Catholic Social Doctrine
The
Catholic Social Doctrine forms the basis for contributions of the German
Commission for Justice and Peace to design development, peace and human rights
policies in Germany.
Pope John
XXIII in his encyclical Pacem in Terris
in 1963 already demanded to recognize the signs of the times and to find
courageous answers in the light of faith which are inspired by the principles
and teachings of the Catholic social doctrine. The members of the German
Commission for Justice and Peace and the institutions they represent as for
example aid agencies or social welfare organisations also promote the Catholic social
doctrine in their own way.
The
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church published in 2004 provides
a systematic overview of the core elements of the Catholic social doctrine. It refers
to the major social encyclical letters and documents of the Second Vatican
Council. The Compendium is presented as an instrument for moral discernment, an
inspiration to social commitment and an incentive for dialogue. It addresses
not only faithful Christians, but all people of good will.
The
Austrian Commission for Justice and Peace has set up a German-language archive about
the Catholic social doctrine.
In Germany
the Central Agency for Catholic Social Sciences (Katholische
Sozialwissenschaftliche Zentralstelle - KSZ) is devoted to the networking and
interdisciplinary cooperation in the field of Christian social ethics and
related social sciences. It cooperates with the Community of Christian Social
Ethics in the German-speaking countries (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der christlichen
Sozialethiker/innen im deutschsprachigen Raum).
Ordo
Socialis, an Association for the Promotion of Christian Social Teaching, with
its publications (provided in many languages) wants to offer help for
evaluating the current socio-political developments in different countries in
the light of the Catholic social doctrine and to encourage to participate in the
shaping of the respective communities. The website is available in five
languages (German, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese).
Members of the Commission
Deutschsprachiges Archiv zurKatholischen Solziallehre
Compendium of the Social Doctrine
Katholische Sozialwissenschaftliche Zentralstelle
Ordo Socialis