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The U.S. Bishops' Statement Barack Obama's Blueprint for Change Obama and Catholic Social Teaching Life and Dignity of the Human Person Call to Family, Community and Participation Rights and Responsibilities Option for the Poor and Vulnerable Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers Solidarity Care for God's Creation The Catholic Vote (Including Endorsements) Flyers, etc. Obama's Statements on Faith Virtual Reading Room Miscellaneous Links EN ESPANOL

Catholic Social Teaching: A Primer The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops describes Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as "wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society." This Church doctrine has its roots in Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum ("Of New Things"), released in 1891. The seven principles of CST, according to the U.S. Bishops and other Catholic authorities, are Life and Dignity of the Human Person Call to Family, Community, and Participation Rights and Responsibilities Option for the Poor and Vulnerable The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers Solidarity Care for God's Creation We believe Senator Obama's campaign and platform align best with CST. The Los Angeles Times published a piece in March 2008 on Catholic Social Teaching in the context of the 2008 elections (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-rutten1mar01,1,1169690.column). A highlight: "Now, the typical Catholic probably doesn't know an encyclical from an insecticide, but this sort of social thinking and preoccupation with social solidarity and a 'preferential option for the poor' are woven into the fabric of even casual parish life. It's this background that has tended to make Catholics swing voters: uncomfortable with the sort of litmus-test left that once kept Pennsylvania's pro-life Democratic governor, Bob Casey, from speaking at a national convention, as well as the talk-show right that assumes opposition to abortion means approving the war in Iraq." There are two natural paths for further reading from here. The first leads to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, whose Office of Social Justice happens to host the most through website on CST (http://www.osjspm.org/catholic_social_teaching.aspx). For those who are becoming well versed in CST and its importance to voting as a faithful Catholic, we've put together pages on each of the seven principles, showing how Barack Obama's platform aligns with them. See the links above or in the menu on the left. Contact us.    Register to vote. This website is not affiliated with the campaign of Barack Obama or with the Roman Catholic Church.