Monday 20 October 2008

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has produced a colourful card to help Catholics to become more aware of the principles of Catholic social teaching.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that it was important that Catholics understood principles of the Church’s social teaching so that they could be used as a guide in assessing important social issues.

“The Church’s social teaching is sometimes described as the Church’s ‘best kept secret’ because so few Catholics know much about it,” Mr Arndt said.

“The Commission has highlighted these principles whenever it issues resources or speaks publicly on important issues,” he said.

“However, the Commission has put some of the major principles on a card so Catholics can see them together and, perhaps, be motivated to find out more,” he said.

“These principles and criteria have been developed and repeatedly espoused by all the Popes since Pope Leo XIII,” he said.

“While the Popes may use the principles in talking about a particular issue of the time, many of them have a lasting value and can be applied to many situations in every age,” he said.

“That is why the Vatican speaks of the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity as universal principles of Catholic social doctrine,” he said.

The colourful cards list seven key principles of Catholic social teaching and provide a brief explanation of each.

The cards also include some relevant prayers taken from the Church’s liturgy.

All parishes in the Archdiocese are being sent a number of copies free of charge with the hope that they will be used to raise awareness of Catholic social teaching among parishioners.

Further copies can be purchased from the Commission at a very reasonable price.

“The Commission hopes to provide Catholics in the Archdiocese with more resources and opportunities to find out more about the key ideas of the Church’s social doctrine,” Mr Arndt added.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.