Catholic Social Teachings Series
Principle 7: Solidarity

We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice” (Message of His Holiness on the Day of Peace 1972). The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.

Scripture

• Psalms 72 – Living in right relationship with others brings peace.
• Zechariah 8:16 – These are the things you should do: Speak truth, judge well, make peace.
• Matthew 5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers, they will be called children of God.
• Matthew 5:21-24 – Be reconciled to one another before coming to the altar.
• Romans 13:8-10 – Living rightly means to love one another.
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 – If one member of Christ’s body suffers, all suffer. If one member is honored, all rejoice.
• Colossians 3:9-17 – Above all, clothe yourself with love and let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts.
• 1 John 3:16-18 – The love of God in us is witnessed to by our willingness to lay down our lives for others as Christ did for us.

Tradition

“Developing countries, where the most important reserves of the biosphere are found, continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future. The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and ownership which is structurally perverse … As the United States bishops have said, greater attention must be given to ‘the needs of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, in a debate often dominated by more powerful interests.’ We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide, still less is there room for the globalization of indifference” (Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common Home [Laudato Si’], no. 52, quoting United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good).

“In the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, the principle of the common good immediately becomes, logically and inevitably, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters. This option entails recognizing the implications of the universal destination of the world’s goods, but, as I mentioned in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, it demands before all else an appreciation of the immense dignity of the poor in the light of our deepest convictions as believers. We need only look around us to see that, today, this option is in fact an ethical imperative essential for effectively attaining the common good” (Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common Home [Laudato Si‘], no. 158).

“To love someone is to desire that person’s good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is the good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of ‘all of us,’ made up of individuals, families, and intermediate groups who together constitute society. … To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity” (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth [Caritas in Veritate], no. 7).

“It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act. Hence the consumer has a specific social responsibility, which goes hand-in-hand with the social responsibility of the enterprise. Consumers should be continually educated regarding their daily role, which can be exercised with respect for moral principles without diminishing the intrinsic economic rationality of the act of purchasing … It can be helpful to promote new ways of marketing products from deprived areas of the world, so as to guarantee their producers a decent return” (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth [Caritas in Veritate], no. 66).

“At another level, the roots of the contradiction between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic denial in practice lies in a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated individual in an absolute way, and gives no place to solidarity, to openness to others and service of them … It is precisely in this sense that Cain’s answer to the Lord’s question: ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ can be interpreted: ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ (Gen 4:9). Yes, every man is his ‘brother’s keeper,’ because God entrusts us to one another” (St. John Paul II, The Gospel of Life [Evangelium Vitae], no. 19).

“[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all” (St. John Paul II, On Social Concern [Sollicitudo rei Socialis], no. 38).

“Interdependence must be transformed into solidarity, based upon the principle that the goods of creation are meant for all. That which human industry produces through the processing of raw materials, with the contribution of work, must serve equally for the good of all” (St. John Paul II, On Social Concern [Sollicitudo rei Socialis], no. 39).

“We have to move from our devotion to independence, through an understanding of interdependence, to a commitment to human solidarity. That challenge must find its realization in the kind of community we build among us. Love implies concern for all – especially the poor – and a continued search for those social and economic structures that permit everyone to share in a community that is a part of a redeemed creation (Rom 8:21-23)” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 365).

“The solidarity which binds all men together as members of a common family makes it impossible for wealthy nations to look with indifference upon the hunger, misery, and poverty of other nations whose citizens are unable to enjoy even elementary human rights. The nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on one another and it will not be possible to preserve a lasting peace so long as glaring economic and social imbalances persist” (St. John XXIII, On Christianity and Social Progress [Mater et Magistra], no. 157).

This is our last principle. How have you been moved by these Catholic Social Teachings? Send us your art expressions! We will be posting them on our website under Peace and Social Justice Ministry –smorones@sjnstcharles.org.