USCCB - Catholic Teaching on Economic Life

“[Y]ou who are the future and hope of humanity- trust in a love that is true, faithful and strong; a love that generates peace and joy; a love that binds people together . . . I invite you [young people] to carefully study the social doctrine of the Church. . . so that you will be able to offer your contribution to the building up of the ‘civilisation of love’.”
- Pope Benedict XVI, World Youth Day 2007

Greetings Young Adults! We’re happy you’re visiting this page because it means you’re interested in using your passion and energy to help our society respond to the economic crisis in ways that reflect our Catholic commitment to the poorest and most vulnerable.

This page contains ideas for how you can learn about Catholic teaching on economic life and then use your gifts, skills, and leadership to ensure that our society implements policies in response to the crisis that are reflective of the values of our faith.

Learn

Have a Coffee House Night. Plan a Theology on Tap session or Coffee House night that focuses on the economic crisis. Invite a speaker from a local organization to talk about how the crisis is impacting people in your community, or have someone give an overview of the Church’s teaching on economic justice. In place of a speaker, small groups could read the stories in the “Who is Affected by Economic Issues?” section of this website. After listening to the speaker or reading the stories, use “A Catholic Framework for Economic Life” Discussion Questions in small groups.
Form a Faithsharing Group on Church Teaching on Economic Life. Form a small group to study and discuss the Vatican and USCCB statements on economic life found in the Catholic Teaching section of this webpage.
Learn about an Economic Issue and Teach Others. Pick an economic issue that you don’t know much about and find out more by reading the backgrounders on those topics. Then engage in an effort to teach others in your parish community or on campus about what you’ve learned.

Pray

Have an Economic Justice Prayer Service. Use the ten principles from “A Catholic Framework for Economic Life” as the basis for a prayer service. After reading each principle, say a prayer for people affected.
Pray the Rosary , a Novena , or the Way of the Cross , for Economic Justice. As an individual or in a group, lift up special intentions for economic justice during one of these traditional prayers.

Act

Volunteer and Reflect. Spend an afternoon in solidarity with those who have been impacted by the economic crisis by spending some time serving at a homeless shelter or food pantry. If you have an opportunity to interact with those being served, engage in a dialogue about how they have been affected by the economic crisis. After serving, take some time to reflect on Church teaching on the issues affecting those you served. Use the Catholic Teaching section of this webpage to reflect on your experience in the light of your faith and to consider what types of long-term solutions are needed to address the root causes of these issues.
Advocacy. Visit the Justice, Peace and Human Development action page to support federal legislation on issues related to economic issues. Join with a community organization that is working to promote economic justice for the poor. For example, attend an event, sign a petition, or write a letter to support increasing the minimum wage or funding for affordable housing in your community.
Use Facebook to educate others. Encourage friends to consider the faith perspective on the economic crisis by linking to the USCCB Economic Justice page on your Facebook profile.
Engage your entire parish community. Young adults are leaders in many parishes and campus ministries. Use some of the ideas listed in the section of this website for parishes to help others in your community become involved.