The principles of
Catholic social teaching
Some suggestions for staff formation to help introduce
the Caritas resource on Catholic Social Teaching 2014.
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Two of fve essential elements are:
• the belief that we meet God in the ‘bits and pieces’ of
everyday life. our daily interactions, the sacraments,
liturgy and prayers are all ways God approaches us
and we approach God.(Para 8 & 9)
• the belief that we are saved as a community.
We learn how to form a community of care, with
special attention to those who have less, or are
suffering. (Para 7; 76)
Practical applications of these elements are:
• Young people can hand on faith through experiencing
ministry in social justice and in peer leadership.
(Para 83)
• We deepen young people’s relationship with Jesus
through intentional and systematic catechesis.
(Para 61)
in addition our school will be able to recognise the
following elements in our Mission and Vision.
‘For Catholic schools subsidiarity needs to be balanced
by the principle of solidarity. Solidarity calls for a positive
commitment to safeguarding the fundamental equality
and rights of all, and the promotion of their human
development. Solidarity coupled with the Church’s
preferential option for the poor provide the detail needed
to understand the full meaning of the common good for
Catholic schools. (Para 82)
Introduction
the purpose of Social Justice Week is to draw the
attention of the catholic and wider community to a
current social justice issue in the light of catholic social
teaching (cSt), and to invite personal and communal
reflection and response. our goal in 2014 is to make
catholic social teaching more accessible for people.
We hope to put a human face to the principles and
help people to more fully engage with them in
contemporary settings.
this booklet has been written for all staff teaching in
catholic schools for their ongoing formation. ideas here
will help grow awareness and inspire people to take
action and apply cSt principles in their lives. in order
to recognise different entry levels for people there is a
variety of resources to draw on.
What makes a school Catholic?
the New Zealand catholic Bishops conference has
provided guidance in their document The Catholic
education of school-age children (NZcBc 2014) as to
what makes a school catholic. Monsignor Jim cassin,
the executive secretary to the commission for catholic
education and Formation of the irish episcopal
conference, gives a useful summary of this and writes1:
1. Msgr. J. Cassin: What makes a school Catholic? Reprinted from Lighting New Fires, NZCEO, May 2014
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Facilitator’s notes for a staff meeting
Prepare prior to the staff meeting
• Read through all this material and decide how you
will approach the meeting.
• Make copies of the handouts and distribute to staff
to read through prior to the meeting.
• encourage staff to bring along their questions
and comments.
• copy onto frm paper, then cut out and make sets of
cSt cards – enough sets for groups of 4 among the
staff to play.
On the day of the meeting
• create a prayer space in the room.
• Display the seven posters around the room.
• if possible have an internet connection in the room
so that a small group can view the video clips from
the caritas website or download on a memory stick.
• Photocopy the handout for activity 2 ‘Putting
principles of cSt into action in our school,’ for
the staff.
Following the meeting
• Gather staff orders for copies of the materials and
send through an order form to caritas or order
online www.caritas.org.nz
• create a staffroom and/or foyer display for Social
Justice Week.
• continue the kōrero considering ways to increase
understanding and application of these principles
in your classes, school, community and parish e.g.
students could create a powerpoint to be shown at
Mass or at a ‘Meet the teacher’ evening; or prepare
a noticeboard at school or in the church foyer
which puts across a principle of cSt. change it
every month.
• try the suggestions for use of caritas cSt card game
resource for prayers.
• check out the You tube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NtWXilozHo
&p=B4F7a5ec7B630493
The Teacher’s pack of Caritas resources
contains:
1. Primary booklet Y1-6. See, Judge, Act: learning
to recognise CST in action.
2. templates for making card sets Y7-10 with
notes ‘How to use the caritas cSt card game’.
3. Seven cSt posters with notes ‘How to use
these posters’.
4. Notes on ‘Follow up the cSt videos’ for seven
short videos online.
5. leaflet on catholic social teaching.
6. Prayers for secondary school classes for
Social Justice Week.
Other supporting resources in this booklet:
outline for facilitating a staff meeting with the
option for 25 mins or longer.
Staff liturgy using the theme of cSt.
Song for Justice words.
Psalm 97: Verses and Response.
Putting principles of catholic social teaching into
action in our school.
Seven catholic beliefs about people and their lives
written for young people.
The Hazard – for guided meditation.
Victims of warfare or need
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Starter activity
Caritas CST card game. Sitting in groups of 4 follow
the game instructions and play for about 5 minutes.
ask what did you learn? Share responses as this will
give you a sense of different entry levels.
Activity 1: View a video clip
View one of the seven short video clips. Discuss. link to
the matching cSt poster.
Group responds to the text on the poster.
(this could be done as a post box activity in classes
with all of the posters.)
Activity 2: Putting CST into action
Handout. Read the list of Putting Seven CST principles
into action. if a large staff, divide into groups of six to
work through some of these. Write up as ideas flow.
alternatively use as a post box activity.
Longer meeting (45 mins)
Activity 3: Supporting materials
Share with staff all the other resources in the teacher’s
pack. Brainstorm how each resource might be used
in class, in the school, in the parish. You may prefer to
break into smaller groups and take one resource each
to talk over ideas and then share with whole staff.
the following resources are in the teacher’s pack
and online.
1. Primary booklet Y1-6. See, Judge, Act: learning to
recognise CST in action.
2. templates for making card sets Y7-10 with notes
‘How to use the caritas cSt card game’.
3. Seven cSt posters with notes on ‘How to use
these posters’.
4. Notes on ‘Follow up the cSt videos’ for seven short
videos online.
5. leaflet on catholic social teaching.
6. Prayers for Social Justice Week for form time in
secondary schools.
Staff meeting ideas
Begin with a prayer. Prayer resources to choose from:
Booklet with Prayers for Social Justice Week in the
teacher’s pack.
Scripture Luke 4:16-22. Have a bible ready with this
passage marked.
Psalm 97:1, 2, 8. (Photocopy from the Master sheet in
this booklet.)
Prayers of the faithful. (Photocopy from the Staff liturgy
in this booklet.)
A justice song e.g. Song for Justice included in this
booklet.
Justice for all who are homeless
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Some examples from the Religious education
curriculum include:
Y1-8 strands – Jesus Christ – Hēhu Karaiti; Church –
Community of Disciples; Communion of Saints –
Te Kōtahitanga o te Hunga Tapu.
Year 9. The Beginning of the Church in Aotearoa
New Zealand
Year 10. Inspiring Men and Women
look at the Gospel values and the cSt principles showed
by the inspiring people mentioned.
Year 10. Sinfulness and Reconciliation
use examples using the newspaper activity to apply cSt
principles to different scenarios.
Year 11. Conscience, Morality and Decision Making
Develop skills for moral decision-making and include the
application of human dignity to all issues of justice.
Year 12. Social Justice
How cSt principles inform us and help us to reflect and
respond to social issues of our time.
Years 12 &13. Biblical Studies
there are important links with Scripture (See p10 Seven
Catholic beliefs about people and their lives written for
young people.)
Activity 4: How I will use these materials
allow time for each syndicate/teacher to share what the
foci for their year level is.
they might:
• Decide how the key concepts will link with their Re
strands being taught. See below for some examples.
• Decide how they will incorporate the See, Judge, Act
–Tirohia, Wānangatia, Mahia slogan into their class
management plan.
• outline how they could link the principles to other
learning areas such as the arts-Ngā toi or Social
sciences – tikanga-ā-iwi.
Notes
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Staff liturgy
the following is an adaptation of a plan written by
anne kennedy for schools in the Dunedin Diocese
in 2011. We thank anne for allowing us to adapt for
this booklet.
You will need to prepare:
Prayer focus.
Bible open at luke 4:16-22.
Seven posters for Social Justice Week.
Place on individual staff chairs the following: School
policy folder; copy of cSt principles; world globe; staff
prayer candle; crucifx; today’s newspaper.
Let justice begin through me
Theme: Catholic social teaching
and our school
Leader
let us pray together.
God of justice, as we begin our work together on the
theme of catholic social teaching, we ask you to plant in
our hearts a spirit of justice and compassion. open our
minds to how we can bring this into action in our school.
We light this candle as a reminder of your presence
among us today and throughout this year.
Reader 1: let us view each of the seven posters
and read around the group the named principle and
the defnition.
Take a few minutes to silently reflect on what you have seen
and heard.
Reader 2: “a Reading from the Gospel of luke”
(luke 4:16-22)
Finish with “the Gospel of the lord.”
Response: Praise to You lord Jesus christ /
Whakamoemiti ki te atua.
Prayer of the faithful
as each prayer is spoken hold the symbol that is with you
and when fnished, place it on the prayer focus. (See list
under Preparation section above.)
Leader
the response to our prayer is ‘that our school community
live and proclaim justice, truth and love for all.’
All That our school community live and proclaim
justice, truth and love for all.
Leader e te atua, we place these prayers today into
your hands.
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First person: (Holding up the school policy folder.)
For our planning, policies, practices and all we do this
year to reflect the dignity and respect due to all members
of our community, we pray:
All That our school community will live and
proclaim justice, truth and love for all.
Second person: (Holding up the copy of cSt principles.)
For the principles of catholic social teaching to permeate
our relationships with each other, with our children, with
our community, we pray:
All That our school community will live and
proclaim justice, truth and love for all
Third person: (Holding a globe of the earth.) We pray
for a focus on stewardship of the earth so that we may
deepen our understanding of how we can share our
resources with those in need, we pray:
All That our school community will live and
proclaim justice, truth and love for all.
Fourth person: (Holding a candle.) For this light of christ
to remind us of the human dignity and equality of all
people, especially the children in our school, we pray:
All That our school community will live and
proclaim justice, truth and love for all.
Fifth person: (Holding a crucifx.) For this image of Jesus
suffering, to remind us of the suffering of the poor and
vulnerable in our community and lead us to action that
will bring about change, we pray:
All That our school community will live and
proclaim justice, truth and love for all.
Sixth person: (Holding up the daily newspaper.)
For all those whose lives are in need of God’s love and
compassion that we read about each day in the news –
for those caught up in war, violence, tragedy, illness and
death, we pray in solidarity:
All That our school community will live and
proclaim justice, truth and love for all.
Leader let’s take a moment to pray in silence or aloud
other prayers we may have at this time.
Response
let us conclude our liturgy by praying the Our Father
together.
Closing
choose to read Psalm 97 with the response together
The Lord brings justice to his people.
Psalm 97
the lord is king! earth, be glad!
Rejoice, you islands of the seas!
clouds and darkness surround him;
He rules with righteousness and justice.
Response
Fire goes in front of him
and burns up his enemies around him.
His lightening lights up the world;
the earth sees it and trembles.
Response
light shines on the righteous,
and gladness on the good.
all you that are righteous be glad
Because of what the lord has done!
Response
or sing or play a suitable piece to conclude this part
of the meeting.
Suggestion: Song for justice by colin Gibson.
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Song for Justice
let justice roll down like a river
let justice roll down like a sea,
let justice roll down like a river,
let justice begin through me.
Justice for all who go hungry,
crying to God to be fed,
left in a world of abundance,
to beg for a morsel of bread.
Justice for all who are homeless,
Victims of warfare or need,
trapped on the borders of nowhere,
lost in the canyons of greed.
Justice for all who are powerless
Yearning for freedom in vain,
Plundered and robbed of their birthright,
Silently bearing their pain.
Justice for all who are homeless
Justice for all who are powerless
Justice for all who go hungry
Plundered and robbed of their birthright
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Putting principles of Catholic social teaching
into action in our school of
to honour and act on the principle of Human dignity in our school we
to honour and act on the principle of Participation in our school we
to honour and act on the principle of Solidarity in our school we
to honour and act on the principle of Stewardship in our school we
to honour and act on the principle of Preferential protection for the poor and vulnerable in our school we
to honour and act on the principle of Subsidiarity in our school we
to honour and act on the principle of the Common Good in our school we
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Seven Catholic beliefs about people
and their lives
written for young people.
Human dignity
every person is valuable to creator God whether they
are men or women, boys or girls, old, young, any race or
religion, rich or poor, healthy or sick or differently abled.
every person has mana and is worthy of our respect.
Galatians 3:28, isaiah 42:1-4, isaiah 43:4-7
Protection of the poor and vulnerable
We need to fnd ways to help those who are poor, in
danger, sick or frightened. We must protect them as
part of our human family. luke 6:17-26, isaiah 58:6-8, 20,
isaiah 35:3-7, Ps 113:7-9
Stewardship
We do not own the land, the seas or the sky. We are
kaitiaki. We must care for them so that all people who
come after us can live well too. We need to share the
water and food from this earth with the whole human
family. Proverbs 3:9-10, isaiah 55:1-6, Ps 104:27-30
Participation
everybody has a right and a duty to take part in their
community and work together so that everyone can
be happy. everybody has the right to be included in
activities and groups like schooling, work, culture,
politics, or sports. Matt 52:32-39, Ps 67:1-7
Solidarity
We belong to one big human family – one whānau.
We need to support each other, no matter where we live
in the world so that everyone can live peaceful, happy
and useful lives. Matt 10:40-42, eph:3:14-21, Ps 145:14-20
Subsidiarity
People should have a say in decisions that affect them.
as much as possible, communities should make
decisions for themselves, rather than large organisations
or governments making decisions for them. Ps 25:4-5,
9-10, acts 15:6-13, acts 16:4-6
Common good
this principle is followed when decisions are made
which are the best for everyone in the community or the
country. these decisions do not put the rights of a few
individuals above the needs of the whole group. luke
15:1-6, Ps 32:8, Job 5:9-16, acts 1:42-47
as a useful class exercise suggest to students that
they locate other Scripture references to link with
each principle. use the newspaper to fnd images
that go with these too.
left in a world of abundance
[8774 cabbages]
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Guided meditation
How might we locate a ‘social justice’ heart?
create a quiet space and use the following for guided
meditation. Read each line with thoughtful and
gentle expression.
The Hazard
i recall the words of Paul,
“let this mind be in you, which was in Jesus christ.”
i ask the lord to offer me his heart …
i see him take away my heart of stone …
Put in its place his heart of flesh …
i feel the strange sensation
of returning to my world
With someone else’s heart …
i sense in me an urge to pray.
i hurry to my usual place of prayer
and feel my new heart doing unusual things …
i walk along a busy street.
the usual crowds are everywhere
and i look at them, to my astonishment,
in a strangely different kind of way today …
the sight of them awakens thoughts and feelings
Quite different from the ones i am accustomed to …
i set out for my home
and as i walk i look at trees and birds,
at clouds and animals and all of nature
With a different kind of vision …
at home
at work
i look at people i dislike
and see myself reacting differently …
the same thing happens.
i note that with this new heart of mine
i am strong in situations
that i formerly avoided …
there are occasions
When my heart dissolves in tenderness …
and others when it burns with indignation.
My new heart makes me independent:
i do not cease to be attached to many things …
But the clinging disappears
i feel free to let them go …
i try this out delightedly,
Moving from one attachment to another …
then to my alarm, it steers me into situations
that get me into trouble …
i fnd myself involved in things
that put an end my desire for comfort …
i say things that antagonise …
Finally i come back to the presence of the lord
to give him back his heart.
it was exciting to be ftted
With the heart of christ himself.
But i know i am not ready for it yet.
i still need to protect myself a little …
But even as i take my poor heart back
i know that i will be a different person
From having felt, if only for a moment.
From Wellsprings: a book of spiritual exercises,
by anthony de Mello, SJ
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Let justice roll down like a river
Let justice roll down like a sea,
Let justice roll down like a river,
Let justice begin through me.
Acknowledgements
thanks to the following for their contributions to the
caritas materials on catholic social teaching 2014.
Catherine Gibbs and Gemma Sinnott writers
Graeme Siddle editor
Lisa Beech advocacy advisor
Elizabeth Wootton contents advisor
Anne Kennedy contents advisor
Design
Miranda Lees
Photos
Caritas staff, Adrian Heke, John Williams
Notes
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Catholic Centre, 22-30 Hill St, PO Box 12193, Wellington 6144
caritas@caritas.org.nz www.caritas.org.nz Tel: (+64 4) 496 1742 Fax: (+64 4) 499 2519
facebook.com/caritasaotearoa twitter.com/caritasNZ
ISBN: 978-0-908631-77-3 Charities No: CC36055
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