Do we really need the social teachings of the Church? Is this a necessity specifically for Catholics, or is it a universal necessity? Why does the Church claim some form of expertise in secular matters like the economy, technology, and similar fields? Shouldn't the Church focus on what is intrinsically within its domain and leave secular matters to the experts?
a. The church suffers from four mental problems (imo).
b. The only purpose of the church is to continue the work of Christ.
c. The specific vocation of the laity is to continue the work of Christ in the world.
d. The laity are not the lowest rank in the hierarchy of the church.
e. The laity should integrate their faith and life.
f. God wants societies to develop.
g. The church has a social mission because God is love.
h. Social development is tied to the Kingdom of God.
i. Believing in heaven empowers us to work for social development.
j. We need to see and judge the signs of the times.
k. The church continuously updates her CST.
l. Implementing CST is evangelizing.
m. The church suffers and rejoices with the world.
n. The church must permeate society with the gospel.
o. The church has the right and duty to evangelize.
p. The expertise of the church is humanity, not technical matters.
q. The church cannot integrate faith and life without CST.
Human and social development lies at the core of the Church's concerns, as is clearly evident from its continuous body of teachings. This is crucial for the necessary dialogue between the Church and the world, since both are concerned with social development. Just as the Church has the duty to interpret the signs of the times, the dialogue must be reciprocal, and it cannot succeed without the secular world's openness to listen to what the Church has to say.
In this dialogue, the Church fulfills her utmost duty of evangelization. Without the Church's social action, its evangelizing efforts would amount to mere lip service. Conversely, without genuine evangelization, the Church's social action would be no different from that of an NGO.
Too often, members of the Church are polarized between 'justice warriors' and those focused solely on devotion. The latter neglects the Church's social teachings and their application; the former reduces the Church's concerns to social action, undermining all other activities.
The Church cannot be torn apart by her social teachings. The Kingdom of God is a gift that cannot be attained solely through social activity; yet, it permeates every human dimension, including the social, which is intrinsically human. Social issues are not divorced from the Kingdom of God.
However, the Church's concern for social matters is being neglected both inside and outside the Church. Externally, anything that is not specialized, technical knowledge tends to be dismissed. As we become overwhelmed with information, our understanding, especially of fundamental questions, diminishes under the weight of expert knowledge.
Internally, laypersons often fail to grasp the urgency of the Church's social concerns, due to a divide between faith and life. This issue is compounded by a general lack of concern among both laity and clergy to address the root of this divide.
As the Church and its members continue to address the social problems of the world, they must not neglect the 'plank in their own eye', losing sight of internal issues that prevent them from being the true salt of the earth and light of the world."