Welcome to Catholic Social Teaching. This site aims to provide the visitor with an encyclopaedic resource of modern papal teaching on social issues.
Teachings are classified by papal reign and according to five categories:
1) Socio-Economic Questions: Includes writings on "the Social Question," the distribution of wealth, property, and other necessities; human work; the market economy; capitalism; socialism; communism; and other related matters.
2) Marriage and the Family: Includes writings on the nature and purpose of Marriage; the role and importance of the Family in Society; the natural law rights of parents; recent considerations on same-sex unions; and so on.
3) Church and State: Includes writings concerning the relationship between the Church and State; the duties and rights of the State; duties and rights of citizens; and other related issues.
4) Education: Includes writings on the purpose of Education; correct principles for Christian formation of youth; the role of the State in Education; and so forth.
5) Other Social Issues: Includes writings on miscellaneous social issues such as War, Capital Punishment, Slavery, and many other issues which broadly come within the sphere of the Church's social doctrine.
One particularly useful resource is the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Documents such as those of the Second Vatican Council, and various documents released by the Roman Congregations approved by the Pope, are categorised according to the Pope who promulgated them or approved their publication. Documents released by the various Vatican departments which do not receive specific papal approval are placed under the "Roman Curia" section. The Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops, Christus Dominus, notes that "In exercising supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church,
the Roman pontiff makes use of the departments of the Roman Curia which,
therefore, perform their duties in his name and with his authority for the good
of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors (#9)." Therefore, these documents will provide all with a fruitful source of knowledge of Christian doctrine.
The Articles page provides articles by various writers grouped under the same headings as the Papal Documents. Whilst efforts are made to review articles in order to ensure conformity with the teachings of the Church, nevertheless any material in this section is to be judged solely on its merit and that of its author.
The Links section provides further resources of a doctrinal, academic, and spiritual nature.
Note: This site is still under construction, so please be patient as documents are added. It is hoped that it the near future, if there is sufficient interest, a blog will be added to give commentary on current affairs as they relate to the social doctrine of the Church. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me.
Links are to a variety of external websites, please note relevant copyright details.