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.