Promotion of Peace and Disarmament

Catholic teaching promotes peace as a positive, action-oriented concept. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "Peace is not just the
absence of war. It involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. It involves collaboration and binding agreements.”
There is a close relationship in Catholic teaching between peace and justice.
Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order among human beings.

Participation:

  All people have a right to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society.
It is a fundamental demand of justice and a requirement for human dignity that all people be assured a
minimum level of participation in the community. It is wrong for a person or a group to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to participate in society.

Global Solidarity and Development:

We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences.
We are called to work globally for justice. Authentic development must be full human development. It must respect and promote personal,
social, economic, and political rights, including the rights of nations and of peoples It must avoid the extremists of underdevelopment on the
one hand, and "superdevelopment" on the other.

Questions:

1. What is the Catholic teaching regarding the requirement to maintaining peace?
2. Why is it wrong to exclude people from participating in society?
3. What are our global responsibilities to each other?

Answers:

1. It shows that to achieve peace we have to act not just sit around and expect it to happen.It teaches us that peace is positive and without Peace
the world would be a horrible , unsafe place to live in.

2. A everyone is equal just because people talk differently or look different doesn't mean that they are not exactly the same person that we are all Human beings
and saying that we should all be Humane.

3. Our responsibilities are that we have to treat everyone fairly and not exclude anyone as of appearences, or economic differences and even those differences
in opinion or learning.

Economic justice

  The economy must serve people, not the other way around.
All workers have a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, and to safe working conditions.
They also have a fundamental right to organize and join unions. People have a right to economic initiative
and private property, but these rights have limits. No one is allowed to a mass excessive wealth when others
lack the basic necessities of life.

Stewardship of God's Creation

  The goods of the earth are gifts from God, and they are intended by God for the benefit of everyone.
There is a "social mortgage" that guides our use of the world's goods, and we have a responsibility to care
for these goods as stewards and trustees, not as mere consumers and users. How we treat the environment is a
measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for the Creator.

Questions:

1. What are the rights of the worker?
2. What is a union?
3. What should peoples economic limitations be?
4. Who are god’s gifts intended for?
5. What is meant in this context by: Social Mortgage, Steward and Trustee?
6. What is one measure of our stewardship?

Answers:

1. To have productive work, fair wages and safe working conditions. They also have a right
to Organise and join unions.

2. A number of persons, states, etc., joined or associated together for some common purpose:
student union; credit union.

3. That they can't have a mass excessive wealth when others lack basic needs of life.

4. They are intended from God as a benefit for everyone.

5. The context means that in a mortgage you have to pay things off and keep track and i think a social mortgage is saying that
everyone has to look after each other and lend things or keep track of each other. Also that we owe a debt to God so we need to respect the Earth for him . I also think by steward and trustee it is saying
we need to protect and prolong the gifts that God has given us to benefit our lives.

6. That we have charities and look after eachother or that we have fundraisers and w let friends have a helping hand when there down.

Rights and Responsibilities

Rights and Responsibilities

Human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met.
Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency – starting with food, shelter and clothing,
employment, health care, and education. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities -- to one another, to our families, and to
the larger society.  


Role of Government

The state has a positive moral function. It is an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights,
and build the common good. All people have a right and a responsibility to participate in political institutions
so that government can achieve its proper goals. 


Questions:

1. What are every humans fundamental rights?
2. What is the role of the Government in maintaining human rights?
3. Who is responsible for assisting the government to achieve its goals?

Answers:
1. They have a fundamental right to life - and have a right to be decent so have:
- Food
- Shelter
- Clothing
- Employment
- Health Care
- Education

2. The state has a positive moral function , to promote human dignity, to protect Human rights
and to build the common good.

3. All people have a right and responsibility to be involved in political events so that the government
can acieve their goals.

Common good and community

The human person is both sacred and social.
We realize our dignity and rights in relationship with others, in community.
Human beings grow and achieve fulfilment in community. Human dignity can only be realized and protected
in the context of relationships with the wider society.

Option for the Poor



The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.
The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to look at public
policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor..

The option for the poor is an essential part of
society's effort to achieve the common good. A healthy community can be achieved only if its members give
special attention to those with special needs, to those who are poor and on the margins of society


Questions:

1. Give an example of a community that you are part of.
2. How is this community both Sacred and Social?
3. What is the major test of a moral society?
4. In what way does our community look after the poor


Answers:

1. I am a part of the school community

2. It is sacred as going to school and getting an education is important.
It is social as lots of us are friends and work together.

3. When some people are selfish or when people have a fight they have to choose sides
so when people are fightng in others points of view they are not all equal.

4. As we have shelters and there are charities such as vinnies where the money spent
goes to a good cause or many other charities that help out the less fortunate.

Human dignity

Social justice:
Social justice concerns itself with our responsibility to ensure that all people are given a ‘fair go’.
Some issues that social justice aims to cover are;
• Poverty
• Child Labour
• Refugees
• Homelessness
• Hunger
Dignity of the Human Person:
Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all catholic social teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the starting point for a moral vision for society. This principle is grounded in the idea that the person is made in the image of God. The person is the clearest reflection of God among us.
Questions:
1. List the 5 issues social justice aims to cover
2. In your own words explain what is meant by human dignity
3. What is meant by a moral vision for society?
4. Which of the 5 social justice issues relates to human dignity?
Answers:
1. Poverty, child labour, Refugees, hunger, homelessness is the probles that social justice try to resolve.
2. What it means is that when someone has no pride in them when someone doesn’t value themselves as a person then they have no dignity such as; slaves, homelessness, poverty, hunger.
3. It means that everyone in the society has to have dignity for the society to be moral, for the society to be equal and fair, so everyone belongs and is not discriminated against for any reason.
4. The issues that relate to human dignity include; homelessness, child labour, poverty, hunger and in part refugees.