Community & the common good

The mystery of the Trinity involves the relationship of complete love among three divine persons in one God. As people are made in God’s image, we must model divine love and know that the person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society in economics and politics, in law and policy directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.

More on Call to Family, Community, and Participation from the USCCB
 

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:
THE COMMON GOOD

MARRIAGE & FAMILY | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | EDUCATION | HEALTHCARE
FIGHTING PORNOGRAPHY | COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA

Click the Title of each section to learn more about the issue on the USCCB website.

MARRIAGE, FAMILY, CHILDREN & THE ELDERLY

"Human beings were created in the image and likeness of God for love, and that complete human fulfillment only comes about when we make a sincere gift of ourselves to others. The family is the privileged setting where every person learns to give and receive love. That is why the Church constantly wishes to demonstrate her pastoral concern for this reality, so basic for the human person. This is what she teaches in her Magisterium: 'God, who is love and who created man and woman for love, has called them to love.'  By creating man and woman he called them to an intimate communion of life and love in Marriage. ‘So they are no longer two but one flesh’ (Mt 19:6)."

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Compendium, 337

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

"The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community. Economic activity is to be exercised within the limits of the moral order, in keeping with social justice so as to correspond to God's plan for man."

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2426

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EDUCATION

"All men of every race, condition and age, since they enjoy the dignity of a human being, have an inalienable right to an education that is in keeping with their ultimate goal, their ability, their sex, and the culture and tradition of their country, and also in harmony with their fraternal association with other peoples in the fostering of true unity and peace on earth. For a true education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as an adult, he will share."

DECLARATION ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION-Gravissimum Educationis,
Pope Paul VI, 1965

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HEALTHCARE

"In accord with its mission, Catholic health care should distinguish itself by service to and advocacy for those people whose social condition puts them at the margins of our society and makes them particularly vulnerable to discrimination: the poor, the uninsured and the underinsured; children and the unborn; single parents; the elderly; those with incurable diseases and chemical dependencies; racial minorities; immigrants and refugees. In particular, the person with mental or physical disabilities, regardless of the cause or severity must be treated as a unique person of incomparable worth, with the same right to life and to adequate health care as all other persons."

Catholic Conference of Kentucky

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FIGHTING PORNOGRAPHY

"Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials."

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2354

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COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA

"Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion. The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity: The proper exercise of this right demands that the content of the communication be true and—within the limits set by justice and charity—complete. Further, it should be communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld."

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2493-2494

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