Catholic social teaching

Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of <a href="/facts/Catholic/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic</a> doctrine which is concerned with <a href="/facts/Human_dignity/gXTptKx0">human dignity</a> and the <a href="/facts/Common_good/DxnmnDzQ">common good</a> in <a href="/facts/Society/PulvrYfa">society</a>. It addresses <a href="/facts/Oppression/7Mp3lUwq">oppression</a>, the role of the <a href="/facts/State_(polity)/7ggBzTSk">state</a>, <a href="/facts/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism)/W4P37U24">subsidiarity</a>, <a href="/facts/Social_organization/EDpvow0U">social organization</a>, <a href="/facts/Social_justice/yPVcRR0w">social justice</a>, and <a href="/facts/Wealth_distribution/8k7fg8rU">wealth distribution</a>. CST's foundations are considered to have been laid by <a href="/facts/Pope_Leo_XIII/bdovwR3o">Pope Leo XIII</a>'s 1891 <a href="/facts/Encyclical/LQArTSVj">encyclical</a>, <a href="/facts/Rerum_novarum/DQzE3Wrv">Rerum novarum</a>, of which interpretations gave rise to <a href="/facts/Distributism/QAtyd7yK">distributism</a> (formulated by <a href="/facts/G._K._Chesterton/LedSfaLh">G. K. Chesterton</a>) and <a href="/facts/Catholicism_and_socialism/5sXdHfe2">Catholic socialism</a> (proposed by <a href="/facts/Andrew_Collier_(philosopher)/WcHoe3PX">Andrew Collier</a>), among others. Its roots can be traced to <a href="/facts/Catholic_theologian/uGkLvYYC">Catholic theologians</a> such as <a href="/facts/Thomas_Aquinas/h2vN2VkX">Thomas Aquinas</a> and <a href="/facts/Augustine_of_Hippo/RJI1otNA">Augustine of Hippo</a>. CST is also derived from the <a href="/facts/Bible/SqkRTKCh">Bible</a> and cultures of the <a href="/facts/Ancient_Near_East/Ipt8t839">ancient Near East</a>.
According to <a href="/facts/Pope_John_Paul_II/Md3PoDuj">Pope John Paul II</a>, the foundation of social justice "rests on the threefold cornerstones of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity". According to <a href="/facts/Pope_Benedict_XVI/Kwqu9TB5">Pope Benedict XVI</a>, its purpose "is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just ... [The church] has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice ... cannot prevail and prosper." <a href="/facts/Pope_Francis/F2uNhKC9">Pope Francis</a>, according to Cardinal <a href="/facts/Walter_Kasper/SvIqgg7h">Walter Kasper</a>, made <a href="/facts/Theology_of_Pope_Francis/9zR8ztTA">mercy</a> "the key word of his pontificate... [while] Scholastic theology has neglected this topic and turned it into a mere subordinate theme of justice.": 31–32 
Catholic social teaching is critical of <a href="/facts/Modernity/kkpjFrpr">modern</a> social and <a href="/facts/Political_ideologies/BWooMbq7">political ideologies</a> of the left and of the right, such as <a href="/facts/Liberalism/nj54a01U">liberalism</a>, <a href="/facts/Socialism/U2kVoPaA">socialism</a> and <a href="/facts/Communism/PkUwa9xK">communism</a>, <a href="/facts/Anarchism/4a262gvQ">anarchism</a>, <a href="/facts/Atheism/patUWN1f">atheism</a>, <a href="/facts/Fascism/EhQWcPsE">fascism</a>, <a href="/facts/Capitalism/FbPc6TTw">capitalism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nazism/JjsMI4lE">Nazism</a>, which have been condemned by several popes since the late nineteenth century. It has tried to strike a balance between respect for human <a href="/facts/Liberty/fHvkBVSv">liberty</a> (including the right to <a href="/facts/Private_property/w4nypYHj">private property</a> and subsidiarity) and concern for society, including the weakest and poorest. It has distanced itself from <a href="/facts/Capitalism/FbPc6TTw">capitalism</a>, with John Paul II writing:

<blockquote>Catholic social doctrine is not a surrogate for capitalism. In fact, although decisively condemning "socialism", the church, since Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, has always distanced itself from capitalistic ideology, holding it responsible for grave social injustices. In Quadragesimo Anno, Pius XI, for his part, used clear and strong words to stigmatize the international imperialism of money.</blockquote>

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Catholic social teaching