SUSTAINABILITY AND CATHOLIC

SOCIAL TEACHING

Introductions

Name, where from, and a

hope for the new pope?

What is sustainability mean?

What is the relationship of

sustainability to the

Catholic/Christian Faith?

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching the teaching of

the Catholic church (popes, patriarchs,

bishops and Catholic groups) on social

questions.

Catholics are called to know the

church’s social teaching and put it into

action.

Obligation to Act for Social Issues

Pope Benedict XVI has taught that “love for widows and

orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every

kind, is as essential to [the Church] as the ministry of the

sacraments and preaching of the Gospel” (Deus Caritas

Est, no. 22). This preferential option for the poor and

vulnerable includes all who are marginalized in our

nation and beyond—unborn children, persons with

disabilities, the elderly and terminally ill, and victims of

injustice and oppression.

US Catholic Bishops, Faithful Citizenship, no. 51

Faith and Action (James 2:14-16)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if

someone says they have faith but do not have

works? Can that faith save them ? If a brother

or sister has nothing to wear and has no food

for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go

in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you

do not give them the necessities of the body,

what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it

does not have works, is dead.

What does this video say about acting for

sustainability?

Upstream Video

Sustainable Development is a Moral

Issue

Our present crises – be they economic, food-related,

environmental or social – are ultimately also

moral crises, and all of them are interrelated.

They require us to rethink the path which we are

travelling together. Specifically, they call for a

lifestyle marked by sobriety and solidarity, with

new rules and forms of engagement..

Pope Benedict XVI,

World Day of Peace Message, 2010

Catholic View of Development

“The development of the whole person”

vs. mechanical vision of the person

vs. compartmentalization between body/soul/mind

“And all people”

vs. individualism

vs. nationalism, racism

Sins: pride, selfishness

Integral Human Development

Responsibility of the Church

“Testimony to Christ’s charity, through works of justice, peace and development, is part and parcel of evangelization, because Jesus Christ, who loves us, is concerned with the whole person.” (CiV, 15)

IMCS Vision of Integral Education

IMCS and IYCS define integral education in the formula set down by Fr. Louis Joseph Lebret who saw education as the formation “of the whole person and of all peoples.” In this definition IMCS and IYCS believe that education must go beyond the accumulation of knowledge and development of intellectual capacities. Integral education needs to also address the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of the student. The end goal of integral education is the formation of well-rounded holistic persons that feel called to contribute their knowledge and skills to the common good of society.

IMCS and IYCS Policy Paper on Integral Education, 2003

Three Key Themes of CST

1. Human Dignity

2. Solidarity

3. Option for the Poor

1. Sustainable Development Must be at the

Service of Human Dignity

“Much in fact depends on the underlying system of

morality. On this subject the Church's social doctrine

can make a specific contribution, since it is based on

man's creation “in the image of God” (Gen 1:27), a

datum which gives rise to the inviolable dignity of

the human person and the transcendent value of

natural moral norms.”

Benedict XVI, CiV, 45

1. Sustainable Development Must be at the

Service of Human Dignity

Nature expresses a design of love and truth. It is prior to us, and

it has been given to us by God as the setting for our life.

Nature speaks to us of the Creator (cf. Rom 1:20) and his

love for humanity. It is destined to be “recapitulated” in

Christ at the end of time (cf. Eph 1:9-10; Col 1:19-20). Thus

it too is a “vocation”. Nature is at our disposal not as “a

heap of scattered refuse”, but as a gift of the Creator who

has given it an inbuilt order, enabling man to draw from it

the principles needed in order “to till it and keep it” (Gen

2:15). But it should also be stressed that it is contrary to

authentic development to view nature as something more

important than the human person.

Benedict XVI, CiV, 48

2. Solidarity Calls us to Care for Others,

the Environment, and Future Generations

solidarity… is not a feeling of vague compassion or

shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many

people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a

firm and persevering determination to commit

oneself to the common good; that is to say to the

good of all and of each individual, because we are

all really responsible for all.

Pope John Paul II, SRS, no. 38

2. Solidarity Calls us to Care for Others,

the Environment, and Future Generations

Human beings interpret and shape the natural

environment through culture, which in turn is given

direction by the responsible use of freedom, in

accordance with the dictates of the moral law.

Consequently, projects for integral human development

cannot ignore coming generations, but need to be

marked by solidarity and inter-generational justice, while

taking into account a variety of contexts: ecological,

juridical, economic, political and cultural.

Benedict XVI, CiV, 48

3. The Poor and Vulnerable Must Be Given

Special Attention in Development

“As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental "option for the poor" -- to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess life styles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. This "option for the poor" does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are the most vulnerable. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.”

US Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, #16

Follow Up

How does our Catholic faith call us to act in support

of sustainable development?

What can/should IMCS and Pax Romana (CCSA,

MAYA, NCSC) do?

Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation

of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the

preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s

mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation

from every oppressive situation.

1971 World Synod of Catholic Bishops “Justice in the World,”

#6.

SUSTAINABILITY AND CATHOLIC

SOCIAL TEACHING