THE God-given dignity of humans and the obligation to promote the common good of all the world’s people require the Catholic Church to speak on social issues, according to a new Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
The Church’s social doctrine offers criteria for judging various aspects of public and social life and provides guidelines for “conforming them to the demands of Christian morality”, says the book, released on October 25 at the Vatican.
Drafted at the request of Pope John Paul II by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the compendium explains Church teachings related to politics, war, the economy, the environment, work and legislation impacting family life, among other topics.
At a media conference on October 25, Cardinal Renato Martino, who is president of the justice and peace council, refused to answer questions about whether a Catholic ever could vote for a politician who supports legalised abortion.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said: “The Holy See has never, nor does it ever, want to enter directly into an electoral or political question … because it is the competence of the local hierarchy to provide enlightenment on these questions if they decide there is a desire and need.”
The compendium, designed to give Catholics a systematic understanding of Church positions on social issues, explains that the principles flow from the Ten Commandments, from natural law and human reason and from biblical truths about people, the world and the reality of sin.
