Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part Three › Section One › Chapter Two · Article 1 (§§1878–1896)
Paragraphs · 19
The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.
I. The Communal Character of the Human Vocation
- §1878 — All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the union of the divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love.vatican.va
- §1879 — The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature. Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation.vatican.va
- §1880 — A society is a group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. As an assembly that is at once visible and spiritual, a society endures through time: it gathers up the past and prepares for the future.vatican.va
- §1881 — Each community is defined by its purpose and consequently obeys specific rules; but "the human person . . is and ought to be the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions."vatican.va
- §1882 — Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the nature of man; they are necessary to him. To promote the participation of the greatest number in the life of a society, the creation of voluntary associations and institutions must be…vatican.va
- §1883 — Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. the teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which "a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community…vatican.va
- §1884 — God has not willed to reserve to himself all exercise of power. He entrusts to every creature the functions it is capable of performing, according to the capacities of its own nature.vatican.va
- §1885 — The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention. It aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies.vatican.va
II. Conversion and Society
- §1886 — Society is essential to the fulfillment of the human vocation. To attain this aim, respect must be accorded to the just hierarchy of values, which "subordinates physical and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones:"vatican.va
- §1887 — The inversion of means and ends, which results in giving the value of ultimate end to what is only a means for attaining it, or in viewing persons as mere means to that end, engenders unjust structures which "make Christian conduct in keeping with the commandments of the divine Law-giver difficult and almost impossible."vatican.va
- §1888 — It is necessary, then, to appeal to the spiritual and moral capacities of the human person and to the permanent need for his inner conversion, so as to obtain social changes that will really serve him.vatican.va
- §1889 — Without the help of grace, men would not know how "to discern the often narrow path between the cowardice which gives in to evil, and the violence which under the illusion of fighting evil only makes it worse."vatican.va
In Brief
- §1890 — There is a certain resemblance between the union of the divine persons and the fraternity that men ought to establish among themselves.vatican.va
- §1891 — The human person needs life in society in order to develop in accordance with his nature. Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the nature of man.vatican.va
- §1892 — "The human person . . is and ought to be the principle, the subject, and the object of every social organization" (GS 25 # 1).vatican.va
- §1893 — Widespread participation in voluntary associations and institutions is to be encouraged.vatican.va
- §1894 — In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, neither the state nor any larger society should substitute itself for the initiative and responsibility of individuals and intermediary bodies.vatican.va
- §1895 — Society ought to promote the exercise of virtue, not obstruct it. It should be animated by a just hierarchy of values.vatican.va
- §1896 — Where sin has perverted the social climate, it is necessary to call for the conversion of hearts and appeal to the grace of God. Charity urges just reforms.vatican.va