Catholic Social Teaching originates from a place of love. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that the most important things any human can do are to love God and to love their neighbour. Catholic Social Teaching helps us to do both of these things in tangible and impactful ways.
Catholic Social Teaching helps the universal Church, all believers united through membership of the Body of Christ, look for ways to embody ‘love your neighbour’. Whilst there are many different principles, depending on where you look, the primary four which the Church refers to are solidarity, common good, subsidiarity and human dignity.
In addition to the four established principles, our school also considers the call to care for our common home, stewardship, to be a crucial principle. We have incorporated stewardship into our community through our work with the Common Good Schools programme for example conducting local conservation work, litter picking and recycling crisp packets to repurpose them as blankets to help homeless people in Leeds.
The virtues and Catholic Social Teaching are not isolated buzz words but are integral elements which complement one another. The virtues help to put the principles of Catholic Social Teaching into action. For example, by utilising the virtue of hope this allows us to look forward to a world where the common good is established. Pupils are encouraged to develop their understanding, awareness and practice of the virtues through a plethora of activities within school and documented through fortnightly Personal Development Passport reflections in form time.
Within Religious Education lessons pupils will reflect on at least two selected principles of Catholic Social Teaching in each of the units they study. By doing this through discussion and discernment pupils can help to appreciate their place in the world and how they can contribute to it. This process helps them to become the people God calls them to be.
