cl 3rd

• what is cst

  catholic social teaching
• Catholic Social Teaching comes from popes and bishops – they are the source of the formal teaching documents.
• Four Catholic Social Teaching Sources

  scripture

  tradition

  reason

  experience
• It plays an important role in any Christian effort to discern what is right and good, and how to live justly together in society.

  scripture
• basis for moral actions


  scriptures
• It is about drawing on the previous reflection and teaching of the Church.

  tradition
• also includes the lived witness and writings of the saints, doctors of the Church and the leaders of the early church.

  tradition
• past experiences, culture, writings of the saints

  tradition
• Natural law has played a strong role in Catholic social ethics. It argues that we can understand God’s will by using our reason to examine the world.

  reason
• analysis 


  reason
• because we believe that God continues to communicate with us through the people, places and events of human history.

  experience
• It refers to those events in history characteristic of an epoch, which, if properly read, can reveal the presence or the absence of God.

  sign of the times
• The three-step process followed by CST to interpret the signs of the times are

  see judge act
• in an unbiased way for the wellbeing of all as the only intention (What is happening?)

  see
• reasons for existing situations centered on human and spiritual values (What is the situation telling us as Christian?)

  judge
• to change the dehumanizing and unjust situations (What are we supposed to do?)

  act