"The following seven major themes form the core of Catholic social teaching over the last century and flesh out the call to evaluate every economic policy by what it does for people and to people, and how it allows people to do for themselves (participate in society).
"1. Dignity of the Human Person: All people are sacred, made in the image and likeness of God. People do not lose dignity because of disability, poverty, age, lack of success, or race. People who are homeless or addicted are as important to God as physicians and world leaders. This emphasizes people over things, being over having.
"2. Community and the Common Good: The human person is both sacred and social. We realize our dignity and rights in relationship with others, in community. We are one body; when one suffers, we all suffer. We are called to respect all of God's gifts of creation, to be good stewards of the earth and each other.
"3. Rights and Responsibilities: People have a fundamental right to life, food, shelter, health care, education, and employment. If this means they must immigrate to secure these rights, they are entitled to do so. All people have a right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities to respect the rights of others in the wider society and to work for the common good.
"4. Option for the Poor: The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor.
"5. Dignity of Work: People have a right to decent and productive work, fair wages, private property, and economic initiative. The economy exists to serve people, not the other way around.
"6. Solidarity: We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic, and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice. In the economic arena as in other areas of life, competition must be complemented with cooperation.
"7. Subsidiarity: Catholic thought sees society as made up of a dense network of relations among individuals, families, churches, neighborhood associations, business firms, labor unions, and different levels of government. Thus, every level of society has a role to play in ensuring basic human rights and the common good."
