The Fundamental Principles 

The four main and fundamental principles of the SDC/DSE

These four major principles have a general and fundamental character,  the universality of meaning, in duration and in time. They constitute a unitary character.

The Human Dignity ;

The Common Good ;

The Subsidiarity  ;

The Solidarity .

Principle of The Human dignity

* Human dignity is one principle of Catholic social thought : « For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life » (John 3:16). « Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead. ». CCC, 357. « The Church sees in man, in every man, the living image of God himself ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 105-107

The personalist principle is embodied in the promotion of human dignity at all levels, against all types of economic, political, linguistic, racial, religious discrimination, etc. and in particular in the promotion of fundamental human rights. It is therefore a question of « the integral development of every man and of the whole man », according to the famous expression of Paul VI (Encyclical Populorum Progressio of 1967).

*The Respect for human dignity a fundamental principal for the Social Doctrine of the Church, « A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person. The person represents the ultimate end of society, by which it is ordered to the person: «Hence, the social order and its development must invariably work to the benefit of the human person, since the order of things is to be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around» . Respect for human dignity can in no way be separated from obedience to this principle. It is necessary to «consider every neighbour without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity ». Every political, economic, social, scientific and cultural programme must be inspired by the awareness of the primacy of each human being over society. ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 132

*Human equality is founded above all by natural laws, « God shows no partiality »  (Acts 10:34; Rom 2:11; Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9), since all people have the same dignity as creatures made in his image and likeness. The Incarnation of the Son of God shows the equality of all people with regard to dignity: «There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus »  (Gal 3:28 ; Rom 10:12 ; 1 Cor 12:13, Col 3:11). Since something of the glory of God shines on the face of every person, the dignity of every person before God is the basis of the dignity of man before other men. Moreover, this is the ultimate foundation of the radical equality and brotherhood among all people, regardless of their race, nation, sex, origin, culture, or class. ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 144

Principle of The Common Good

*The common good is « the set of social conditions which allow and promote the integral development of the person » , « Men, both as individuals and as intermediate groups, are required to make their own specific contributions to the general welfare. The main consequence of this is that they must harmonize their own interests with the needs of others, and offer their goods and services as their rulers shall direct—assuming, of course, that justice is maintained and the authorities are acting within the limits of their competence. Those who have authority in the State must exercise that authority in a way which is not only morally irreproachable, but also best calculated to ensure or promote the State’s welfare. ». John XXIII ,  Pacem in Terris, 53

Threatened today by an individualism pushed to the point of egoism , this good so necessary for each citizen, is to be respected and developed by all, and to be promoted by each and by the State. « The demands of the common good are dependent on the social conditions of each historical period and are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights. These demands concern above all the commitment to peace, the organization of the State’s powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation, basic health care, the freedom of communication and expression, and the protection of religious freedom. Nor must one forget the contribution that every nation is required in duty to make towards a true worldwide cooperation for the common good of the whole of humanity and for future generations also. ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 166

The Emiritus Pope, Benoît XVI, indicate « This deviation from solid humanistic principles that a technical mindsett can produce is seen today in certain technological applications in the fields of development and peace. Often the development of peoples is considered a matter of financial engineering, the freeing up of markets, the removal of tariffs, investment in production, and institutional reforms — in other words, a purely technical matter. All these factors are of great importance, but we have to ask why technical choices made thus far have yielded rather mixed results. We need to think hard about the cause. Development will never be fully guaranteed through automatic or impersonal forces, whether they derive from the market or from international politics. Development is impossible without upright men and women, without financiers and politicians whose consciences are finely attuned to the requirements of the common good. Both professional competence and moral consistency are necessary. When technology is allowed to take over, the result is confusion between ends and means, such that the sole criterion for action in business is thought to be the maximization of profit, in politics the consolidation of power, and in science the findings of research. Often, underneath the intricacies of economic, financial and political interconnections, there remain misunderstandings, hardships and injustice. The flow of technological know-how increases, but it is those in possession of it who benefit, while the situation on the ground for the peoples who live in its shadow remains unchanged: for them there is little chance of emancipation. ». Caritas un veritate, 71

*In the Christian tradition, the first origin of all good is the act of God himself who created the earth and man, and who gave the earth to all mankind so that they could support all of its members, without excluding or privileging anyone. It is the origin of the universal destination of the goods of the earth. Pope Pius XII invoked the natural right to emigration , in his constitution Exsul familia, he indicates : « Then,—according to the teaching of « Rerum Novarum » —the right of the family to a living space is recognized. When this happens, migration attains its natural scope as experience often shows. We mean, the more favorable distribution of men on the earth’s surface suitable to colonies of agricultural workers; that surface which God created and prepared for the use of all.  ».

The concrete implementation of the principle of the universal destination of goods, according to the different cultural and social contexts, implies a precise definition of economical, juridical and political structures and objectives, regulation, national and international agreement are necessary to ensure the exercise principle of the universal destination of goods. Economics models inspired by moral values ​​are essential to achieve a just social structure, where the wealth assume a positive function.

*Private property is essential to « affirm the right to possess the things necessary for one’s personal development and the development of one’s family », « Private property or some ownership of external goods affords each person the scope needed for personal and family autonomy, and should be regarded as an extension of human freedom ... Of its nature private property also has a social function which is based on the law of the common purpose of goods. ». Centesimus Annus, 6&30

Private property is  an extension of human freedom, it constitutes one of the conditions for civil liberties, and it must be equitably accessible to all. However, Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as « absolute  or untouchable ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 177.

« On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone. ».  Laborem exercens, 14

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2444-2448, indicates that :  « The Church’s love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor. (CA 57; Lk 6:20-22, Mt 8:20; Mk 12:41-44). Love for the poor is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to « be able to give to those in need. »  (Eph 4:28). It extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty.

Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you. (Jas 5:1-6).

St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: « Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. the goods we possess are not ours, but theirs. », « The demands of justice must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity » (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in Lazaro 2, 5: PG 48, 992) : When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice. (St. Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis. 3, 21: PL 77, 87).

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities (Isa 58:6-7; Heb 13:3.). Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. the corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead (Mt 25:31-46). Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God: He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise. But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, « Go in peace, be warmed and filled, » without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? (Tob 4:5-11; Sir 17:22; Mt 6:2-4.).

« In its various forms - material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and death - human misery is the obvious sign of the inherited condition of frailty and need for salvation in which man finds himself as a consequence of original sin. This misery elicited the compassion of Christ the Savior, who willingly took it upon himself and identified himself with the least of his brethren. Hence, those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere. ». Instruction, Libertatis conscientia, 68.

The Church considers that the universal destination of goods is not opposed to the right of property, but need a sound regulation.  The Church affirm that the private property, whatever of the concrete legal norms related to it, is in its fundamental nature only an instrument for respecting the principle of the universal destination of goods, therefore, it is not an end but a means. The social doctrine of the Catholic Church indicates :

« By means of work and making use of the gift of intelligence, people are able to exercise dominion over the earth and make it a fitting home: « In this way, he makes part of the earth his own, precisely the part which he has acquired through work; this is the origin of individual property » . Private property and other forms of private ownership of goods « assure a person a highly necessary sphere for the exercise of his personal and family autonomy and ought to be considered as an extension of human freedom ... stimulating exercise of responsibility, it constitutes one of the conditions for civil liberty » . Private property is an essential element of an authentically social and democratic economic policy, and it is the guarantee of a correct social order. The Church’s social doctrine requires that ownership of goods be equally accessible to all, so that all may become, at least in some measure, owners, and it excludes recourse to forms of « common and promiscuous dominion »

Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and untouchable: « On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone » . The principle of the universal destination of goods is an affirmation both of God’s full and perennial lordship over every reality and of the requirement that the goods of creation remain ever destined to the development of the whole person and of all humanity. This principle is not opposed to the right to private property but indicates the need to regulate it. Private property, in fact, regardless of the concrete forms of the regulations and juridical norms relative to it, is in its essence only an instrument for respecting the principle of the universal destination of goods; in the final analysis, therefore, it is not an end but a means.

The Church’s social teaching moreover calls for recognition of the social function of any form of private ownership that clearly refers to its necessary relation to the common good. Man « should regard the external things that he legitimately possesses not only as his own but also as common in the sense that they should be able to benefit not only him but also others ». The universal destination of goods entails obligations on how goods are to be used by their legitimate owners. Individual persons may not use their resources without considering the effects that this use will have, rather they must act in a way that benefits not only themselves and their family but also the common good. From this there arises the duty on the part of owners not to let the goods in their possession go idle and to channel them to productive activity, even entrusting them to others who are desirous and capable of putting them to use in production. ». Compendium 176-178.

The Church also stresses that the current historical phase requires a new reading of the principle of the universal destination of goods which concerns : new goods resulting from knowledge, technology and knowledge ; than traditional goods (such as land in rural areas and / or in developing countries).

*The common good and the good of society as a whole requires a preferential love and charity for the poor. If the good of all adversely affected, the social balance and economical equilibrium is broken and the social peace is ruined. The Church expresses also the social doctrine in terms of « the preferential option for the poor. » As Saint Matthew reports :

« When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ».  Matthew, 25, 31-46

Saint Paul says  : « If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love (charity), I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love (charity), I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love (charity), I gain nothing… And now these three remain : faith, hope and love (charity). But the greatest of these is love (charity). ». Epistle to the Corinthians , 13

Principle of The Subsidiarity 

Every person, every family and all intermediary entities have something to offer to the Community. The Church’s social teaching indicates that it is « It is impossible to promote the dignity of the person without showing concern for the family, groups, associations, local territorial realities; in short, for that aggregate of economic, social, cultural, sports-oriented, recreational, professional and political expressions to which people spontaneously give life and which make it possible for them to achieve effective social growth. ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 185

The Compendium also specifies: « Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do. For every social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them. ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 186

Subsidiarity must be understood in a positive sense, as economic, institutional, legislative assistance offered to small social entities, and not in a sense, which restrict the living space of the minor and essential cells of society. The application of the principle of subsidiarity implies the respect and the effective promotion of the primacy of the person and of the family; and the enhancement of associations and intermediary organizations, in their fundamental choices and in all those which cannot be delegated or assumed by others.

But, in certain «  situations where it is necessary that the State stimulates the economy, because it is impossible for civil society to support initiatives on its own. One may also envision the reality of serious social imbalance or injustice where only the intervention of the public authority can create conditions of greater equality, justice and peace… In light of the principle of subsidiarity, however, this institutional substitution must not continue any longer than is absolutely necessary, since justification for such intervention is found only in the exceptional nature of the situation… In any case, the common good correctly understood, the demands of which will never in any way be contrary to the defence and promotion of the primacy of the person and the way this is expressed in society, must remain the criteria for making decisions concerning the application of the principle of subsidiarity. ». Compendium SDC/DSE, 188

Principle of The Solidarity

According to Sollicitudo Rei Socialis , 41-42 and Matthew 25, 31-46, solidarity is a «   Christian human virtue, each person  will be judged according to the way in which he practiced  this solidarity within the society creating a sense of unity of groups or classes originating from the doctrine of « love of neighbor »  (Mark 12:31). This solidarity can be seen as another secularized name for Christian charity.

Thus, solidarity « is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. ». Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38

Solidarity is practiced in a society when « its members recognize one another as persons » . Solidarity exists when those with more resources « should feel responsible for the weaker and be ready to share with them all they possess. Those who are weaker, for their part, in the same spirit of solidarity, should not adopt a purely passive attitude or one that is destructive of the social fabric, but, while claiming their legitimate rights, should do what they can for the good of all. ». Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 39

On the international dimension, solidarity refers to the duty to participate in the « reform of the international trading system » and that of the « monetary and financial system »  ; « The international trade system today frequently discriminates against the products of the young industries of the developing countries and discourages the producers of raw materials…  The global monetary and financial system is characterized by excessive fluctuation of exchange rates and interest rates, to the detriment of the balance of payments and the debt situation of poor countries. ». Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 43

Solidarity in the Bible

Old Testament

1- The law (Pentateuch)

Exodus 20, 22 à 24, 11

Exodus 22, 20-26

Exodus 23, 9-12

Leviticus 19, 9-10

Leviticus 19, 33-35

Leviticus 23,22

Leviticus 25, 38

Deuteronomy 15, 7-15

2- The Prophets

Amos 2, 6-7 et suivants

Amos 3,9 à, 4,3

Amos 6, 1-7

Amos 8, 4-6

Isaiah 1, 10-20

Isaiah 3,13-15

Isaiah 10,1

Isaiah 58, 6-12

Isaiah 61, 1-3

Isaiah 66,2

3- The Writings of Wisdom

Job 22, 5-11

Ben Sirac 34, 21-27

Wisdom 2, 1-11

Psalm 12(11)

Psalm 22(21)

Psalm 94 (93)

New Testament

4- Gospels

Matthew 20,1-28

Matthew 25,31-46

Matthew 5, 1-11 compared to Lk 6, 20-26

Luke 4, 16-21 Mt 4, 12-17 Mc 6, 1-6

Luke 7, 18-22 Mt 11, 2-6

Luke 10,29-37

Luke 14,12-14

Luke 14, 15-24 Mt 22, 1-10

Luke 16, 19-31

Luke 18, 31-34 Mt 20, 17-19 Mc 10, 32-34

Luke 19, 1-10

Luke 22, 25-27 Mt 20, 20-28 Mc 10, 35-45

John 13,1-20

5- Acts

Acts of the Apostles 2, 42-47

Acts of the Apostles 4,32 -37

Acts of the Apostles 6, 1-7

6- Letters from the Apostles

1 Corinthians 1, 26-31

1 Corinthians 11, 17-22

1 Corinthians 12, 12-27, et ch 13

James 2, 1-13

James 5, 1-6

1 John 3,14-20

1 John 4, 7-2

(non-exhaustive list)