Course Plan

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Catholic Catholic Social Social

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Moral Instincts Moral Instincts ERDsERDs

ApplicationApplicationto My Roleto My Role

Catholic Identity?• What is it that

makes our healthcare ministry Catholic?

• What is Catholic Social Teaching and how does it relate to my work?

Catholic Social Teaching• Let Justice Flourish

– 1999 video produced by CHA

– Introduction by Rev. Michael D. Place, President & CEO of CHA

Ten Building BlocksOf Catholic Social

Teaching

William Byron, SJ

Catholic Social Teaching

What challenges does Catholic social teaching present

. . . to you personally?

. . . to your organization?

• Read principle silently• Identify a story from your

personal life or organization where you have seen this principle in action and the challenges is poses

• Discuss

1. The Principle of Human Dignity.

• "Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family" (Reflections, p. 1).

Promote and Defend Human Dignity

• We respect people’s consciences, especially in matters of how to promote their health and well-being (both physical and spiritual)– People should be free to refuse treatments that

they consider, with a reasonable and informed conscience, to be too burdensome or no longer offer a reasonable hope of benefit. This remains true even when we disagree with their assessment.

Promote and Defend Human Dignity

• Our concern for human dignity extends to employees and to the work environment– Catholic moral-social teaching addresses human

dignity in the workplace. As Catholic organizations, we must model that teaching in the way we respect employees, reward their labors, structure benefits, and enable employees to participate more fully in decisions that affect their working conditions.

2. Human Equality

• "Equality of all persons comes from their essential dignity.... While differences in talents are a part of God's plan, social and cultural discrimination in fundamental rights... are not compatible with God's design".

Equality & Justice• Justice means giving to each person what is

his or her due. What is due to a person, is based on that person’s inviolable human dignity.

• Commutative Justice -- refers to what parties and individuals owe each other– For example, we ought to keep our promises, our word, our

contracts, our obligations toward each other, and our agreements.

– Commutative justice involves a strict obligation. The word “commutative” refers to an exchange between two persons or two parties. For example, we ought to keep our promises, our word, our contracts, our obligations toward each other, and our agreements.

Act on Behalf of Justice

• Distributive Justice -- refers to what society owes to its individual members– Obliges society or the group to give to each person

what is due, in proportion to several criteria: • 1) according to the individual’s needs, responsibilities,

and contribution to the whole; • 2) according to the resources available to the group or

society; and • 3) according to the group or society’s obligations to the

common good.

3. The Principle of Respect for Human Life.

• "Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity" (Reflections, pp. 1-2).

Human Life• Human life must be protected especially in its

most vulnerable stages– Human life begins at conception, but is vulnerable

in many other stages as well: when we are sick, when we suffer from dementia, when we suffer from chronic disability and physical or emotional pain. Human beings are vulnerable when they do not have access to health care. They are vulnerable when they do not have adequate health care insurance, or a decent living wage

4. The Principle of the Common Good.

• "The common good is understood as the social conditions that allow people to reach their full human potential and to realize their human dignity" ("Summary," p. 25).

Promote the Common Good

• “the sum of all those social conditions necessary for individuals and groups to flourish in a genuinely human way”

Promote the Common Good

The common good has two basic features or elements in Catholic teaching:

• It presupposes respect for the dignity of the human person– The foundation of all Catholic social/moral

teaching, as well as our first system value.

Promote the Common Good

• It requires leaders to ensure justice, peace, and security for individuals and community– People need to be able to work in a safe

community, a safe work environment, with safe working conditions. Leaders of organizations share in this responsibility.

The demands [of the common good] concern above all :• Commitment to peace• Organization of State’s power• A sound judicial system• Protection of the environment• Provision of essential services

– Food– Housing work– Education– Access to culture– Transportation– Basic healthcare– Freedom of communication and expression– Protection of religious freedoms

Mater et Magistra

5. The Principle of Preferential Protection for the Poor and Vulnerable.

• "In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the last judgment (Mt. 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first" (Reflections, p. 5).

Care for the Poor• The “poor” includes but is not limited to those

persons who are economically deprived– The “poor” does not refer simply to those who are

economically deprived. People can be poor in emotional resources. They can be poor in family resources. They can be poor in community support systems. We are all often spiritually and emotionally injured. The Scriptures, as we have already seen, are filled with references to our special obligation to the poor, disabled, the voiceless and oppressed.

Common Good & Care for those who are Poor

• How a community treats its most vulnerable members is a sign of its commitment to the common good – The common good is related back to care

for the poor and vulnerable.

6. The Principle of Subsidiarity.

• This principle deals chiefly with "the responsibilities and limits of government, and the essential roles of voluntary associations" (Reflections, p. 6).

Subsidiarity– Decisions should always be made at the

most appropriate level. Decisions that rightfully belong at the lowest level should not be usurped by a higher level of authority. But not all decisions belong at the lowest level. People need to be involved in decisions that most affect them. This applies to health care decisions and workplace decisions alike. This is what is meant by the principle of subsidiarity.

7. The Principle of Participation.

• "We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable" (Reflections, p. 5).

Participation• People have a right to participate in decisions

that affect them, in accord with their ability– Because people are essentially free and intelligent

beings, the Church teaches that they have a right to make health care decisions, and to consent freely or refuse to consent to any recommended medical treatment. Those who lack decision making faculties, are among the most vulnerable. They should have any of their prior decisions respected, and have decisions made for them by people who know and love them, who care about them most, and/or who can act in their best interest.

8. The Principle of Association.

• "[O]ur tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society--in economics and politics, in law and policy--directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community" (Reflections, p. 4).

9. The Principle of Solidarity.• "Catholic social teaching proclaims that we

are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, wherever they live. We are one human family.... Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that 'loving our neighbor' has global dimensions in an interdependent world" (Reflections, p. 5).

Solidarity • The common good is characterized by social

solidarity– Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,

n. 1: “The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of people, people who, united in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, press onwards towards the kingdom of the Father and are bearers of a message of salvation intended for all. That is why Christians cherish a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history.”

10. The Principle of Stewardship.

• "The Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation" (Reflections, p. 6).

Steward Resources• Theological stewardship begins with

presumption that only God has full dominion over creation

• We are not the “owners” but the “caretakers” of the gifts of creation, of the health ministry, of a vision– Notice that there are two accounts of creation in

Genesis: the first account emphasizes our role of Dominion over creation. The second account emphasizes our role as caretakers. Taken together, we have a notion of “limited dominion” or stewardship.

Steward Resources• Wise stewardship includes but is not

reducible to financial considerations: there are also human dignity, talent and time, and the environment to consider– Approaching creation and its resources and

peoples as gifts, we cannot reduce these things to mere commodities. Stewardship is not just about taking care of the bottom line. It is about taking care of and respecting people’s dignity, and time, and the world in which they live and are meant to flourish.

Steward Resources• Stewardship is accomplished best in dialogue

with people from all levels of the organization or community, in accord with subsidiarity– Again, the principle of subsidiarity plays an

important role. Society has limited resources, for education, health care, roads, public and national safety, the promotion of commerce. There are competing interests in the public forum and limited resources available to society.

Steward Resources• Stewardship considerations must be aligned

with values of human dignity, justice, option for the poor, the common good, solidarity– If we are going to distribute and use our resources

wisely as a society, then we must ask who will be most affected by these decisions? How are those most affected going to participate in those decisions? Stewardship is therefore connected to our understanding of human dignity and the common good, and to care for the poor and vulnerable, and justice.

Mission Statement

How is our mission and core values aligned with these elements?

Principles & Values• Human Person• Human Life• Equality• Common Good• Preference for the Poor• Association• Participation• Solidarity• Stewardship• Subsidiarity

• Reverence for each person

• Community• Justice• Commitment to those

who are poor• Stewardship• Courage• Integrity