Social doctrine today

The Second Vatican Council taught in word and deed that the Catholic Church must always read and respond to “the signs of the times”. The new Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the first such digest in the history of the Church, is an attempt to do just that.

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, defines social doctrine as involving “responsibility regarding the construction, organisation and functioning of society: political, economic and administrative duties, or duties of a secular nature that belong to the lay faithful in a particular way because of the secular nature of their state of life and vocation. By means of this responsibility, the laity put social doctrine into practice and fulfill the Church’s secular mission.”

Thus, over 331 pages of the English version, the compendium covers all the pressing social issues facing society today, from globalisation to homosexual marriage.

The Justice and Peace Council, which authored the digest, points out that the compendium should not be seen as a catechism. Though much of the teaching covered (such as on abortion or the Church’s preferential option for the poor) will not be up for review, the council has maintained a flexibility that leaves room for future debate and modification as times may require.

After all, just a decade or so ago, when the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published, the Internet was yet a nascent phenomenon, globalisation had not accelerated to the present extent, biotechnology was yet to discover advances such as stem cell research or the genetic modification of agricultural products (the latter is not even addressed yet in this initial edition of the compendium).

While the Catechism formally encompasses the perpetual fullness of the magisterium, the compendium provides systematic guidance on how to live out and propagate the social dimensions of the Church’s teachings.

Cardinal Martino described the compendium’s purpose as a tool “for the moral and pastoral discernment of the complex events that mark our time; a guide to inspire, at the individual and community levels, attitudes and choices that will permit all people to look to the future with greater trust and hope; an aid for the faithful concerning the Church’s teaching in the area of social morality.”

In other words, the cardinal hopes that Catholics will actively use the social doctrine compendium in their engagement with and in public life, not just consult it as a reference work to make a point.

This is an important distinction. There is little benefit in simply citing the reference number of a Church teaching in the Catechism without being able to explain the reasons for the Church’s position.

The content of the compendium will not please everybody on every point. Supporters of the death penalty will find little cause to commend the compendium’s view that capital punishment is ineffectual. Others may question whether the entry on the legalisation of homosexual unions is adequately nuanced.

Pope John Paul called for such a digest five years ago in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America, when he wrote: “It would be very useful to have a compendium of approved synthesis of Catholic social doctrine which would show the connection between it and the New Evangelisation.”

No doubt many Catholics will find the compendium not just useful, but indispensable.