Human Dignity.
Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the starting point for a moral vision for society.
The Principle of Human dignity is grounded in the idea that the person is made in the image of God. The person is the clearest reflection of god among us. We are required to honour the human person, to give priority to the person.
Community and the common good.
In a culture driven by excessive individualism, our tradition proclaims that the person is not only but also social. Human dignity can only be realized and protected in the context of relationships with the wider society.
How we organize our society – in economics and politics, in law and policy - directly affect human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The Obligation to “love our neighbour” 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.
Rights and Responsibilities
Human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and right to those things required for human decency – starting with food, water, shelter and clothing, employment, health care, and education. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities – to one another, to our families and to the larger society --.
Option for the poor and the vulnerable
A basic moral test of society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation
The option for the poor is a perspective that examines personal decisions, policies of private and public institutions, and economic relationships in terms of their effects on the poor-those who lack the minimum necessary of nutrient, housing, education and health care. Those who are marginalized and whose rights are denied have privileged claims of society of society is to provide justice for all.
The obligation to evaluate social and economic activity from the viewpoint of the poor and powerless arises from radical command to love one’s neighbour as one self.
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.
Participation
All people have a right to participate in economic, political, and cultural life of society. It is a fundamental demand of justice and a requirement for human dignity that all people be assured a minimum level of participation in the community.
It is wrong for a person or a group to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to participate in society. In the world of the U.S bishops, “The ultimate injustice is for a person or group to be treated actively or abandoned passively as if they were non-members of the human race. To treat people this way is effectively to say they simply do not count as human beings.”
Dignity of Work/Rights of workers
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. They also have a fundamental right to organise and join unions.
People have a right to economic initiative and private property, but these rights have limits. No one is allowed to amass excessive wealth when others lack the basic necessary of life.
Stewardship of Creation
Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of Creation. The goods of the earth are gifts from God, intended for the benefit of all.
We humans are not the ultimate owners of these goods, but rather, the temporary stewards. We are entrusted with the responsibility of caring for these gifts and preserving them for future generations.
Global Solidarity
Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they live. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Solidarity means that “loving our neighbour” has global dimensions in an interdependent world.
John Paul 2nd has called solidarity a virtue. It is the virtue, he says, which we demonstrate “a firm and preserving determination to commit oneself to the common good....because we are all really responsible for all.
Constructive Role for Government
Because we are social beings, the state is natural to the person. Therefore the state has a positive moral function. It is an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, build the common good.
One of the key functions of government is to assist citizens in fulfilling their responsibility to others in society. Since, in a large and complex society these responsibility cannot adequately be carried out on a one-to-one basis, citizens need the help of government in fulfilling these responsibility and promoting the common good.
Promotion of Peace
Catholic teaching promotes peace as a positive, action-oriented concept. In the words of Pope John Paul the 2nd, “Peace is not just the absence of war. It involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. It involves collaboration and building agreements.
Questions
1. List the 5 issues social justice aims to cover.
· Poverty
· Child Labour
· Refugees
· Homelessness
· Hunger
2. In your own words explain what is meant by human dignity.
Every person reflects God, so don’t think badly of one person as then the Catholic’s believe that you are thinking badly of God. Homeless people are not bad.
3. What is meant by a moral vision for society.
What the right thing is to do.
4. Which of the 5 social justice issues relates to human dignity?
· Poverty
· Child Labour
· Refugees
· Homelessness
· Hunger
DINGITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the starting point for a moral vision for society. This principle is grounded in the idea that the person is made in the image of God. The person is the clearest reflection of God among us.
By Courtney Staley
5. Give an example of a community that you are part of.
A Community is a group of loving people, I am a part of Stella Maris Community.
6. How is this community both Sacred and Social?
This school is both a social and a sacred community.
7. What is the major test of a moral society?
The major test of a moral society is how we treat our most vulnerable people in our community, e.g. Homeless people.
8. In what way does our community look after the poor.
· Red Cross
· Salvation Army
· St Vincent De Pauls
· World Vision
· Meals on wheels.
1. What are every human’s fundamental rights?
Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency – starting with Food, Water, Shelter and Clothing, Employment, Health-care and Education.
2. What is the role of the Government in maintaining human rights.
It is an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and build the common good.
3. Who is responsible for assisting the Government to achieve it’s goals.
All people.
