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In partnership with Solidarity Philippines, De La
Salle Professional Schools Graduate School of Business’ (DLSPS-GSB)
Campus Ministry Office and the Center for Social Responsibility and
Human Development recently held a Lenten Reflection on the Common
Good in Catholic Social Teaching with Fr. Pedro Penaranda, CICM as
resource speaker. The event was meant to contribute to a meaningful
season of Lent for the school’s constituents.
At the heart of Catholic Social
Teachings are the permanent principles of the Church’s social
doctrines. These are the principles of the dignity of the human
person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.
“Common good” is defined as
the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as
groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and
more easily.
The conflict between capital and
labor during the Industrial Revolution awakened the Church to become
involved and intervene in a new way in social matters. It examined
the condition of industrial laborers who were treated as mere
objects of capital and were treated cruelly. Catholic doctrine on
human work, based on the principle of the dignity of the human
person founded in the messages of the sacred scripture, proclaims
that the human person is created in the image and likeness of God.
The human individual possesses
dignity and is capable of self-knowledge, self-possession, and
freedom. However, each man also lives in relationship with his
fellowmen. Jesus’ commandment “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself” shows that every man has an obligation to tend to the
needs of others. We must recognize everyone as our own brother or
sister, especially the poor and the suffering, and prioritize the
attainment of the common good as our primary goal.
But one may point out that it is
also our human nature to respond to our own needs. This, together
with pride and selfishness, make us focus on our own individual
needs and to dominate others. However, God did not create man to
live by himself. He has to live in communion with others in order to
grow and to realize his life’s vocation. The Church, therefore,
encourages us to form relationships of solidarity, communication,
and cooperation in the attainment of the common good. This can be
done by working with various Church groups, student groups in
educational institutions and other voluntary associations that
promote the principle of the common good and want to correct social
injustices.
The education sector may include
the Social Doctrines of the Church in their curriculum. For one, the
DLSPS-GSB offers an elective class in faith-based management where
Catholic Social Teachings are used as basis for management decisions
and corporate strategy.
There may also be a problem when
people reflect on the wrong definition of the “common good.”
Some people define it in the utilitarian point of view of achieving
the greatest good for the greatest number. However, Catholic Social
Teachings dictates that the common good considers the good of all
and of each individual, especially the poor and the marginalized.
The bottom line is that each person has intrinsic dignity, which
cannot be taken for granted purportedly for the sake of the good of
society in general.
The attainment of the common good
involves all members of the society. A society that wishes and
intends to remain at the service of the human being at every level
is a society that has the common good, the goal of all people and of
the whole person—as its primary goal. Therefore if moral
development of a person can be achieved through doing what is good,
society can also attain its full meaning when it brings the common
good as its primary goal. This means that every member of society
vows their commitment to peace and justice, the protection of the
environment, and to make sure that essential services, such as food,
housing, work, and education are distributed to all.
The author is the student
affairs coordinator of the De La Salle Professional Schools Ramon V.
del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business. She welcomes comments
at khristine.ignacio@dlsps.edu.ph.
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