The Society and Catholic Social Doctrine – Learning is Available
By Tim Williams, Senior Director of Formation & Leadership Development
In his book A New Century Dawns, Fr. Robert Maloney, CM, raises the interesting point that if you were to ask the average Catholic to name the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments, or the Theological Virtues, most of us could do so. But if you ask us the basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching, we often respond with a blank look.
Yet it is our church’s social doctrine which presents to us not only the what or the why of our faith, but the how – the ways in which we may live our faith in every part of our lives, applying the timeless teachings of the church to our particular time and circumstances.
Serving in Hope, Module IV – Our Vincentian Mission, like all the Serving in Hope learning resources, includes videos, readings, discussion topics, and prayers, divided into six short sessions. Magazine-sized books are available for purchase and designed to be used in Conference Meetings or retreats, or for individual reading, in combination with prayers and a video. Each session takes about 20 minutes as a group reflection, or the entire Module may be used for a longer retreat.
Serving in Hope Module IV includes sessions on:
- Justice and Charity
- Catholic Social Teaching
- Life and Dignity
- Family, Community, and Rights
- The Poor and Work
- Solidarity and Creation
For a deeper examination of Catholic Social Doctrine, the Ozanam Institute offers a full online course with video lectures and supplemental readings expanding on each of the Four Permanent Principles of Catholic Social Doctrine: The Dignity of the Human Person, Solidarity, Subsidiarity, and the Common Good. It is free to enroll.
In his short life on earth, Frédéric anticipated so many of the church’s teachings; in his manner of living his faith, he was the very epitome of what we now call the Apostolate of the Laity. As a result, it is fair to say that Vincentians, even among our fellow Catholics, have a special responsibility to know and to live our Catholic Social Doctrine.
At his beatification in 1997, Pope Saint John Paul II pointed out the important influence of Blessed Frédéric’s writing, thought, and example on the church’s modern social teaching, particularly Pope Leo XIII’s seminal encyclical Rerum Novarum.
When Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum in 1891, he was responding to the ongoing societal and political upheavals in the wake of the industrial revolution. His important teaching helped to shine the light of Christ on these temporal concerns, and continue to serve as a model for Catholic Social teaching. By choosing the name Leo XIV, our current Holy Father has warned of the urgency of a new technological revolution, with innovations such as AI posing a potential threat to our very humanity.
It is an excellent time in the history of our world, our church, and our Society to take the time to study and to better understand our Catholic Social Teaching.
For videos, use password “hope”
