Social Spirituality

Social Spirituality

Catholic Social Teaching

What is Catholic Social Teaching?

Learn about this rich tradition of thought and action for social justice. We offer a simple overview and suggest five ways to get to know the tradition better.

Key Principles

Find out about the most important principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We introduce Catholic thinking about the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.

Sources of Catholic Social Teaching

Explore the sources that inform and guide the development of Catholic Social Teaching. Scripture, tradition, reason and experience all play a part.

Major Documents

Find out about the most important international teaching documents. We provide a list of all the social encyclicals of the modern period with brief introductions and links to the full text. We also offer reflections and resources.

Tips for Reading the Documents

How do you go about making sense of these documents with Latin names? We offer a handy list of dos and don'ts to help you find your way.

Asia Pacific Teachings

Local Bishops and Bishops Conferences share in the responsibility to teach about social justice too. We provide links to teachings from around the Asia Pacific region.

Themes & Issues


An Option for the Poor

Find out more about how a preferential love for the poor and marginalised guides Catholic thinking and action for social justice.

Migrants & Refugees

Catholic teaching defending the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other people on the move.

Social Sin & Structures of Sin

Find out what Catholic Social Teaching means by social sin and structures of sin - and how they are related to personal and communal responsibility for injustice.

Indigenous Peoples

The rights of Indigenous peoples are human rights. Learn about Catholic Social Teaching on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Integral Ecology

Ecology goes beyond care for the natural environment. It embraces the vast network of relationships between all that is.

Civil Society & the State

Political authority exists to serve people and communities by organizing and promoting the common good.

Latest News

World Environment Day – 5 June
World Environment Day has been Celebrated Since 1972 Did you know that World Environment Day has been celebrated since 1972? In that year the United Nations convened the first major international conference on environmental issues. Because the Conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden, it became known as the Stockholm Conference. Pope Paul VI was...

Populorum Progressio 50 Years On
Populorum Progressio turns fifty! Fifty years after Blessed Paul VI issued Populorum Progressio, Pope Francis has created a Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. As our introduction to Populorum Progressio explains, it was this encyclical that first introduced the language of integral human development into Catholic Social Teaching. Pope Francis’ action shows that this...

We Have to Talk About Climate Change – Cardinal Ribat
Cardinal John Ribat says that climate change is an urgent issue for the people of Papua New Guinea, and the whole of the Pacific. Cardinal Ribat drove his point home saying that the issue is a more urgent than discussing Amoris Laetitia. While there will be time to talk about Church teaching on family...

Inspirational CST Quotes

About Us

Socially engaged
spirituality online

Purpose

The Social Spirituality project promotes socially engaged spirituality via social media. It shares spirituality and social ethics, contemplation and action, at the service of a faith that does justice.

Meaning

Spirituality is not just a personal thing. It touches our intergroup or social relationships too. We use the expression social spirituality to draw attention to a spirituality that sustains and guides action for social transformation.

Focus

We meet God in people, places and things, and in events. Spirituality and ethics meet in our response to concrete social issues. That is why the project focuses in a special way on the unique encounter with God in the Asia Pacific context. It especially explores how Catholic Social Teaching is understood and expressed in Asia Pacific today.