“[T]hose oppressed by poverty are the object of ​a preferential love​ on the part of the Church which, since her origin…has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation” (CCC, 2448)

It's misunderstood primarily because of the inability to differentiate between the “twofold character of ownership”: (Pope Pius XI) As Pope Leo XIII made clear: “The right of property is distinct from its use.”

The “common good” is a critical concept and – an aspirational result: “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily”. (CCC, 1906)

This principle of subsidiarity is crucial to fully understanding Catholic social teaching and, while we may have heard the term “subsidiarity” before, we really need to understand what it means.

Catholic social teaching seeks to apply the essence of Christian moral principles to life in society. It is not an economic or political program, but it offers a powerful way of thinking about what the common good requires.

“Do not expect peace in society without seeking the common good.” “More than a tinge of urgency can be detected…in Pope Francis’ comments on business and economics in his Exhortation, ‘Evangelii Gaudium.'”