The Catholic Church has a rich tradition of examining society through the framework of Christ's love and our responsibility as Christians to live out that love. Through the centuries, seven themes have been consistently reiterated by our popes, councils, and bishops as necessary guidelines for Catholics thinking about the fabric of society:

1. The Life and Dignity of the Human Person

The Church has always taught that human life is sacred, from the moment of conception until natural death. The natural corollary is that the human person has intrinsic dignity, and that actions, events, and circumstances which violate that dignity are immoral and must be stopped or changed. Abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, unjust wars, the oppression of minority populations, and political or economic systems which treat human beings as no more than a means to an end are all contrary to the Church's moral vision of society, at the center of which is the integrity of the human person.

2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation

The Church also recognizes that human beings are social creatures, and live in interdependence with one another. The sacred bond of marriage is the central unifying force of the family, as the family is the central unifying force of society, and these bonds must be supported, not undermined. But families are not isolated units; we all participate in larger communities, social, economic, and political, in which we have a responsibility to participate with the same love, trust, and selfless care for others that unites the family.

3. Rights and Responsibilities

The Church's teaching on human dignity means that every human has an intrinsic right to life and a right to the necessary elements of human decency, rights which cannot be forfeited or taken away. And the Church's teaching on community means that every human also has a responsibility to ensure that those rights are being protected in every relationship and interaction with one another, in the family, and in the larger society.

4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

The Church's basic test for how well we fulfill our responsibilities toward one another is to see how well the most vulnerable members in a society are treated, especially women and children. Societies with wide gaps between their rich and poor, with large minority populations in poverty, or with few resources available to the elderly, the sick, and the homeless, are unjust societies, and the example of Christ calls us to put the poor and vulnerable at the center of our concern.

5. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

From the very beginning the Church has taught that labor and engagement in economic activity is one of the most important foundations of human dignity. But work is also much more than economic activity: like family, it is a means of participation in the creative work of God himself. Everybody has the right to productive work, just wages, organization, private property, and economic initiative. Work where these rights are ignored is exploitation, which robs people of their dignity and creates division in society.

6. Solidarity

The natural result of all of the above principles is the ethos of solidarity. As one human family, imbued with the same rights and dignity, with responsibilities toward one another and a special care for the vulnerable among us, we cannot and must not ignore injustice, poverty, hardship, war, or disease wherever it occurs. To live in solidarity with those who do not share our resources, our protections, or our luxuries is to practice the imitation of Christ in the most fundamental way possible. The Church calls us to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters at all times, not only when it is convenient or when the mood strikes.

7. Care for God's Creation

Finally, the Church recognizes that just as families live in the context of a larger society, the human family lives in the context of a larger creation, one towards which we have a special responsibility of stewardship and protection. Christians and all people of good will must work to avert the suffering of animals, the destruction of natural habitats and ecological systems, disproportionate exploitation of natural resources, and the acceleration of global environmental crisis.

Many of these principles are directly contrary to entrenched behaviors, ideas, and institutions at work in our society today, from the legal standardization of abortion to the economic exploitation of immigrants. Too often these issues are seen through the lens of partisan rhetoric or political ideologies, all of which fail to grasp the totality and coherence of the Church's vision of a just and moral society. Christ and his Church call us to a higher truth of love and solidarity, without which salvation itself is impossible (Matthew 25:31-46).