4.2-Foundation-of-the-Social-Teachings-of-the-Church-Grade-11.pptx

Every person is created in the image and likeness of God. As His image, the human person is the clearest reflection of God among all creatures.
•The book of Genesis is one of the sources for Christian understanding of the very nature of the human person. Also, it gives a profound meaning and purpose of what it means to be human for he or she has a special place in God’s creation.

1. THE FOUNDATION OF THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH Community spirit is characterized by communal work toward one goal exemplified in Filipino bayanihan or damayan system.

2. The Dignity of the Human Person The inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching. Every person is created in the image and likeness of God. As His image, the human person is the clearest reflection of God among all creatures.   The book of Genesis is one of the sources for Christian understanding of the very nature of the human person. Also, it gives a profound meaning and purpose of what it means to be human for he or she has a special place in God’s creation.

3. The Dignity of the Human Person The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” Man occupies a unique place in creation: he is “in the image of God”; in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; he is created “male and female”; and God established him in his friendship

4. The Dignity of the Human Person Being created in the image of God, the human person has the capacity to know and love the Creator and is called to share in God’s own divine life. The human person is not just something; he or she is someone for he or she possesses dignity. He or she has the capacity to look deeply into oneself, and fully give and enter into relationship with God and with others.

5. The Dignity of the Human Person Both man and woman were given the vocation to be stewards of creation, to care, nurture the earth, and share the bounty of creation with other creatures. The human person possesses dignity that makes him or her worthy of respect. The dignity of a person is inherent, inviolable, and inalienable. Inherent refers to an essential characteristic that is naturally associated with a person or thing. Inviolable means that it cannot be violated or disturbed, and inalienable means that it cannot be transferred or taken away. Hence, our dignity is part of us and it should be treated as something sacred.

6. The Dignity of the Human Person This characteristic of human dignity was affi rmed by CFC 683. This “sense of the dignity of the human person has been impressing itself, more and more, deeply on the consciousness of contemporary man” (DH 1). “The inviolable dignity of every human person... is the most precious possession of an individual, [whose] value comes not from what a person ‘has’ as much as from what a person ‘is’” (CL 37). “Hence the pivotal point of our total presentation will be the human person, whole and entire, body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will” (GS 3). But just who or what is the human person according to reason and Christian faith?

7. Human Dignity and Solidarity Part of the dignity of the human person is the capacity to share, love, and enter into a relationship. As we relate with others we become more aware of who we are. As a philosopher once said, “the other is a mirror to us.” This human capacity was affirmed by CFC by saying, “Persons are open and relational by nature. No man is an island; we grow into our full selves as persons only in relating to others.”

8. Human Dignity and Solidarity We Filipinos are outstanding in this regard, it is said that “Filipinos are never alone.” We realize that being a person means being by others (our conception, birth, upbringing), being with others (our family, friends, neighbors, business associates), and being for others (love, service). This is how we have been created by God— as social beings. This is how we have been redeemed by Christ—as a people. This is how the Holy Spirit works not only within but among us as the people of God, journeying toward our common destiny in God

9. Human Dignity and Solidarity Each person, no matter how poor and uneducated, is gifted with an inalienable dignity as an image of God, a child of God, redeemed by Christ, and entrusted with an eternal destiny. For this very reason, PCP II stresses that any “situation such as the concentration of economic wealth and political power in the hands of the few is an af f ront to human dignity and solidarity. It runs counter to the truth that all human beings and not just a few are the source, the center, and the purpose of all socio-economic life. Human dignity and solidarity are fundamental values from which our development as a people must proceed.

10. Human Dignity and Subsidiarity The principle of subsidiarity is among the most constant and characteristic directives of the Church’s social doctrine and has been present since the first great social encyclical. It is impossible to promote the dignity of the person without showing concern for the family, groups, associations, and local territorial realities; in short, for that aggregate of economic, social, cultural, sports-oriented, recreational, professional, and political expressions to which people spontaneously give life and which make it possible for them to achieve effective social growth.

11. Human Dignity and Subsidiarity This is the realm of civil society, understood as the sum of the relationships between individuals and intermediate social groupings, which are the first relationships to arise and which come about thanks to “the creative subjectivity of the citizen.” This network of relationships strengthens the social fabric and constitutes the basis of a true community of persons, making possible the recognition of higher forms of social activity.

12. Human Dignity and Subsidiarity This principle of subsidiarity gives us the idea that problems should be solved at the smallest and most intimate level possible. While the government has the responsibility of promoting the common good, the problems should be dealt fi rst by those who are closely concerned. This is based on the principle that respects the autonomy and dignity of each person. Thus, all other forms of society should be at the service of the human person.

13. Human Dignity and Subsidiarity Subsidiarity considered the characteristic of human persons as social beings. It points out the importance of the family, the church, labor unions, and other voluntary associations in mediating whenever problems arise. These groups, assembly, or associations empower one’s action and relate the individual to society as a whole.

14. Human Dignity and Subsidiarity Hence, subsidiarity respects personal dignity by recognizing in the person as subject who is always capable of giving something to others. By considering reciprocity as the heart of what it is to be a human being, subsidiarity is the most effective antidote against any form of all-encompassing welfare state. “It is the task of the state to provide for the defense and preservation of common goods such as the natural and human environments, which cannot be safeguarded simply by market forces. ”

15. Human Dignity and Subsidiarity “ Just as in the time of primitive capitalism the state had the duty of defending the basic rights of workers, so now, with the new capitalism, the state and all of society have the duty of defending those collective goods which, among others, constitute the essential framework for the legitimate pursuit of personal goals on the part of each individual.”