The Common Good Articles

The Work for Peace and Development

Following his predecessors, Pope Leo XIV says “It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace”.

Who is My Neighbor?
Our neighbors do not solely include our family, close friends, or those who live next door. ALL are our neighbors. …
What is a Union and What does the Church Teach?
The right to form unions is firmly rooted in Catholic social teaching — with even their historical antecedents confirmed. However, there are conditions.…
Tariffs and the Common Good
The Catholic Church does not address tariffs in detail. She recognizes both the benefits of free trade and the right of nations to regulate their…
Gun Control and Self-Defense
The Catholic Church does not have an official, comprehensive teaching on gun control, but she does on issues like human dignity, the common good and…
Democracy Quotes that Will Make You Think
Democracy is “the most effective historical instrument for ensuring its own future in a way befitting to human beings.” (Pope Benedict XVI)…
Social Justice Quotes
Social justice “upholds the fundamental human right to a dignified life”. (Pope Francis)…
Death Penalty Pros and Cons
Legitimate state authority has the right and the duty to protect the common good. However...…
10 Reasons Culture is in Crisis
Genuine freedom is not simply the ability to do whatever you want; it is the ability to choose the good.…
Pope Francis Quotes on War and Peace
“Peace is not a document which gets signed and then filed away. Peace is built day by day!”…
Justice Quotes from the Church
“Justice is the primary way of charity”. (Pope Benedict XVI, 60)…
Universal Healthcare pros and cons
Health, is “a universal right which means that access to healthcare services cannot be a privilege.” - Pope Francis…
A man alone at night representing alienation, workaholics, and despair.
Pornography, Addiction, and the Common Good
Perhaps the most potentially debilitating addiction is to pornography because it "represents a serious threat to society as a whole." (Pope St. John Paul II,…
Catholics must participate in politics because politics is charity.
A Divided Government and the Political Divide
“Catholic politicians and legislators...must...introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 231)…
The Ukraine War and the International Work for Peace
While U.S. Catholics are separated by thousands of miles, culture, and the night and day difference of war vs. peace, we must remember these Ukrainians…
Anna Maria is president of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation and a thought leader in economics and the role of women entrepreneurship.
Women Nurturing Sustainable Development
I would like to thank the President of AIDDA, Laura Frati Gucci, for inviting me to the 58th FCEM World Congress in this conference entitled…
International Peace
Following his predecessors, Pope Leo XIV says “It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace".…
Waving flags at the capitol representing government, politics, democracy, and state responsibilities.
Human Rights on Which the State Must be Ordered
The sole reason for the existence of governments is to promote the Common Good.…
Factory workers represrnting dignified work, economics, and integral development.
What is Integral Development?
“Authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension”. (Pope Benedict XVI)…
A cargo ship at port representing goods, economies, trade, and globalization.
The Problems of Globalization
Capitalism has proven to be the greatest poverty relief program the world has ever known, but Pope Francis echoes that there this is no reason…
The Common Good is a Result, not a Principle
The “common good” is a critical concept and – an aspirational result: “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or…

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