Catholic Social Principles: Life and Dignity of the Human Person

by Sr. Kay Klackner, Ed.D.

The foundational element of the seven Catholic Social Principles is respect for the life and dignity of the human person. Learn about the biblical beginnings, Catholic traditions, and practical applications of this key principle.

In the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, the Second Vatican Council prelates (1965) reminded us that

    In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of absolutely every person,
    and of actively helping him [or her] when he [or she] comes across our path, whether he [or she] be
    an old person abandoned by all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee, a child born
    of an unlawful union and wrongly suffering for a sin he [or she] did not commit, or a hungry person
    who disturbs our conscience by recalling the voice of the Lord: “As long as you did it for one these,
    the least of my brethren, you did it for me.” (¶ 27)

Thus, as we noted in the premier article of this year’s series, in the historical development of modern Catholic social doctrine the Church continuously affirmed that its teachings about life and those of social activity cannot be separated.

The seminal modern-age encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, The Condition of Labor, and subsequent papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents of the Catholic Church concerning social issues are collectively called Catholic social teaching. This century-long corpus of teachings from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Benedict XVI provides basic principles by which Catholics can address social, economic, political, and cultural problems. However, there is no official Church list that comprises the corpus of Catholic social teaching. Likewise, no specific number of principles is distilled from the body of ecclesial teachings.

Commentators (Henriot et al., 1992; Krietemeyer, 2000; McKenna, 2002) have identified a variety of themes such as human dignity and respect, rights and responsibilities of workers, and economic justice, which have emerged from the collective social wisdom of our ecclesial leaders. In 1998, the bishops of the United States Catholic Conference proposed seven Catholic Social Principles gleaned from the ecclesial canon of social writings. At the request of Pope John Paul II, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2005) compiled the foundations of Catholic social doctrine in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church to provide an overview of the principles of Catholic social teachings and to inform third-millennium Catholic social activity. These themes and principles have provided a framework for discussion of Catholic social doctrine.

Catholic Social Principles

Pursuant to the tradition of publishing social writings in anniversary years, in 2008 we commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 1998 American bishops’ publication Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions—Reflections of the U.S. Catholic Bishops by focusing on the Catholic Social Principles stated in the document. Approved on June 19, 1998, the United States Catholic Conference statement identified seven major themes or principles of Catholic social doctrine in order to emphasize the centrality of social teaching in our faith life and the urgency of teaching these moral principles in Catholic educational programs.

In 1995, the American bishops’ Committees on Education, Domestic Policy and International Policy commissioned the Task Force on Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Education, a group of Catholic education and social ministry leaders, to assess current efforts at incorporating Catholic social teachings into educational programs and to make recommendations for a deepening commitment to teaching social justice. The findings of the task force indicated that, although creative endeavors were undertaken to integrate the social doctrine into educational life, explicit and systematic incorporation of Catholic social teachings into Catholic educational programs did not exist to the degree that the ecclesial leaders had envisioned as necessary for developing social responsibility. In their 1998 response to the task force entitled Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, the United States Catholic Conference enunciated seven key themes or principles. Highlighted from the venue of Catholic social writings, these principles serve as a springboard to understanding and deepening a commitment to social justice.

Commemorative of the tenth anniversary of the publication of Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, we will focus the remainder of this article series on each of these seven Catholic Social Principles separately and explore practical applications for responding to the bishops’ call for a commitment to social justice.

Life and Dignity of the Human Person

Respect for the life and dignity of the human person, the foundational principle, is the departure point and central construct of the Catholic social tradition. The other six principles emanate from the key principle of Life and Dignity of the Human Person. We cannot comprehend the other Catholic Social Principles apart from understanding human life and dignity because, as the American bishops reminded us in Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, “Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family….ha[ving] inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity” (p. 1-2).

This principle inspires all the other Catholic Social Principles and springs from the beginnings of life found in the book of Genesis. Respect for life from conception to natural death is rooted in God’s plan that “[e]very person is created by God, loved and saved in Jesus Christ, and fulfills himself [herself] by creating a network of multiple relationships of love, justice and solidarity with other persons while he [she] goes about his [her] various activities in the world” (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, p. 17). Therefore, two central beliefs of our creed, creation and incarnation, affirm human dignity and form the basis of this principle.

Further, the social nature of humankind is found in God’s design of creation. The likeness and image in which humans are created is that of a Trinitarian God; that is, a dynamic bond of loving communion. Therefore, to be fully human, we cannot live in isolation. The American ecclesial leaders summarized this concept in Economic Justice for All, stating “Human dignity can be realized and protected only in community” (¶ 28). Fullness of human life is found in the relationships of persons with God, with each other, and with all of creation. The Church’s insistent appeal for equality extends the respect for human dignity to the concrete realities of modern society. Inequalities that prevent any individual or group from rights that preserve their life or full development are injustices that must be eradicated.

Issues Regarding Life and Dignity of the Human Person

Contemporary society has witnessed increasing movement toward a declaration of global interest in human rights in international covenants. In Peace on Earth, Pope John XXIII initiated a roster of universal human rights sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Pope John XXIII’s stance and parlance prompted his encyclical to be nicknamed the “Catholic charter of human rights” (Massaro, 2000). The term human rights became familiar in the subsequent lexicon of Catholic social doctrine. Secular concepts of human rights are moral claims that attempt recognition by civil law. God, as the source of human rights, distinguishes the Catholic viewpoint of human rights from secular perspectives. Further, the Catholic perspective of human rights is based in reflection on reverence for all creation and the safeguarding of human relationships within the conditions of community.

Insistence on the sanctity of life continuously prompts the Church to staunchly defend the sacredness of life in confronting all issues that threaten human dignity including abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, embryonic stem cell research, genetic engineering, capital punishment, racial equality, gender equality, distribution of economic resources, distribution of political power, distribution of social status, human rights, racism, prejudice, and discrimination. As social conditions develop, so will the threats to human dignity. The issues that threaten human dignity are not a predetermined list. Societal conditions must be studied and responses to social questions procured in light of human dignity. For example, earlier centuries would not claim formal education as a human right for the advancement of personal freedom. In present-day developed countries, lack of a formal education would deny a person the economic resources to participate in the community and thus deny human dignity (Himes, 2001).

The Second Vatican Council members in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World exhorted:

    …[t]he Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting
    them in light of the gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to
    the perennial questions which men [and women] ask about this present life and the life to come,
    and about the relationship of the one to the other. (¶ 4)

The Church, ever vigilant of societal conditions, advocates that human rights be served. So strong was the message of respect and dignity of life that the American bishops in Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, stated that “the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person” (p. 4).

Practical Application Resources

Resources have been developed to support the instruction of the social tradition. In 1990, M. Welch authored a resource book, A Beginning: Resource Book for Incorporating Values and Church Teachings in the Catholic School Curriculum, for Catholic educators to integrate values and Catholic Church teachings into the educational program, particularly in social studies, science, and literature. Although the topics were not exclusively derived from the Catholic Social Principles, the author embodied many of the Catholic social concepts and referenced papal, conciliar, and episcopal social documents.

Fifteen nationwide model programs that integrated Catholic social doctrine into educational programs were honored at the 2000 annual conference of Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education (SPICE). In Integrating the Social Teaching of the Church into Catholic Schools, Carol Cimino and her associates provided the description, goals, activities, implementation and contact information of these 15 exemplary programs to encourage similar activity in other educational programs.

In an immediate response to the 1998 American bishops’ social statement, Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, the National Catholic Educational Association published a resource in 1999, From the Ground Up: Teaching Catholic Social Principles in Elementary Schools. Written and compiled by the Elementary and Secondary Schools Subgroup of the task force commissioned by the American bishops in 1995, this resource is based on the seven Catholic Social Principles enunciated by the bishops and presents an outcome statement, rationale, student behavioral objectives, and sample activities for each of the elementary grades, kindergarten through grade 8, on each of the seven Catholic Social Principles. The intent of the resource is to offer educators a tool for integrating the social principles into the curriculum. Additionally, the book offers a process to engage the staff in integrating the Catholic social doctrine into the life and climate of the educational program.

Similarly, in 2006, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity published a family-centered program, Where Are You at the Table?, which is grounded in Scripture and founded on the seven Catholic Social Principles delineated by the American bishops. Designed as a parish resource with flexible use in any educational setting, the program contains eight sessions and provides objectives, procedural plans, prayers services, and resources in order to conduct large and small group sessions for children, youth, and adults. A supplemental highlight is a bibliography which correlates published age-appropriate books with each of the seven Catholic social principles.

Michael Pennock’s high school text, Catholic Social Teaching: Learning and Living Justice, revised 2006 edition, provides information with supplemental resources that engage the high school student in activities and applications on the issues of Catholic social doctrine. The resource is focused on the modern-day lexicon of Catholic social doctrine and is organized around the United States bishops’ seven social principles.

Keying in “Catholic social teaching” in an internet search will result in a plethora of sites and resources. One excellent example is the information and resources offered on the Office for Social Justice website for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis (osjspm.org). One section under Catholic Social Teaching, entitled “Teacher’s Toolbox,” presents six models for study with suggested discussion formats. Ordering information for two videos, In the Footsteps of Jesus: Catholic Social Teaching at Work Today (United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, 2003) and Catholic Social Teaching: A Key to Catholic Identity (Krietemeyer), is provided.

Conclusion

Regarding the Catholic Social Principle of Life and Dignity of the Human Person, many of the issues under this principle and curricular suggestions to address them such as inclusion activities, active listening, recognition of the positive qualities of others, discussion of life-giving or life-destruction topics, cross-generational activities, conflict resolution or peace-making activities, respect for all individuals, and charitable activities, may already be a part of your educational program endeavors. The challenge, then, is this: Do we make explicit curricular connections between the commendable engagement of students in respect life activities and the key Catholic Social Principle of Life and Dignity of the Human Person? In 2001, Joan Rosenhauer argued that, although educators make excellent efforts to engage students in activities that promote life and serve disadvantaged people, overt teaching of the key concepts embodied in Catholic social doctrine is inadequate. Have we, in 2008, made progress?

Sr. Kay Klackner, Ed.D., is director of teacher education in the Department of Education at Silver Lake College, Manitowoc, WI.

Discussion Questions

1.    Which human rights do you deem most important for today’s society? Why?
2.    How does our educational community promote respect for human life?
3.    In what ways might we improve respect for human life and dignity in our school culture and climate?
4.    What situations or conditions threaten the dignity of persons in our community?
5.    Have we made the connection between engagement of students in respect for life activities and the Catholic Social Principles? How can we explicitly make that connection or strengthen it?

References

Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (2008). Office for Social Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2008 from osjspm.org

Cimino, C., Haney, R., & O’Keefe, J. (Eds.). (2001). Integrating the social teaching of the church into Catholic schools: Conversations in excellence 2000. Washington, D.C.: National Catholic Educational Association.

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. (2006). Where are you at the table? Manitowoc, WI: Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity.

Henriot, P. J., DeBerri, E. P., & Schultheis, M. J. (1992). Catholic social teaching: Our best kept secret. (3rd ed.). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Himes, K. R. (2001). Responses to 101 questions on Catholic social teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

John XIII. (1963). Peace on earth. In D. J. O’Brien & T. A. Shannon (Eds.), Catholic social thought: The documentary heritage (pp. 131-162). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Krietemeyer, R. (2000). Leaven for the modern world: Catholic social teaching and Catholic education. Washington, D.C.: National Catholic Educational Association.

Massaro, T. (2000). Living justice: Catholic social teaching in action. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

McKenna, K. E. (2002). A concise guide to Catholic social teaching. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press.
National Conference of Catholic Bishops. (1986). Economic justice for all. In D. J. O’Brien & T. A. Shannon (Eds.), Catholic social thought: The documentary heritage (pp. 572-680). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Pennock, M. (2006). Catholic social teaching: Learning and living justice. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press.

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (2005). Compendium of the social doctrine of the Church. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Rosenhauer, J. (2001). Understanding the social traditions of thought and action. In C. Cimino, R. Haney, & J. O’Keefe (Eds.), Integrating the social teaching of the church into Catholic schools: Conversations in excellence 2000, (pp. 61-72). Washington, D.C.: National Catholic Educational Association.

Second Vatican Council. (1965a). Pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world. In D. J. O’Brien & T. A. Shannon (Eds.), Catholic social thought: The documentary heritage (pp. 166-237). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Task Force on Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Education. (1999). From the ground up: Teaching Catholic social principles in elementary schools. Washington, D.C.: National Catholic Educational Association.

United States Catholic Conference. (1998). Sharing Catholic social teaching: Challenges and directions. Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference.

Welch, M. (1990). A beginning: Resource book for incorporating values and church teachings in the Catholic school curriculum. Washington, D.C.: National Catholic Educational Association.

Source: Today's Catholic Teacher, October 2008

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