Catholic Social Teaching Test

Catholic Social Teaching Study Guide

Based on the Catholic Social Teaching Quiz by Ashley Falloure

Key Concepts

• Social beings: Humans are inherently social creatures.

• Trinity: Our social nature is rooted in the Trinity.

• Humanity: The Church views us as fundamentally part of the humanity of all people.

• Justice: The imperfections in our societies point to the need for justice.

• Social Justice: Term coined by Pope Pius XI in 1931.

• Rerum Novarum: Encyclical that marked the beginning of the Church's modern body of teaching on Catholic Social Teaching.

• Common Good: The sum total of social conditions which allow people to reach their fulfillment more fully & easily.

• Individual and Communal Good: The good of the individual is necessarily related to the communal good.

• State's Role: It is fundamentally the State's role to defend & promote the common good of civil society and its citizens.

• Charity: A requirement of justice and makes one capable of true justice.

• Church's Teachings: Despite not being a political community, the Church has historically had strong teachings on worldly matters.

• Sources of Catholic Social Teaching: Divine Revelation and Natural Law.

• Scriptural Justice: Scripture presents justice not in terms of a 'balancing of scales,' but in terms of relationships.

• Jesus' Stance on Justice: Jesus made his stance on the primacy of justice clear in his first public statement – a reading from Isaiah's prophecy of liberation.

• Early Christian Charity: The followers of The Way practiced charity by making sure everyone's basic needs in the community were met.

• St. Ambrose: In the 4th century, St. Ambrose first articulated the teaching of the universal destination of goods.

• Church's Response to Injustice: The Church decries injustice in both word & action (e.g., Papal encyclicals, hospitals, orphanages, schools, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services).

• Justice as Essential: The Church teaches that working for justice is an essential element of Christian living and that ignoring it is sinful.

• Faith and Social Justice: Social justice is an essential part of Christian living.

• Universal Destination of Goods: The earth's resources belong to everyone, not just those who can easily access them.

• Call to Family: Emphasizes the importance of family as the fundamental unit of society.

• Capitalism: Economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production and free market competition.

• Stewardship/Care for Creation: Principle emphasizes our responsibility to protect and preserve the environment as God's creation.

• Catholic Social Teaching: The body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of social and economic justice.

• Charity: The voluntary giving of help to those in need.

• Communism: Economic system that advocates for a classless society and common ownership of the means of production.

• Commutative Justice: Type of justice that governs exchanges between individuals or private social groups.

• Distributive Justice: Form of justice that concerns the fair allocation of common goods, benefits, and burdens in society.

• Justice: Giving each person what they are due.

• Legal Justice: Type of justice that refers to what individuals owe to the community for the common good.

• Life & Dignity: Principle that affirms that every person, from conception to natural death, has inherent worth and dignity.

• Preferential Option for the Poor & Vulnerable: Principle emphasizes the Church's preferential option for those most in need in society.

• Rights & Responsibilities: Principle that states that every right has a corresponding duty and responsibility.

• Social Encyclical: An official document issued by a pope that addresses social, political, or economic issues.

• Social Justice: Efforts to create social institutions that enable all to participate in social life.

• Social Sin: Structures of society that lead people to commit acts against justice.

• Socialism: Economic system that advocates for social ownership and democratic control of the means of production.

• Solidarity: Principle emphasizes the interdependence of all people and our responsibility to one another.

• Stewardship: The responsible management and use of God-given resources.

• Subsidiarity: Principle that states that matters should be handled by the smallest, lowest, or least centralized competent authority.