Our mission is to affirm and protect the inherent dignity of each person as a beloved child of God through the following means:
- Educating parishioners on Catholic social teaching.
- Promulgating the prayerful study of Catholic social teaching as a primary tool in the forming of our Catholic conscience and identity.
- Advising on ways of organizing, advocating, and working for social change that are consistent with human dignity and the social teaching of the Church.
- Identifying threats to human dignity facing our parish, diocese, and the Church.
- Evangelizing by being Salt and Light to our community through Catholic ministries of social change and social witness during a time of increasing agnostic/atheistic secularization of society.
If you are interested in Catholic social teaching (CST), please consider joining our committee. Contact Bishop Sanchez or Fr. Passenant in person, by phone (718-268-6251); email them at rectory@olqmchurch.org; or join us in the rectory during one of the committee meetings.
In every issue of our church bulletin on page 3, you’ll find a Weekly Reflection from Catholic Social Teaching. Also, watch and listen for news in the church bulletin and in the parochial announcements about future committee meetings.
Primary Resources for Catholic Social Teaching
The foundational documents for Catholic social teaching are based on Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Magisterium. These documents are available at the Vatican site and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) site using the links below. (You can also download this entire Catholic Social Teaching Committee list of references as a pdf document.)
Bible
The New American Bible revised edition (NABRE) is the one used in the liturgy.
The New American Bible (Vatican website)
Books of the Bible (USCCB)
Vatican Documents
Documents of the Second Vatican Council (sixteen major documents)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church (flip book, requires Flash)
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
This is a summary of the Catechism. Pope Benedict XVI described the Compendium as “a faithful and sure synthesis of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
This adaptation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is presented to Catholics of the United States by the USCCB.
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (for all papal encyclicals and documents post compendium, go to the Holy See)
Recommended Reading: Persecuted and Forgotten? — a report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a Pontifical Foundation — has statistics on Christians around the globe oppressed for their faith.
We also encourage you to study the reflections on Religious Freedom.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is an assembly of the Catholic Church hierarchy of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
USCCB Catholic Social Teaching
This comprehensive overview of Catholic social teaching is a good place to start. It is a rich resource, with numerous PDF’s, group guides, lesson plans, and multimedia files.
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching
This webpage has the Summary Report of the Task Force on Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Education.
Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish
“This statement offers a basic resource for pastors, parish leaders, and all Catholics seeking to strengthen the social ministry of their local community. The bishops’ reflection represents neither major new teaching nor a new national program. Rather, it brings together the principles of our social teaching and local pastoral experience in a framework for vibrant Catholic communities.” (USCCB webpage)
Recommended Videos
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have produced a series of three- to four-minute videos with simple, concise explanations of the principles of Catholic social teaching (CST). Watch the CST 101 Videos.