林’s Reviews > DOCAT: CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FOR YOUTH > Status Update

Can I become active in a political party even if its positions do not always agree with those of Christian doctrine? Yes... That makes it all the more important for Catholics to collaborate responsibly so as to strengthen the right positions and make them capable for winning a majority.

What can I do so as not to be alone in my social commitment? ...In a small, friendly community, young Christians can strength one another in the faith. Together they can pray, seek God's will, form groups of people interested in learning more about their faith, become acquainted with Church teaching, and even spend their free time with each other.

Catholic social doctrine says: God's master plan for human coexistence is social charity. When we live in the sight of a personal God who willed us and has some purpose for us, then we are children of a common father, brothers and sisters to one another. Then gratitude, meaning, and responsibility determine our individual and common life. A culture of mutual respect comes about.

A Christian finds peace in and with himself through prayer and listening to the Word of God... Peace is the tranquility with order and, more deeply, happiness in God's order. This sort of peace is our goal. We find ourselves on the path of peace when we work in justice and love toward a world that is ordered as God intended.

People in the world should regard themselves as a community and accept certain differences between individuals and peoples, since this variety is to be seen as wealth.

God is the Creator of every single human being; therefore, he is the Father of all mankind. We human beings can regard each other as brothers and sisters who are connected with one another in one family. In a family, the members trust one another, are there for each other, and help each other. In the same way, the entire population of the world should feel connected with one another.

Is globalization fate? No, we should not think about globalization fatalistically. It is man-made and therefore can also be shaped by man according to moral standards.

The Church demands what is implied by the universal principles of religious freedom: freedom of expression and teaching, freedom of public worship and organisational freedom, freedom to appoint her own officials, freedom to construct houses of worship, the right to own private property and also to associate for various educational, cultural, medical, and charitable purposes.

First a person finds himself and his dignity in his relationship to God, then he achieves fulfilment in relation to his fellowmen. These two dimensions are closely interconnected.

A human being is both an individual and a social being. He lives in a threefold circle of relationships: 1) to himself, 2) to his fellow human beings, and 3) to God. Man is the measure and object of politics.