Social Teachings of the Church

Social Teachings of the Church Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state and according to Pope John Paul II, its foundation "rests on the threefold cornerstones of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity." It is the basis of how the short film that depicts how the leftovers of one fast food chain then become the meals of impoverished hungry people. First of all, Catholic social teaching, as mentioned above, is based on human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity and has been developed to aid with such matters. Dignity, which is innate, being human makes us all equal, there are no differences regardless of any race, sex, age, or even economic status. Solidarity, that we are all brothers and sisters, that we are all one human race, that what happens is for the common good. And subsidiarity, that there should be a limit on the role of the government. The principles are meant to help one judge what is fair or “equitable.” They allow us to look at social situations with a rubric for how they should be handled and how we all should be treated and how we should treat others. The social situation that was depicted in the short film was that of hunger, inequality, and poverty. First we should ask ourselves if what was depicted is fair. Is it fair that people, who have the same dignity as you and me, eat the refuse of others? Is it fair that while people get to live large, there are others barely surviving? Is it not that we are all humans, all with equal dignity? Shouldn’t the common good of all be what all people should strive for? These are the questions that the principles of the social teachings of the church can answer.
• The principle of human dignity- it simply means and states that all humans are equal because by being human we are all born with equal dignity regardless of status. In the case, these people are looked down upon