The National Catholic Register reports how Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter dated April 21, 2015 that endorses Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s new book on Catholic social teaching, La Fede e il Bene Commune: Offerta Cristiana Alla Società Contemporanea (Faith and the Common Good: The Christian Proposal to Contemporary Society).
I was excited to see what the article had to share about Pope Benedict’s thoughts. I was disappointed to find out that Bertone’s book is not available in English, yet. One thing I did take away from the article was how the Church should find ways of reasoning that would include non-believers. Christ did not come to just save Catholics or Christians. He came to save the whole world. “This is the reason why the Church ‘must be involved in the efforts that humanity and society put into action’ for a path toward justice.”
Catholic social teaching is something I need to learn more about. I know some of the catchphrases (i.e. “the preferential option for the poor,” “the culture of death,” etc.), but there is a lot more to those words. There is a deep philosophy and theology and proposal for action. Whatever our station in life — government employee, business owner, wage earner — it is important to know how our faith guides us to bring Christ’s life into the world.
There is no lack of resources; the USCCB has a list of them. One of the links talks about the seven themes in Catholic social teaching:
- Life and Dignity of the Human Person
- Call to Family, Community and Participation
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
- The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
- Solidarity
- Care for God’s Creation
I’ll have to explore these resources and report back to you. Have you studied Catholic social teaching? Is there something interesting that you can share with me, or a resource you would recommend?
God bless you. I pray you are doing well. Please let me know how I can pray for you.