Catholic Social Teaching Archives

Caring for the Environment—A Family Faith-Sharing Guide

Care for God’s creation is a tenet of Catholic social teaching, a fact emphasized by Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’, “On Care for Our Common Home.” Help the families in your parish or school understand what the Church says about caring for the environment with this faith-sharing guide available for download here at Catechist’s Journey. Excerpted from 52 Simple Ways to Talk with Your Kids about Faith by Jim Campbell, the guide invites […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Joseph and the Dignity of Work

Joe Paprocki

If one thing stands out about God in the first creation story (Genesis 1), it is that God devotes a great deal of time and energy to work. God works six of seven days! As people made in the image and likeness of God, we “resemble” God when we use our time, energy, and gifts to engage in work. It’s also interesting to note that, while the second story of creation (Genesis 2—3) describes work as one of the punishments for the […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Celebrating God’s Wonderful World

Joe Paprocki

Autumn is one of my favorite times! It is a season that just begs for outdoor activity—to get out into the crisp autumn air and to see the leaves changing spectacular colors. It is a season that reminds us of the beauty of God’s creation, as well as our responsibility to care for that creation. The new Directory for Catechesis reminds us that “Catechesis is to take care in the first place to help believers […]

Amos/Hosea/Micah: A Call to Justice (book cover)

World Day of Social Justice: February 20, 2020

Joe Paprocki

In my “travels” through cyberspace, I discovered that Thursday, February 20, 2020, is World Day of Social Justice (United Nations). Social justice is considered one of the “two feet” of Catholic social action. One foot is charity (taking care of people’s immediate needs), while the other foot is social justice (addressing the structures and policies in society that cause people to be deprived of what they deserve). Social justice is not a liberal or conservative issue; […]

Prayer Intentions and Catholic Social Teaching

Barb Gilman

A routine during the school year that helps us come together as a family is praying for each students’ intentions. I have noticed that our intentions many times align with the seven themes of Catholic social teaching. Life and Dignity of the Human Person Call to Family, Community, and Participation Rights and Responsibilities Preferential Option for the Poor The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers Solidarity Care for God’s Creation While we do […]

Catholic Social Teaching 101: Videos from USCCB and CRS

Joe Paprocki

It’s not always easy to find good resources on the topic of Catholic Social Teaching. Thanks to Catholic Relief Services and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, however, we now have a free video resource with which to engage those we teach with the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching. CST 101 is a collaborative seven-part video series presented by the USCCB and CRS. The videos bring the themes of Catholic social teaching to life and […]

The First World Day of the Poor—Loving with Deeds Rather Than Words

Joe Paprocki

In my humble opinion, Pope Francis believes that the most effective way for the Church to have a greater impact on the world is to speak less and to act more. Knowing that the Church has lost a lot of credibility in recent decades because of scandalous actions on the part of some clergy and bishops, he has been calling for the Church to re-assert its moral authority through actions instead of through pronouncements and […]

Spirituality of the Catechist: Online Retreat for Catechists

Solidarity and an Openness to the World

John Gonzalez

This reflection is part of the Spirituality of the Catechist Online Retreat. As a director of social ministry, I am responsible for encouraging social advocacy in my parish. I would usually offer workshops on Catholic social teaching and the USCCB document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. Unfortunately, these workshops often resulted in ideological debates and partisan arguments. I concluded that this was not the most effective approach to persuade parishioners to engage in social advocacy. […]

St. Francis of Assisi and Care for Creation

The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi and Care for God’s Creation

Joe Paprocki

In just a few days (October 4), we will celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology. This wonderful feast day provides us with a great opportunity to teach young people about the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Care for God’s Creation and the encyclical Laudato Si’, written by our Holy Father, who took the name of Francis upon becoming Pope. You can find some great resources to […]

Catholic Social Teaching—Free Lesson Plan

Joe Paprocki

God has a vision for his kingdom and, as disciples of Jesus, it is up to us to make this vision a reality. To help us do this, the Church has given us the principles of Catholic Social Teaching to follow. This body of teaching by the pope, bishops, and other Church leaders addresses the most fundamental questions of human coexistence: Who are we? What do we owe one another? How should we live together? […]