The first and most basic moral principle is “do good and avoid evil.” (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1776 and 1777 for its inclusion of this principle.) Every moral teaching the Church has (actually any moral teaching that anyone has) is in some way an attempt to apply this principle to a specific issue. 

 

Many of the moral topics that get a lot of attention can easily focus on the “avoid evil” part of that principle. Likewise, there can sometimes be a lot of debate over whether or not something should be considered an evil act or not. And while it is both necessary and inevitable to discuss the “evils to be avoided,” our moral teaching is wholly insufficient if it simply stops there. 

 

To be complete, moral teaching must also include the good things we should be doing. We can’t claim to have a “good” moral life if we’ve simply learned to avoid doing evil things. No. Having a truly good moral life will mean that we’ve also learned to do the good things we should do. 

 

Sometimes this means that there will be specific actions required of us, like, for instance, helping the poor. In fact, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy give us ample reminders of the good things we’re called to do, and must do, to be living our moral lives well. 

 

But along with these specific examples that we, as Christians, are called upon to engage in, there are also basic dispositions, outlooks and attitudes we must foster if we are to see our sisters and brothers, and indeed our world, in a truly Christian way. These basic attitudes and outlooks will help us to recognize more clearly the good things that we are called to do in our circumstances, in addition to the evils that we must learn to avoid. 

 

To this end, an important part of the Church’s moral teaching needs to be understood. This deals with her social teaching. Unfortunately, the Church’s social teaching sometimes falls victim to either misrepresentation or unnecessary competition with other moral teachings. 

 

As a result, it is sometimes relegated to a teaching of secondary importance in the mind of some Catholics. In other cases, it can be elevated to such a height that it seemingly supersedes the need to pay much attention to specific moral teachings like those concerning abortion and euthanasia. 

 

As is often the case, the way forward is to recognize the interdependence between the general themes found in Catholic social teaching and the more specific moral teachings the Church offers. Each needs the other to be complete. As one looks at the themes of Catholic social teaching and comes to understand what is actually meant by them, recognizing the interdependence and the consistency will, we hope, become easier. 

 

It is also important to point out however, that Catholic social teaching transcends political parties and movements. It represents a moral vision, not a political one. This is especially important for us as Americans to keep in mind since we are used to seeing moral stances becoming either political platforms or rejected entirely by political parties. 

 

Catholic social teaching however, is intended for Catholics throughout the world, not simply for us as Americans since it has, we believe, God, the Father of all people, as its ultimate source. 

 

So what are the basic themes of Catholic social teaching? Depending on where one looks, different numbers of themes might be listed, but for purposes here, I will use the list of seven themes offered by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. These themes are the life and dignity of the human person; the call to family, community and participation; rights and responsibilities; the option for the poor; the dignity of work and the rights of workers; solidarity; and the care for God’s creation. Each of these will be discussed in future columns.