Church Documents

Open Wide our Hearts, the Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter against racism.

This pastoral letter against racism the US Catholic bishops call on fellow clergy and all Catholics to help change racist attitudes and acts to conform to the moral order established by God, in which men and women of all races are honored as brothers and

Encyclical Letter Laudato Si of the Holy Father Francis On Care for Our Common Home

"We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature."

Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1986.

"Our faith calls us to measure this economy not only by what it produces, but also by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person. Economic decisions have human consequences and moral content; they help or hurt people, strengthen or weaken family life, advance or diminish the quality of justice in our land."
(No. 1)

Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), Pope Benedict XVI, 2009.

"The Church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that 'a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized.'" (no. 15). Pope Benedict XVI, 20

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1997

"As Catholics we are called to take concrete measures to overcome the misunder-standing, ignorance, competition, and fear that stand in the way of genuinely welcoming the stranger in our midst and enjoying the communion that is our destiny as Children of God."
(A Call to Communion)

Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship

Pope Francis’s prophetic new encyclical speaks directly into the lives of men and women today! This greatly welcomed encyclical is a beautiful reflection on humanity’s path forward to a deeply desired and sought-after peace. Pope Francis addresses his renewed call to universal fraternity “to all people of good will, regardless of their religious convictions.”

Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated persons, and the Lay Faithful on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today's World

"We have created a “throw away” culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”.

Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1994.

"The parish is where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. They are where the gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth. Parishes are the home of the Christian community; they are the heart of our Church. Parishes are the place where God's people meet Jesus in word and sacrament and come in touch with the source of the Church's life." (Introduction)

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
U.S Catholic Bishops, 2020.

“As Catholics, we bring the richness of our faith to the public square. We draw from both faith and reason as we seek to affirm the dignity of the human person and the common good of all. With renewed hope, we, the Catholic Bishops of the United States, are re-issuing Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, our teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics, which provides guidance for all who seek to exercise their rights and duties as citizens.” (Introduction)

Strangers No Longer: Together on a Journey of Hope, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc. and Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano, 2003.

"We judge ourselves as a community of faith by the way we treat the most vulnerable among us. The treatment of migrants challenges the consciences of elected officials, policymakers, enforcement officers, residents of border communities, and providers of legal aid and social services, many of whom share our Catholic faith."
(No. 6)