Articles

If you are like me, I cannot go a day without listening to music of some sort. I found myself listening to the music of Bob Dylan on my way home late last night and his hit “The Times They Are A-Changin’” came on. As I listened to the words that Dylan sang, I found myself thinking about change and how despite all of the upheaval and toil that the world seems to be going through, there is and always has been one constant: God. God has the amazing ability to cause actual change that is long lasting and can move people in ways that were previously thought to never happen – the softening of our hardened hearts, the willingness to give more of ourselves in service of Him than we ever imagined. I, too, have changed over these last few weeks and find myself reflecting and reading more and more about the Catholic Social Teachings. While they may be familiar to many of you, I wanted to re-share them with you, as we set out early on in this school year to be a talking point with you and your children, and they form the basis of what we do here at St. Dominic:

• Life and Dignity of the Human Person – The Catholic Church proclaims that all human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
• Call to Family, Community, and Participation – Persons are sacred but also social. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened.
• Rights and Responsibilities – Every person has a fundamental right to life and to those things required for human dignity. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities to one another, to our families, and to society at large.
• Option for the Poor and Vulnerable – Catholic tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgement (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
• The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers – Work is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, the basic rights of workers must be respected.
• Solidarity – We are one human family, brothers and sisters created in the image of God, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences may be. The Gospel calls us to be people of love and peace.
• Care of God’s Creation – We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation in all forms.

These are the solid teachings of the Catholic Church and some may take issue with them. This is where we have the opportunity to evangelize by listening and having respectful discourse. There will be times when we do not agree but that does not give any of us the right to be rude, hostile, unkind, or whatever adjective fits. It is okay to respectfully disagree and this can foster a deeper understanding of one another.