Humans are an elegant (and sometimes despicable) creature. We create environment in which to live that is physical, psychological, and social to a degree unmatched on the globe. By virtue of this knowing, and more, we act with intention. Philosophically and religiously, human persons are to be respected, not used or abused; persons are never to be means to someone’s end. This dignity is innate, foundational to being human. The Church holds this principal on the grounds of “natural law”—it is true by virtue of reason and reflection. Revelation only elevates this dignity to a greater degree (eternal life).
The translation from philosophy/doctrine to practice has its challenges because the social milieu is mixed with a wide range of ideas, values, and power. Social groups apportion power to certain elites. The kingdom of God, however, includes as many as possible. The litmus test of society or of the Church’s existence is how much dignity the voiceless or vulnerable have in word and action. In the encyclical Social Teaching issues that come to the fore in the realm of human dignity are the unborn, the young or the elderly, family life, and the poor. Catholic Social teaching borrows the term, ‘preferential option for the poor” from the Latin American bishops (Medellin, 1968).
Always the challenge is to be broad enough in scope to see the anawim, the poor ones of God, and then to practice justice and mercy toward them. The point is not to patronize the poor, but to work to assure that everyone—especially the poor—have the means to life and thrive. Optimally, social policy and laws assure that everyone has access to the needs for food, shelter, health, education and public involvement. This is a gigantic agenda with no perfect answer. Clearly, when the church (e.g., preachers, bishops) speak out about policy or law, or about economic conditions, they are treading on territory where they are not experts. Ideally, Catholic laity in these areas of service is more equipped to help apply the principal to the art of governing or of commerce. Have at it! Help society/the church to discern how best to protect unborn life. Help society/the Church to discern how best to promote peaceful solutions to international problems without use of indiscriminate weapons (i.e., nuclear weapons) or of war at all. Help society/the Church to discern how best to include poor families who lack basic social equipment to enter into the social milieu (i.e., education, loans). What a wonderful opportunity for Catholics!
Family life has been a fairly constant theme in Catholic Social Teaching. In part it started because of the ‘threats’ that industrialization made on family existence and survival (e.g., living wage, child labor, time off of work, opportunity worship); Pope Leo dealt with these in 1891. The Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, called the family the “school of humanity.” The social encyclicals speak of the essence of marriage as the mutuality (and complementarity) of the spouses (cf.1983 Code of Canon Law, #1055). Families are the building blocks of every society…and the “domestic house-churches.”
Topics that have not had much attention or explication in the social encyclicals are the role of women in society and in the church, the issue of domestic abuse—which is very problematic throughout the world—, globalization of work and how this has separated extended and nuclear family groups, and the danger of consumerism in family life. So, there is still plenty to address in social concerns even with these two principals of dignity of the human person and family life.
Principles: dignity and family life
