Catholic Social Teaching is the teaching of the church that relates man’s life to society. The teaching was developed in history and is still developing. Family works together with Catholic Social Teaching to show others how to better the society we live in. Catholic Social Teaching help us be better citizens and contribute to the advancement of society. People learn their basic social skills when they are young from their family members. These family members are already practicing good manners in the name of Christ which allows them to educate and influence others to follow their path to happiness.
Family is very important in building a cooperative community. The family starts the building blocks of solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity is the unity of persons for a specific cause and subsidiarity is the belief that political power should be exercised by the smallest units of government. These two beliefs allow family to be the main influencer and educator of children. Solidarity allows families to teach their children how to educate themselves about something so that they can stand behind their beliefs with facts to support themselves. Subsidiarity is practiced by families so that young people will learn how to be less reliant on their government and more reliant on themselves and their community.
Because the family is the main influencer, their relationship with the community must reflect what they are teaching. If families portrayed their beliefs in their actions, the community would be healthier allowing children to grow up in a world where they can easily make mistakes and still learn from them. Catholic Social Teaching survives from the support of families that is passed down between generations. Family is the building block that the Church needs so that they can reach and influence a wider range of people.
— L., Machebeuf Student
This blog post is a contribution from a member of the senior class at Bishop Machebeuf High School in Denver, Colorado. The seniors take an in-depth course in Catholic Social Teaching during their fall semester, with the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church as their key text, supplemented by the more recent writings of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Catholic Social Teaching is meant to be shared, so the students write, not simply to demonstrate their understanding, but also to communicate the truth of Christ to the wider Denver and digital community through Attollo. We hope you enjoy and are challenged by the writing of these amazing seniors!
