Gaudium et Spes

Anthropology: The Unique Nature and Value of Human Beings (see sections 12-22)

Subtopics include:

1. Humans are created in "the image of God" and thus have "dignity" (see sections 12-19)

• able to exist in communication with God
• social/relational- i.e. like God, who is three divine persons (see sections 12, 24, 32)
• intelligent/rational
• spiritual/have souls
• dominion over the earth
• moral/have a conscience (the "voice of God" within us)
• free will (not controlled by internal impulses or external pressures)

2. Humanity as "fallen": The image of God corrupted

• the inherited "inclination" towards evil/sin
• disruption of relationships with self, world, other humans, and God
• suffering and death
• corrupted, but still God's image and thus having dignity

3. Humanity as revealed and restored through Jesus (see sections 22, 38, 41)

• the incarnate Son of God reveals what it means to be truly and fully human
• the incarnate Son of God restores human nature in himself and imparts this to us through his Spirit and through his Church

Defining our Social Context: The "modern" world (see sections 4-10,53-56)

Subtopics include:

• Science and technology
• Industrialization
• Globalization
• Atheism and its growth (see also sections 19-21)
• Ongoing inequalities and conflicts in the world

Applied Social Ethics: Five Areas of "Special Urgency" in the Promotion of the Common Good (see sections 46-93)

Subtopics include:

1. Marriage/Family (see sections 47-52)

• corruptive influences upon marriage (e.g. divorce, polygamy)
• God as the author of marriage
• love and marriage
• children/procreation and marriage
• roles within marriage and family life

2. Human cultures and their proper development (see sections 53-62)

• universal human culture and local cultures
• freedom and the role of public authorities
• promoting the cultivation of the whole person and the good of all persons
• the arts and human flourishing
• the sciences and their autonomy

3. Socio-economic Life (see sections 63-72)

• economics and seeking the common good
• dignity and the value of work/labor
• distribution of goods
• workers' rights and Unions
• private and public property
• eminent domain/expropriation

4. Politics/Government (see sections 73-76)

• the political community and the promotion of the common good
• freedom and pluralism
• democracy and voting for the common good
• balancing "authority" and "freedom"
• patriotism
• the relationship between Church and State

5. International relations (see sections 77-93)

• building peace
• just defense
• conscientious objection
• rules of warfare
• arms races
• international organizations
• ecumenism/collaboration among Christians in promoting peace

Social Ethics: Human Dignity and the Pursuit of the "Common Good" (see sections 23-45)

Subtopics include:

1. The promotion of the common good (general themes) (see sections 23-29)

• increasing social interdependence in the modern world
• conflict management and respect for differences
• eradicating discrimination/treating all others as "another self"
• Human rights
• Justice and equality on all levels
• preserving life

2. The role of the church in promoting the common good (see sections 40-45)

• human dignity as the basis for the relationship between the church and the world
• the church and the protection of human dignity
• the specific tasks of laity and clergy in the secular world
• mutuality between the church and the world