About CCHD and Catholic Social Teaching
The work of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, governed by the principles of Catholic social teaching, calls for men and women to participate in the formation of their own destinies. Catholic social teaching has the power to inspire people to strive for justice, strengthen them in holding prophetic visions in their homes, communities and society and to mobilize effective action as a means of bringing about positive social change.
Since the 19th century with Pope Leo XIII's social encyclical Rerum Novarum, the Catholic Church has placed great significance on analyzing the human condition in light of the Gospel message. Our Church has called us to effective action rooted in the Word of God, leading communities to more fully seek the presence of Christ among us.
In 1971, on the 80th anniversary of the first social encyclical, Pope Paul VI spoke, "It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to crying injustices and utter prophetic denunciations; these words will lack real weight unless they are accompanied ... by effective action."
The themes of CST serve to enlighten people on the values and principles at the heart of the social doctrine. Through prayer, reflection and action, Catholics are challenged to address the issues of poverty and injustice in their communities.
Life & Dignity of the Human Person
"In the Catholic social vision, the human person is central, the clearest reflection of God among us. Each person possesses a basic dignity that comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment, not from race, gender, age or economic status. The test of every institution or policy is whether it enhances or threatens human life and human dignity."
-- Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Social Teaching
"The dignity of the human person is a transcendent value, always recognized as such by those who sincerely search for the truth ... Every person, created in the image and likeness of God and therefore radically oriented towards the Creator, is constantly in relationship with those possessed of the same dignity. To promote the good of the individual is thus to serve the common good, which is that point where rights and duties converge and reinforce one another"
-- Pope John Paul II
1999 World Day for Peace Message, no 2
Each person, made in the image and likeness of God, is a unique and complex expression of the Divine Creator and is worthy of respect. The practice of discrimination denies the inherent dignity of each person and disrupts the civil order. CCHD seeks to transform society through the education process and community-based grant programs, which strive to remove the humanly constructed barriers caused by class discrimination, racism and sexism. In working to unite people and break the cycles of injustice, CCHD reminds us that we are one human family.
Call to Family, Community & Participation
"The human person is not only sacred, but social. We realize our dignity and rights in relationship with others, in community. ... The family has major contributions to make in addressing questions of social justice. It is where we learn and act on our values ... We also have the right and responsibility to participate in and contribute to the broader communities in society. ... A central test of political, legal, and economic institutions is what they do to the people, what they do for people, and how people participate in them"
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Social Teaching
"It is the duty of the laity -- without idly waiting for norms and precepts from others -- by their free planning and initiative to permeate not only [people's] customs and mentality, but also the laws and structures of the civil community with a Christian sense of life."
-- Pope Paul VI
On the Development of Peoples, no 81
Meeting of Richmonders Involved in Strengthening our Communities, a CCHD funded groupPeople are by nature both sacred and social, and it is within the community that they are most fully and authentically human. The principle of participation is a result of the human's inherent impulse to form community. Therefore, poverty's consequences are more extended than a lack of material wealth, impeding the ability of persons to influence decisions impacting their lives. The U.S. bishops concluded in Economic Justice for All, "that the most appropriate and fundamental solutions to poverty will be those that enable people to take control of their own lives" (no. 188)
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development was founded on the principle that groups of people could achieve greater results when working in collaboration. From the beginning of CCHD in 1970, funds have been used to help organize groups of poor people develop economic strength and political influence in their communities. By the start of the 21st century, CCHD has awarded grants totaling more than $250 million to approximately 3,500 associates of poor and low-income people who have united to participate more actively in the affairs that affect their lives.
Rights & Responsibilities of the Human Person
"Flowing from our God-given dignity, each person has basic rights and responsibilities ... People have a fundamental right to life and to those things that make life truly human: food, clothing, housing, health care, education, security, social services, and employment. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities -- to one another, to our families, and to the larger society, to respect the rights of others and to work for the common good."
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Social Teaching
"Every fundamental human right draws its indestructible moral force from the natural law, which in granting it imposes a corresponding obligation. Those, therefore who claim their own rights, yet altogether forget or neglect to carry out their respective duties, are people who build with one hand and destroy with the other."
-- Pope John XXIII
Peace on Earth
Ruth Wise of New Road Community Development
Group giving a talk at a Journey to Justice retreat to the Eastern ShoreAt the heart of Catholic social teaching is the call of believers to ensure a place for all humanity at the table of the family of God. Men and women must be sensitive to the needs of their brothers and sisters, particularly those living in poverty. By virtue of each person's humanness, individuals possess fundamental rights and responsibilities -- both to himself or herself and for the common good. Many CCHD funded projects are community organizations with multi-issue agendas. In their efforts to address the struggles of the impoverished, members of CCHD funded groups develop diverse skills and relationships to more fully participate in their communities. Through empowerment and commitment, men and women embrace the responsibility called on by the Church to, "contribute according to their ability to the true progress of their community" (Gadium et Spes, no. 65)
Option For and With the Poor and Vulnerable
"Poor and vulnerable people have a special place in Catholic social teaching. A basic moral test of a society is how its most vulnerable members are faring. This is not a new insight; it is the lesson of the parable of the Last Judgment (Mt. 25). Our tradition calls us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our sisters and brothers, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response."
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Social Teaching, 6-7
"Love of preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care and, above all, those without hope of a better future."
-- John Paul II
On Social Concern, no. 42
In calling for a fundamental '"option for the poor" the Church is aligning with the Gospel message in which Christ called all people to love and provide for one another. While Jesus walked this earth, He preached and worked primarily among the poor, outcast, and dejected. So great was the love of Christ for the poor of the world that he granted that anytime a person feeds, clothes or shelters another, that person is in fact serving the Son of God. This understanding of Christ's relationship with the poor is fundamental in understanding the Church's challenge to be on the side of the poor.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development serves as the US bishops' initiative "to eradicate conditions which impose poverty and trap generation after generation in an agonizing cycle of dependency and despair" (Resolution on the Campaign for Human Development). In funding groups that strive to work for and benefit those in the margins, CCHD seeks to affirm the need of the whole church to be on the side of the poor.
Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
"Work is more than a way to make a living; it is an expression of our dignity and a form of continuing participation in God's creation. People have the right to decent and productive work, to decent and fair wages, to private property and economic initiative. Workers have the strong support of the Church in forming and joining union and worker associations of their choosing in the exercise of their dignity and rights."
--United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Teaching, 6
The sacredness of human work is founded in the viewpoint that work, whether manual or intellectual, is related to people's participation in God's plan for salvation. Pope John Paul II introduced the phrase 'the spirituality of work' in relation to this principle. Catholic social teaching contributes a moral voice to issues surrounding economic justice including wages, working conditions, relation between employees and employers, the rights of workers to form unions and the duty of workers to develop their skills.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development seeks to more fully realize the dignity of work and rights of workers in providing support for organized groups of poor people to develop economic strength in their communities. In responding to the unique economic needs articulated by community groups throughout the nation, CCHD supports the diverse and changing needs of workers.
Solidarity
"We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers (Gn. 4:9). In a linked and limited world, our responsibilities to one another cross national and other boundaries. Violence conflict and the denial of dignity and the rights to people anywhere on the globe diminish each of us. This emerging theme of solidarity, so strongly articulated by Pope John Paul II, expresses the course of the Church's concern for world peace, global development, environment, and international human rights. It is the contemporary expression of the traditional Catholic image of the Mystical Body"
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Social Teaching, 7
"The ultimate injustice is for a person or group to be treated actively or abandoned passively as if they were nonmembers of the human race."
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Economic Justice for All, no 77
The pervasive presence of racism in the United States was a major obstacle to launching the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in 1970 and 38 years later, it is still an evil existing in our society. Racism perpetuates the belief that some human beings are inherently superior to others and therefore is a sin that intentionally denies God's plan of salvation for all of humanity. One expectation for CCHD is that through educational programs and organizing grants, communities deepen their understanding of the complex dynamics between groups and the perception of new and promising approaches that promote "a greater spirit of solidarity" (Resolution Against Poverty, 1969). In seeking commonality among diverse groups, men and women strive for justice on issues and values that they share as members of a human family.
Care for God's Creation
"Our efforts to ... serve the poor and vulnerable must be accompanied by concrete efforts to address the causes of human suffering and injustice ... We are called to transform our hearts and our social structures, to renew the face of the earth ... We cannot celebrate a faith we do not practice. We cannot proclaim a gospel we do not live"
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
A Century of Teaching, 8, 9
"The whole human race suffers as a result of environmental blight, and generations yet unborn will bear the cost for our failure to act today. But ... it is the poor and the powerless who most directly bear the burden of current environmental carelessness. Their lands and neighborhoods are more likely to be polluted or to host toxic waste dumps, their water to be undrinkable, their children to be harmed. Too often, the structure of sacrifice involved in environmental remedies seems to exact a high price from the poor and from workers."
-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Renewing the Earth: An Invitation to Reflection & Action on Environmental in Light of Catholic Social Teaching (1992), 2
Diocesan Director, Michael Stone overlooks the damage accrued due to mountain top removal in southwestern VirginiaIn his encyclical On Social Concern, Pope John Paul II connects poverty with the environment, relating respect for the environment to the development of people and the preferential option for and with the poor. Studies on the state of environmental justice in the United States indicate poverty and race as significant predictors of those who bear disproportionate burdens of environmental degradation. Catholic social teaching challenges men and women to consider the environmental destruction brought about by components of our public policies and private practices. Not only do these factors affect the terrain and wildlife, they affect the vulnerable residential communities and the safety of industrial workers.
Through collaborative work with community-based organizations, state Catholic conferences and groups advocating for environmental justice, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has a history of striving to attain common good in the environmental arena. This work; however, presents serious challenges. In recognizing the connection between poverty and environmental injustice, CCHD funds initiatives that work toward caring for God's people as well as God's creation.
Book Credit: Principles, Prophecies and a Pastoral Response: An Overview of Modern Catholic Social Teaching, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops