesuit schools

ABSTRACT Results from a case study school are reported. The mission of a Catholic, Jesuit High School consists of teaching and living the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching as a way to love one’s neighbor. This involves ensuring the human dignity of all human beings. Traditional American Jesuit High Schools continue to pursue the human dignity and be in right relationship with all underrepresented and underserved communities despite societal and demographic challenges and political headwinds. This manuscript presents a perspective of racial justice that interweaves Catholic Social Teaching with the social justice vision of Pedro Arrupe. Arrupe is the former Jesuit Superior General of the Jesuits and the inspiration behind Traditional Jesuit high schools incorporating the principles of Catholic Social Teaching within their schools. This article explores how the Catholic Jesuit mission specifically as it pertains to issues of racial justice can be animated within the traditional Jesuit educational institutions in substantive and most transformative ways requiring greater prophetic governance and leadership.

Axionormative Determinants of Social Entrepreneurship in View of the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching

The role of Catholic social teaching has been attributed to the promotion of moral values and principles that should be considered when establishing or evaluating a given social, economic, or political system. This also applies to smaller structures, specific institutions, concepts, and practical social solutions, which may include social entrepreneurship. The article aims to confirm the hypothesis that, taking into account the principles of Catholic social teaching in the process of discovering the axionormative determinants of social entrepreneurship allows its deeper understanding and more effective implementation of its praxeological goals. At the beginning of the paper, the author emphasises the common source of all general and specific axionormative criteria of the two analysed disciplines – the dignity of a human person. Further deliberations revolve around other values and principles, such as the value of human work and entrepreneurship, the common good, the universal destination of goods, the preferential option for the poor, solidarity, subsidiarity, and participation.

Social and moral accountability in action: the religious roots of corporate social responsibility in an Italian entrepreneurial family (1900–1950)

ABSTRACT A company’s most valuable asset is its employees. Since the 1970s, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a topic of increasing interest in terms of performance and disclosure. However, little attention has been paid to the history of CSR practices, which should be studied within historical and cultural contexts. Based on archival material and secondary sources, and using arguments from moral economics and Catholic Social Theory, this study uniquely investigates the role of religious and ethical beliefs in influencing CSR actions and accountability. We focus on the case of Vaccari, an entrepreneurial Italian Catholic family in the early-twentieth century, which was clearly inspired by upward accountability (to God) and not just economic returns. The family took CSR actions to improve the welfare and living conditions of its workers (downward accountability). Vaccari’s religious value system was strongly based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) contained in the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, addressed to ‘all men of good will’. Our historical analysis informs modern CSR practices, revealing that management’s commitment to ethics and sound values is the correct starting point for developing good and sustainable business practices.

Capabilities, Rights, and Responsibilities: Insights from Catholic Social Teaching

ABSTRACT Often referred to as the church’s “best kept secret”, Catholic social teaching (CST) has much that commends it to those employing the capabilities approach to frame and justify proposals to both shape structures of solidarity and organise collective decision making with an emphasis on personal participation. The permanent principles of CST – dignity of the human person, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good – correlate to several key features of the capabilities approach’s development ethical landscape, namely dignity, agency, justice, and flourishing. Specifically, by leveraging the notions of solidarity and subsidiarity in CST, development theorists and practitioners can better articulate the necessary relationship between rights and duties especially as they relate to the expansion of capabilities and the promotion of human flourishing. The notion of reciprocal duties to others understood in terms of the virtue of solidarity while promoting agency and the support needed for personal participation through subsidiarity can be a way to articulate the frontiers of capabilities as they interface with rights. Both rights and capabilities imply and necessitate relationships of justice and the recognition of dignity in others and oneself which can help transform institutions, including the Catholic Church itself.

Integrating faith-based perspectives across the curriculum in Queensland Catholic schools: the potential of Catholic social teaching

The planned integration of Catholic social teaching (CST) across the curriculum was the primary focus of the ‘Identity and Curriculum in Catholic Education’ (2013–2018) initiative in Catholic schools in the state of Queensland. Initial reconnaissance involved a survey of teachers’ views regarding the identity, purposes and characteristics of Catholic schools. This was followed by action research with some thirty teachers in seven schools where various CST principles were integrated in particular Units across a range of learning areas. Strong evidence emerged for the effectiveness and feasibility of such integration. Participating teachers identified positive student interest and outcomes, while acknowledging the ‘good fit’ between certain aspects of the Australian Curriculum and CST principles such as common good, human dignity, and stewardship of creation. At a time when neo-liberalism and market values are dominant, the potential of such counter-cultural opportunities must be considered by Catholic schools internationally.

Catholic social teaching and the peripheries: the case for addressing prostitution

ABSTRACT Catholic social teaching (CST) has shown little interest in structural and social forces that impact negatively on the dignity and flourishing of women. Such inattention diminishes CST's credibility and neglects its liberative potential. This article examines an area of structural violence against women, the social reality of prostitution, to illuminate the imperative to expand normative CST to address specific experiences of women. Given the inadequacy of the Catechism's treatment of prostitution as an area of personal moral failing, a reading which fails to understand how cultural and legislative structures bear down on women's freedom and agency, a task for CST emerges. When CST principles are brought into dialogue with empirical attention to women's experience of prostitution, the tradition stands in solidarity with those who inhabit an existential and social periphery. The article argues that CST perspectives should nudge the Catholic Church towards proposing an abolitionist ethic in relation to prostitution.

The Message of the Beatitudes in End-of-Life Care for Catholics.

An enthusiastic approach to understand Catholic theology and the relativity it has in modern-day healthcare will immediately recognize a connection between the Beatitudes (Matthew 5.) as preached by Jesus Christ and their applications through the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. The latter represents Church doctrine on human dignity and the common good in society. The Beatitudes are a core message of faith and the map to help us return to the presence of our creator, securing our alignment with His purpose for our life. The Beatitudes inspired the saints, who put them into action through the graces they convey. Additionally, the Beatitudes' guidance prepares the faithful followers of Christ to enter eternal joy, "where there is no more pain nor sorrow but eternal life" (Revelation 21:4.). Claiming a multicultural and multinational history of two millennia allows Catholics to connect with time and space that is not only transcendent but well understood intergenerationally in our human experience. With this concept in mind, clinical providers are encouraged to connect with the theological and spiritual Catholic themes in this chapter. Additionally, a correlation to the human experience of universal emotions will be of great benefit in this integrated approach.

The Role of the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching in Building a Post-Pandemic World Based on the 2020 Catecheses of Pope Francis. An Outline of the Issue

Kolejne kryzysy współczesnego świata otwierają nowe pola refleksji nad kondycją moralną człowieka. Ważnym wyzwaniem początku trzeciego tysiąclecia okazała się pandemia koronawirusa, wywołującego chorobę COVID-19. Głównym celem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza katechez środowych papieża Franciszka, wygłoszonych w sierpniu i wrześniu 2020 r. pod zbiorczym tytułem „Uleczyć świat”. Papież porusza w nich problematykę aktualności katolickiej nauki społecznej i przypomina, że budowanie świata w czasie po pandemii powinno uwzględniać przede wszystkim adekwatną antropologię oraz godność każdej osoby ludzkiej. W nawiązaniu do tradycyjnej nauki moralnej kolejne katechezy dotyczyły aktualizacji następujących zasad: zasady godności osoby, zasady wspólnego dobra, zasady opcji preferencyjnej na rzecz ubogich, zasady powszechnego przeznaczenia dóbr, zasady solidarności, zasady pomocniczości oraz zasady troski o wspólny dom. W papieskich tekstach interesujące jest połączenie tych zasad z cnotami teologalnymi wiary, nadziei i miłości, co jeszcze bardziej ujawnia istotę życia chrześcijańskiego, wyrażającego się w wezwaniu do przynoszenia owoców miłości za życie świata. Nawiązaniem i rozszerzeniem Franciszkowej myśli o konieczności odwołania do etyki w ocenie życia publicznego jest projekt The Economy of Francesco, związany ze spotkaniem młodych w Asyżu, oparty na konsultacjach w dwunastu „wioskach tematycznych”, a także obrazujący na konkretnych przykładach, jak można łączyć wiarę, ekonomię, etykę i życie społeczne. W tej perspektywie przywołana przez Franciszka nauka społeczna Kościoła wydaje się ciągle wartościowa i aktualna w kwestii konstruktywnej propozycji odnowy świata.

Catholic Social Teaching: a trickle-up response to poverty?

ABSTRACT In this article, I offer a concise historical overview of the context in which Catholic Social Teaching developed. A necessarily brief account of nineteenth-century Social Catholics in France, Belgium, and the Rhineland demonstrates how three of the four principles of Catholic Social Teaching – solidarity, the common good, and human dignity – were already present in this endeavour. I then turn to the ideas of Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, Bishop of Mainz, and his development of the concept of subsidiarity, which provides the fourth pillar of Catholic Social Teaching, differentiating it from broader Christian teachings to ‘do good’. Subsidiarity enables people and communities to pursue actions and policies which are best for them, thus providing a trickle-up response to poverty, environmental crises, and other socio-economic emergencies.

Catholic Social Teaching as a Source of Enrichment of the Moral Dimension of Social Enterprise Management

Social enterprises perceive social and environmental issues as primary objectives of their hybrid socio-economic activities. They believe that financial stability is a prerequisite, not a goal. This approach is similar to Catholic social teaching (CST). The detailed content of the social encyclicals is a valuable means of deeper exploration and enrichment of the moral dimension of social enterprise management. The following article analyses social entrepreneurship from the point of view of the fundamental principles of CST and theological premises. The reference to the management of a social enterprise of the supreme personalistic standard and principles such as the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity allows the moral dimension of this process to be understood more deeply. The paper was created based on a method appropriate to research focused on moral theology and CST. First, the content of selected literature on the subject (social entrepreneurship) and carefully selected theological-moral sources (especially papal documents and publications by CST researchers) were analysed. Subsequently, the results of the analysis were subjected to inference and conceptual work in relation to the adopted general research objective and specific research tasks: the phenomenon of social enterprises was described; the specific features and limitations of the social enterprise management process were identified; the fundamental principles of Catholic social teaching as normative criteria for social enterprise management were reviewed; the possibility of applying the aforementioned CST principles to social enterprise practice was discussed and presented, and the final conclusions were formulated.

Corporate Moral Responsibility, Distributive Justice, the Common Good, and Catholic Social Teaching: The Case of Gilead Sciences and Remdesivir.

Applying the moral principles of Catholic social teaching’s (CST) on capitalism, distributive justice, private ownership, the common good, and the role of the state in the economy as the overall theoretical framework and utilizing secondary data, media reports, and scientific literature, this article explores the corporate moral responsibility of the top drug makers in the ownership and pricing of their essential medicines and COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, it presents the case of the Gilead Sciences’ business strategies and overpricing of Remdesivir drug to illustrate how predatory capitalism undermines the moral responsibility of drug makers and CST’s moral principle on the common good in today’s pandemic. Distributive justice requires that the publicly funded and developed medicines and vaccines should be priced and distributed fairly to promote the common good and prevent the public from “paying twice” for these essential medicines. Given the public character of these medicines and the demands of social justice, the price of Remdesivir and other essential medicines of Gilead Sciences and Big Pharma for COVID-19 could have been lower than what was officially announced. Ultimately, these medicines could have been made global public health goods in accordance with CST’s doctrines on distributive justice, the common good, and the social dimension of private ownership.

Life to the Full: Sustaining the Catholic Curriculum

Catholic schools. has articulated There are concerns that the curriculum of Catholic schools has been increasingly dominated by pressures to conform to a programme of education legitimised by an intrusive secular state and designated as a ‘national curriculum’. Accordingly, the curriculum of Catholic maintained schools is regulated within a standardised framework that is directed by government. Contentiously, it has been asserted that, as a result, the curriculum in Catholic schools in England has effectively been ‘de-Catholicised’. This claim has been contested. For example, it is maintained that the matter is more nuanced than this and the situation cannot be interpreted in such an unequivocal way. However, it might well be asked: what should a Catholic curriculum look like? In the face of this question, leaders in Catholic schools are encouraged to consider renewing and restoring a distinctive curriculum by permeating it systematically with the principles of Catholic social teaching. Ultimately, the writer argues, the curriculum of Catholic schools should provide students with an understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Faith and COVID-19: Can Catholic Social Teaching Save the World? A Lebanese Case Study

From full lockdowns to school closures and essential workers out on the frontlines, COVID-19, the novel coronavirus disease, has turned people’s lives upside down since December 2019. This pandemic continues to have a huge socio-economic impact on the world. However, each community has been hit differently- some more severely than others. Many articles have tackled the subject of the current global health crisis and its impact on the world, but the relationship between the application of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and the potential halt of the spread of COVID-19 has not yet been explored. Therefore, this article seeks to discover whether or not the application of these principles can save the world during this global pandemic. More specifically, it aims to examine the relation between the CST’s three main cornerstones: human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity and helping the world reach the common good by surviving this crisis and creating a foundation for a better tomorrow.

Broadening the View of Catholic Social Teaching and the Cost of Pharmaceuticals

Catholic Social Teaching (CST), in considering economic and patient justice, calls for “participating in patient care.” Corporations often are accused of not paying their fair share, which in turn has led to demands for government regulation to lower drug prices in the United States. Meanwhile, the millions of dollars spent by pharmaceutical foundations to help lower-income patients is not seen as corporations’ taking such responsibility to assist patients. The view that CST demands lower costs for prescription pharmaceuticals from corporations that make excess profits misapplies CST principles and does not consider the pricing structure for drugs on a global scale. While a preferential option for the poor is needed, there needs to be a better definition of the poor. This paper looks to broaden the view of CST in regard to corporations and the preferential option for the poor when applied to the current cost of pharmaceuticals.

Health in Need of Healing: Church History as a Road Map for Future Evangelization in Medicine.

Western medicine developed as an expression of Christian charity and played a large role in the growth of the early church. Despite its original foundation in Christian moral principles, modern medicine has deviated from its origins. The principles of human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity have been subjugated to a materialist and transactional construct that forms the basis of the contemporary medical delivery and financing systems. The dehumanization of both healthcare practitioners and patients by the partnership of governmental and corporate entities, and the use of health care as a political instrument, has debased the original mission of the medical profession and represents an affront to the principles of Catholic social teaching (CST). This essay explores the ways in which the US medical delivery and financing systems violate the principles of CST by means seldom recognized due to the inurement of the public and medical professionals. By examining the prevailing healthcare model through the lens of CST, the author illustrates the ways in which CST principles are systematically violated. This analysis serves as the foundation of a Catholic response to the question of how faithful Christians might live out their calls to holiness through the exercise of their professional vocations. A vision of an invigorated model of medicine as vocation, along with illustrative examples, is presented. By exemplifying the principles of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity in health care, Christians can seize a golden opportunity for evangelization by rearticulating the historical spiritual mission of Western medicine.

Between Morals and Markets? An Interdisciplinary Conceptual Framework for Studying Working Conditions at Catholic Social Service Providers in Belgium and Germany

Abstract Despite sharing Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as their system of morals and both being confronted with marketisation pressures, working conditions at German and Belgian Catholic social service providers (CSSPs) of elderly care differ. We argue that an interdisciplinary approach is needed to understand such differences, as interpretation of CST is mediated by local contexts. Working conditions result from interactions shaped by each country’s respective religious, legal and socio-economic contexts, providing players with different levels of discretion and power resources. In Belgium, working conditions at Catholic elderly care providers tend to be better due to a strong Catholic trade union, encompassing labour market regulation and a universal legal system applying to all care providers. Moreover, there is strong interaction between these Catholic care providers and other Catholic institutions (“pillarisation”). By contrast, German CSSPs, operating as faith-based organisations with their own legal framework in a relatively liberalised and decentralised labour market, are able to use various flexibility practices which put pressure on working conditions. Using such practices is partially justified by the Catholic discourse on charity and altruism, stressing the particular nature of work in the Catholic care sector. Overall, the article demonstrates differences in the local application of CST. It also shows how transnational differences in working conditions at Catholic social service providers are the product of more than just local differences in the interpretation and application of CST principles, being shaped by interactions between a country’s specific religious, legal and socio-economic contexts.

Catholic Social Teaching as an Explanation of Firm Environmental Impact

Environmental sustainability in business has become a highly debated topic as societies decide how best to meet their economic needs and care for the earth. Catholic social teaching (CST) may add theoretical richness to the discussion. We examine solidarity, subsidiarity, and pursuit of the common good as dimensions of a heavy manufacturing, U.S.-based firm’s CST orientation. We find that measures of subsidiarity and common good predict a firm’s environmental performance consistent with CST principles. Results are of interest to academics, policymakers, and citizens who wish to advance the implementation of CST, environmental sustainability, or both.

Adam Smith and Catholic Social Teaching

The connections between Adam Smith and Catholic Social Teaching (CST) raise several questions. The principle of subsidiarity adopted in CST, according to which higher associations should not replace subordinate organizations on what the latter can do, seems to be in line with the idea that governmental intervention in the market sphere should be restricted to the minimum required, in line with what is typically seen as Smith’s view. But the principle of the common good would also recommend intervention from political authorities in order to ensure that the common good is achieved. Here I shall argue that this question must be addressed taking into account another principle of CST, the principle of solidarity, and also the basic principle of CST, regarding human dignity. To do so, it is necessary to understand how the various principles of CST spring from the notion of imago Dei in CST, which is behind the notion of human dignity. This leads to a relational conception of human beings which can be fruitfully articulated with Smith’s moral philosophy and political economy.

Safe Injection Sites: A Moral Reflection.

Safe injection sites are morally illicit.