Age Range: 16-17 years (school Year 11) Core Themes: Catholic Social Teaching (CST), justice vs. charity, common good, subsidiarity, solidarity, preferential option for the poor. Primary Sources:
High school students are idealistic and acutely aware of global injustice. This year channels that passion, moving beyond simplistic political labels to the deep, coherent, and challenging vision of Catholic Social Teaching. The goal is to form disciples who can analyze social problems with the mind of the Church and act with the heart of Christ.
Objection 1: It seems so, for vast inequalities in wealth and power are a source of great suffering. A just society would ensure everyone has roughly the same resources.
Objection 2: Furthermore, Scripture says “the laborer deserves his wages”¹, but some CEOs earn thousands of times more than their workers. This is inherently unequal and therefore unjust.
Objection 3: Moreover, historical injustices (like colonialism and slavery) have given some groups an unfair advantage. Justice requires leveling the playing field, even if it means redistributing wealth from the privileged to the disadvantaged.
On the contrary, the classical definition of justice, adopted by the Church, is “the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor”². This focuses on what is due, not what is equal.
I answer that we must distinguish between different kinds of justice and between justice and envy. The Church’s vision of justice is far more radical and comprehensive than mere economic equality.
The goal is not a flat equality, which can be profoundly unjust (e.g., giving the same grade to the student who studied and the one who did not). The goal is the Common Good: the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily³. A society is just when it is ordered toward the flourishing of every single person, respecting their dignity and contribution. While this requires addressing gross inequalities, it does not aim for a bland and coercive sameness.
Reply to Objection 1: Envy, one of the seven deadly sins, can disguise itself as a call for justice. The Church’s concern is not that some have more, but that some have less than what is their due as human beings made in God’s image. The focus is on lifting the floor, not lowering the ceiling.
Reply to Objection 2: This may be an example of a violation of distributive or commutative justice. The question is not “are they unequal?” but “is the wage a just wage that allows the worker to live in dignity?” and “is the CEO’s compensation proportional to their contribution to the common good?” The disparity itself is a symptom to be examined, not the injustice itself.
Reply to Objection 3: The Church strongly affirms the need for restorative justice to address historical wrongs. This is part of giving a people their due. However, this must be done according to prudence and justice, not as an act of revenge or class warfare, always aiming for reconciliation and the common good of all.
Objection 1: It seems so, for the government has the most resources and authority to address large-scale problems like poverty, healthcare, and education.
Objection 2: Furthermore, relying on local or private initiatives is inefficient and leads to a patchwork of unequal services. A centralized approach ensures uniformity and fairness.
Objection 3: Moreover, Jesus commands us to care for the poor. The most effective way to do this on a large scale is through government welfare programs funded by taxes.
On the contrary, Pope Pius XI taught that “it is a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do”⁴. This is the principle of Subsidiarity.
I answer that Catholic Social Teaching navigates between the errors of collectivism (which crushes the person) and radical individualism (which ignores the community). It does this through the twin principles of Subsidiarity and Solidarity.
Subsidiarity: Problems should be solved at the most local, immediate level possible. A higher-level body (like the state) should only step in when a lower-level body (like a family, neighborhood, or local charity) is unable to address the need. The state’s role is to help (from subsidium, “help, aid”) the lower bodies, not to absorb or replace them. This protects personal responsibility and local community.
Solidarity: We are all one human family, responsible for one another. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. This is not a vague feeling but a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good⁵. This principle protects us from selfish indifference and calls us to be concerned with global poverty, injustice, and suffering.
Subsidiarity and Solidarity are not opposed but are two sides of the same coin. Solidarity without subsidiarity leads to an impersonal, bureaucratic welfare state. Subsidiarity without solidarity leads to a selfish, “not-in-my-backyard” individualism. A just society holds them in creative tension.
Reply to Objection 1: The government’s role is indispensable, but it should not be the first resort. It should empower local communities, not replace them. For example, it is better to support a local church’s food bank than to create a massive, impersonal federal food agency that replaces it.
Reply to Objection 2: Uniformity is not always the same as justice. Local solutions are often more creative, personal, and effective because they are tailored to specific needs. The goal is human flourishing, not bureaucratic efficiency.
Reply to Objection 3: We are all commanded to care for the poor. This is a personal and communal duty before it is a state duty. We cannot “outsource” our Christian duty of charity to the tax system. The state can and should provide a safety net, but it cannot replace the personal encounter and love that true Christian charity demands.
CST Case Study Choose a current social issue (e.g., homelessness in your city, fast fashion supply chains, climate change). Analyze it using the main principles of CST:
Charity vs. Justice Create two columns. In one, list acts of Charity (meeting immediate needs). In the other, list acts of Justice (addressing the root causes of needs).
Consumption Conscience Examination
Read: Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies… But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Picture It: God speaking these words through Amos to a nation that was very religious on the outside—they went to the temple, offered sacrifices—but ignored the poor and oppressed in their midst.
Think:
Your school is holding a debate on climate change.
Thinking with the Mind of the Church: A Catholic approach transcends this partisan binary. Using CST, you could argue:
The Outrage-Industrial Complex Social media algorithms profit from injustice, but not by solving it. They profit by showing you content that makes you angry. Outrage drives engagement.
Visions of a Just Society
Dialogue Point: The Catholic vision is unique in its insistence on both personal conversion and social reform, and in its foundational principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, which protect against both state tyranny and selfish individualism.
The Troublemaker for Christ
Dorothy Day was a journalist and bohemian activist in New York in the 1920s. Before her conversion to Catholicism, she lived a wild life, even having an abortion. After her conversion, she didn’t leave her passion for the poor and marginalized behind; she brought it into the heart of the Church.
With Peter Maurin, she founded the Catholic Worker Movement. They started:
She was a radical who was arrested multiple times for protests. Yet she went to Mass daily and prayed the Rosary. She showed that one could be completely orthodox, devoted to the Church, and at the same time a fierce critic of social injustice.
Her Witness: “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”
“The Church is rich! Why doesn’t it just sell all its art and give the money to the poor?” “That’s a question many people ask. First, we have to remember what the Church ‘is.’ Most of the wealth is in local parishes, schools, and hospitals that are serving people directly. Second, the art and architecture are not the Pope’s personal property; they are the heritage of all humanity, held in trust. They were created to give glory to God and to lift the human spirit—especially the spirits of the poor, who historically had access to beauty in the cathedrals when their own lives were drab. Third, if the Vatican sold everything, it would be a one-time injection of cash that would quickly disappear. The Church’s long-term mission is to build institutions that serve the poor for centuries. That said, the question comes from a good impulse, and it should always challenge the Church to live more simply and generously.”
“My friends all support [Political Party X]. If I don’t, am I a bad Catholic/bad person?” “The Church is not a political party. A faithful Catholic can be a member of various political parties in good conscience, but no party perfectly reflects Catholic teaching. The Church gives us principles (Dignity, Common Good, etc.), but it doesn’t give us a voting guide. Our job is to use those principles to evaluate all parties and candidates. You will likely find that you agree with Party X on some issues and Party Y on others. That’s a sign you are thinking like a Catholic, not a partisan. Your identity is in Christ, not in a political tribe.”
“It’s all overwhelming. I’m just one person. What can I possibly do about global poverty?” “The feeling of being overwhelmed is real. But Mother Teresa taught us, ‘Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.’ You are not called to solve global poverty by yourself. You are called to be faithful in your own life. Start small and local. Volunteer at the parish food pantry. Learn where your clothes come from. Treat the person right in front of you with justice and dignity. Change the world by changing your small corner of it. That is all God asks.”
How does saying these statements feel? Do they challenge your current assumptions?
“A specific injustice that breaks my heart is…” “One concrete, local action I can take this month in response is…”
“A political or social opinion I hold strongly is… I need to examine if it aligns with CST by…”
“Dorothy Day’s life challenges me to…”
Check what interests you: □ The history of the Catholic Worker Movement. □ The Church’s teaching on private property. □ How subsidiarity works in practice. □ The life of a modern saint for justice like St. Oscar Romero. □ “Just War Theory” in Catholic teaching. □ The economics of distributism vs. capitalism and socialism.
Use these interests to guide your next steps in study and prayer.