CST = Living Justice Handout

CST: Catholic Social Teaching

Hi everyone! For our final reading assignment, we had to look at the rest of the CST: Living Justice Handout that was given to us earlier in the semester. I don’t think that many people knew CST meant Living Justice, so I set that as my title. After reading through the rest of this packet, what stood out to me the most was sections 3 and 4. Section 3 talks about the role of Family Life in passing on Catholic social teachings, while section 4 discusses the role governments should have and the limitations their powers should have in mobilizing resources. Contrasting these two sections gives us an idea on how to balance the role of government and the role of the family in Catholic social teaching.

Family was mentioned as an important tutor of Catholic social teaching because “outside of family life, it is rare to witness a spirit of profound self-sacrifice and generous giving.. That does not count cost to oneself” (87). Catholic teaching suggests that society prioritizes the health of family life since it profoundly influences the individual. The well-being of a society is dependent on the relationships within the family, since these relationships are the individual’s first, and they influence later relationships.

Government is an important mobilizer of resources for any movement in the community. Ultimately, we must realize that government action is merely “one small part of larger society that is meant to serve, never to control” (91). The government can support, but should not always be the sole driving force of a movement. Citizens will gains satisfaction from belonging to an organization that propels change, which is why many movements are started by voluntary associations rather than the government. A government that is too intrusive diminishes our will to help ourselves. CST suggests to rely on solutions that involve the people who are most affected by the issue.