Living Our Faith

Catholic Social Teaching and Charity Work

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is the Church's response to the social, economic, and political challenges of our time. Rooted in Scripture and the life of Jesus Christ, CST calls us to live out our faith through action, promoting justice, peace, and the dignity of every person.

At the heart of CST are key principles that guide our actions:

• Dignity of the Human Person: Every person is created in God's image and deserves respect and protection.

• Common Good: We are all responsible for creating a society where everyone can thrive.

• Solidarity: We stand together, especially with the poor and vulnerable, as one human family.

• Option for the Poor: A preferential love for those who are most in need.

• Participation: Everyone has the right to take part in decisions affecting their lives.

• Stewardship: Caring for God's creation and using resources responsibly.

• Subsidiarity: Decisions should be made at the most local level possible, empowering communities.

These principles inspire us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Through CST, we learn that our faith is not just about belief but about living out the Gospel in our daily lives, serving others, and working towards a more just and compassionate world.
 

During our second Catholic Social Teaching Week (w/c 2nd February 2026), pupils explored how we are called to live out our faith by promoting peace, respecting human dignity and caring for one another. Inspired by the Church’s teaching from Pope Leo XIII his successors, children learned that our faith calls us to take responsibility for the poor and vulnerable, to work for justice, and to build the common good in our world.

Through CAFOD’s principles of Catholic Social Teaching, pupils reflected on human dignity, the common good, participation, stewardship of God’s creation, promoting peace, distributive justice and subsidiarity, and considered how these guide our choices.

Children linked this learning to the wider world by thinking about global injustice and conflict, and to our national and local community by identifying simple, practical ways they can make a difference in school, at home and in our neighbourhood.

Through prayer, reflection and creative responses, pupils showed a growing understanding that they are called to be peacemakers and active agents of change, following Jesus’ example of love in action.

In 2024-25 each class chose a principle to promote within the school.  We had our first focus week and celebrated this with a whole school assembly at the end of the week.