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Catholic Social Teaching

Dignity of the Human Person

God made each of us, so every life is important and should be protected.

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.         Jeremiah 1:5

‘Catholic social teaching believes that human beings, created in the image and likeness of God. This means that God is present in each and every one of us, regardless of race, origin, sex, orientation, culture, or economic standing. Catholic Social Teaching emphasises that we must see within each other a reflection of God and we must honour and respect this dignity as a divine gift.

What we do at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School :

  • We ‘live’ our School’s Vision
  • We welcome those who have had to leave their country due to war
  • We celebrate special days
  • We teach about other faiths
  • We pray for those in need
  • We celebrate different nationalities and cultures
  • We teach Gospel values

Solidarity and the Common Good

God made everyone, so we are all brothers and sisters in God’s family wherever we live.

You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to them what is theirs. Saint Ambrose (340-397)

“Pursuit of the common good is one of the ways in which Catholics practice solidarity: the common good is not just shared with those nearest to us, or even with all those in our own society; it is a universal principle, which fosters the unity of the whole human family.” (Catechism of The Catholic Church-CCC, paragraph 1911) In practising it, Catholics are called to have particular care for the weak and vulnerable, because they are our neighbours in a pre-eminent way.  (Luke 10: 25-37).

What we do at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School:

  • We support CAFOD and charities such as the parish ‘Soup Run’
  • We organise charity events e.g ‘One Colour’ for house charities
  • We donate to St James’ Priory at Harvest Festival time
  • We pray for our community at every Mass
  • We write to politicians and leaders
  • We host a World Café to celebrate the rich cultural diversity within our school community.

 

https://stjosephsaldershot.org/hants/primary/st-josephs/arenas/websitecontent/web/optionforthepoor_20221013120735592.jpg?width=640&height=480&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZEOption for the Poor and vulnerable

God wants us to help people who are poor, don’t have enough food, a safe place to live and don’t belong to a community.

‘You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to them what is theirs.’   St Ambrose

The option for the poor reminds us of God’s preferential love for the poorest and most vulnerable people. God’s love is universal; he does not side with oppressors but loves the humble.

What we do at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School:

  • We try to ‘Make a difference’ to everyone in need
  • Give to Charity – including the Homeless
  • Pray for those in need
  • Organise ‘Theme’ days to raise awareness and money
  • We do not judge others
  • Monitor all children to ensure they have the same opportunities
  • Offer support to vulnerable parents/families
  • Everyone is welcome

The Dignity of Work

Work is important in God’s plan and their families, so jobs and pay should be fair.

All work has dignity because it reflects God’s image in us.

Catholic Social Teaching holds that work is dignified and an intrinsic good, and workers must always be respected and valued.

Work must be undertaken responsibly, and labour treated well, this includes how we approach the work we do, what it is we do with our work and how employers treat their employees. Jesus speaks a lot about work, while much of this is in parables, we shouldn’t restrict interpretations of these parables to be only spiritual ones.

What we do at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

  • Thank staff and show our appreciation
  • Be polite and attentive to special guests and visitors
  • Say each other’s names when we greet each other
  • Supporting staff through training
  • Encourage past pupils to return for work experience
  • Support staff members going through challenging times through prayer and actions
  • Treat everyone in our school as family
  • Invite visitors to speak about careers

 

Stewardship

God created our wonderful world. We should take care of all creation.

Who turned the underworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries, bereft of colour and life?

Respect for human life means respecting all of God’s creation. We must re-engage with our environment and take responsibility for it; live sustainably, live so that there are enough resources for everyone.

‘Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.’ Pope Francis

What we do at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School:

  • We try to recycle as much as we can at school and home
  • We have volunteer days to improve the school grounds
  • We have a Forest Schools sessions
  • We help one another
  • We put litter in the bin.
  • We work with the parish on their Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti initiatives, including protecting the environment
  • We are an ‘Active School’ and participate  in Travel Tracker and other initiatives, which have gained us our Modeshift Bronze accreditation.

 

Family and Community

God made us to be part of communities, families and countries, so all people can share and help each other.

Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord  your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:12

The human person is not only sacred but social. Every person has a right to work to support themselves and their families as well as building up of the common good of all. 

What we do at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School:

  • We are all one big family and we look after each other and care for each other
  • We support not only our children, but our families
  • We have close links with our Parish and share Masses
  • We help in our local community  through charitable action
  • We work closely with families with special support provided by our Family Link Worker

                                                   

Rights and Responsibilities

God wants us to help make sure everyone is safe and healthy and can have a good life.

Let every person be subject to their governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Romans 13:1

Every person has a fundamental right to life. It is this right that makes all other rights possible. Everyone has the right to food, health care, housing, education and employment. We all need to strive to protect these rights for others both locally and globally.

At St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School we:

  • Try to make the right choices
  • Try to make sure that we don’t take more than our fair share
  • Help those who do not have food to eat and homes to live in
  • Share what we have with others 
  • Discuss our rights and responsibilities.

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