Four Principles

As Catholics, we are called to participate in political life. ¹ But what should this participation look like? What types of policies should we support, defend, or oppose? Even narrowing the scope to education policy, there is a vast array of issues including, but not limited to, school choice, public school funding, testing requirements, curriculum requirements, exceptional student education, student transportation, athletics, higher education, preschool education, charter schools, testing accountability, district governance, school safety, and state scholarship program funding. These issues each contain a plethora of sub-issues, statutory structures, and countless potential policy solutions, which in turn include changes to, or the wholesale creation of, state statutes and administrative regulations.

So, when approaching policy issues, how do we as Catholics determine the optimal path forward? Not every course of action is morally acceptable, and we have a responsibility to carefully discern which public policies are morally sound.²

Thankfully, Catholic Social Teaching provides four basic principles rooted in the Gospels and Church teaching to help us evaluate various policy positions: (1) the dignity of the human person (2) the common good (3) subsidiarity; and (4) solidarity.³ These principles provide a consistent moral framework for Catholic engagement in political life and are fundamental ethical principles common to all people.⁴ As Catholics, we have a duty to apply these principles when we participate in political life.

The dignity of the human person is the preeminent principle of the four because each and every person is made in the image and likeness of God who sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world for the redemption of all.⁵ Human rights are based on this inherent dignity and are thus “universal, inviolable, and inalienable.”⁶ The right to an education and to educational opportunities that allow a person to reach his or her full potential is derived from this principle of human dignity.

The common good is the sum total of social conditions which allow people, as groups or individuals, to flourish and reach their fulfillment more fully and easily.⁷ However, the common good is not merely socio-economic well-being; it also has a transcendent aspect. The common good is meant to help people reach their ultimate end, which is the right relationship with God as God’s beloved son or daughter. At both an individual and communal level, people are brought to this fulfillment through Jesus Christ.⁸ Therefore, the common good promotes the well-being and fundamental rights of all through the just distribution of created goods such that an individual can more easily reach his or her ultimate fulfillment in God.

Subsidiarity is the proper ordering of political governance within society. Policy programs should be implemented at the appropriate level of government. It is “an injustice, a grave evil, and a disturbance of right order” to assign to a higher level of government, political power that is proper to a lower level of government.⁹ This isn’t necessarily a repudiation of any and all “big government” programs. Instead, it is a principle that reminds us of the need to

discern the level at which political power is most appropriate for promoting a particular policy issue in accord with the common good. It is important to remember that the initiative, freedom, and responsibility of smaller essential cells of society must not be restricted by the state.¹⁰

Solidarity is a firm and persevering determination to commit to the common good.¹¹ In solidarity, we commit ourselves to the good of our neighbor with readiness to lose ourselves for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him or her, and to serve our neighbor instead of manipulating him or her for our own advantage.¹² Jesus provides the ultimate example of solidarity.¹³ Through Jesus, our neighbor is not just a human being with his or her own rights and a fundamental equality with others but instead is “the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit.”¹⁴ This is why solidarity is intimately linked to the common good. Through solidarity we support, and walk with, others in relationship as we journey towards God. It is a commitment that should be linked to every aspect of our participation in any policy issue.

Through the moral framework of these four principles, we are able to properly evaluate various policy positions. In the next blog post, we will take a look at how these principles can be applied to the issue of school choice and how a key Vatican II document can aid in our assessment.

1 Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, no. 13 (“In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation . . . The obligation to participate in political life is rooted in our baptismal commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to bear Christian witness in all we do.”).
2 Id at no. 20.
3 Id at no. 5.
4 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church no. 160.
5 Id.
6 Id at 153.
7 Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1906.
8 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church no. 167.
9 Id at no. 186.
10 Id.
11 Id at no. 193.
12 Id.
13 Id at no. 196.
14 Id.

Mike Barrett is the FCCB associate for education. Follow him on Twitter @fccb_education.

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