The Church's social teaching shines the light of our faith on the issues and problems facing our communities and world. All Catholics—lay and ordained—are invited to witness to Catholic social teaching in their daily lives and in their communities.  In this section, read and be inspired by the words of Church leaders, and access materials and resources for sharing Catholic social teaching with others.

Catholic Social Teaching 101

This seven-part video series by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services explains each of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching.
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Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of today’s world.  These resources identify some of the key themes that can help us.
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Foundations of Catholic Social Teaching

The roots of Catholic social teaching are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's special love for those who are poor and vulnerable, and in the life and words of Jesus Christ. Popes, councils, and bishops’ conferences developed this teaching over time. The writings in this section are foundational to our social tradition as disciples of Jesus.
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Catholic Social Teaching Learning Activities

Here are some fun, engaging activities to go deeper in exploring Catholic social teaching.
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Reflections on Catholic Social Teaching

This section includes reflections to inspire and challenge us as we strive to be beacons of God’s light and love in our communities.
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Jubilee Year of Mercy

During the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which began on December 8, 2015, Pope Francis invites us to encounter Jesus, who is the face of the Father’s mercy, and to “live and testify” to his mercy, especially towards those who are poor and vulnerable (Misericordiae Vultus).
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Resources on Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home

In Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis calls us to join with others to address environmental challenges that face our planet and the people who live on it.  Reflect on—and respond to—Pope Francis’ words with these resources and materials.
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Children's Coloring Pages

These children’s coloring pages from Catholic Relief Services focus on caring for creation, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, one human family, and loving our neighbors.
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Creating on the Margins Contest

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Creating on the Margins Contest is a tool to engage young people in grades 7-12 in learning about poverty in the U.S., its root causes, and faith-inspired efforts to address poverty, especially through CCHD.
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Once we become aware of issues that impact our families, neighborhoods, and brothers and sisters around the world, we are called to dig deeper to understand the root causes of these issues, and what solutions are needed to solve them. Explore this section to get the facts about challenges affecting our local and global communities.

Learn About U.S. Poverty

The PovertyUSA.org and PobrezaUSA.org websites sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development have facts and figures about poverty in the U.S. featured on an Interactive Poverty Map, a Poverty Tour video and Snapshots of Poverty to help us understand the challenges of trying to live at the Poverty Line, and Stories of Hope about how communities are addressing poverty’s root causes.  Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Learn About Global Poverty

Learn about and respond to the issues that impact our brothers and sisters globally, such as hunger and nutrition, international assistance, conflict and peace, and natural resources.  ConfrontGlobalPoverty.org features stories, videos, webcasts, and action alerts. Catholics Confront Global Poverty is a joint initiative of the U.S. bishops and Catholic Relief Services.
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Learning Activities on Poverty

Use these activities with a variety of audiences to explore poverty in the U.S. and globally.
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Ongoing Learning

Learning is an ongoing process and a lifelong journey. Tap into these resources for awareness, growth and transformation as we strive to be communities of salt and light in the world.
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Having learned about and reflected on issues in the light of our faith, we are now ready to discern how we are called to respond. Spiritual and theological reflection, social analysis, and imagination are all part of this discernment process. Materials in this section can help with this important step of discernment.

A Process for Group Discernment

We’ve prayed and reflected on the Gospel call to do justice. We’ve reached out to encounter others.  We’ve gained new understanding of an issue and studied it in the light of Catholic social teaching. Now what? This process can help us discern how God is now calling us to act together.
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Two Feet of Love in Action: Which is Your Weaker Foot?

There are two distinct, but complementary, ways we can respond to the Gospel call to put love in action: social justice (addressing systemic, root causes of problems that affect many people) and charitable works (short-term, emergency assistance for individuals).  Engaging this model and the accompanying activities can help you determine which “foot” is weaker for your faith community and provide ideas for strengthening the weaker foot.
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Doing Social Analysis

Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis presents the reflection-action process to examine issues from a faith perspective, including worksheets that can accompany each step of the process.
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