His Contributions to Catholic Social Teaching
Pope Francis’ focus on economic, social, and ecological issues, along with his pastoral emphasis, significantly shaped Catholic Social Teaching demonstrating his commitment to fostering a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world.
Given the breadth and depth of his contributions, a comprehensive analysis will benefit from the perspective that time and reflection bring. With that in mind, let us review some of his major contributions.
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Pope Francis, 128
Key Themes
Building on the work of his predecessors, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis enriched Catholic social teaching with two encyclicals, (Laudato Si) and (Fratelli Tutti) – as well as two Apostolic Exhortations – (Evangelii Gaudium) and (Amoris Laetitia). Additionally, the Synod Report on the Family, and numerous addresses, homilies, and messages, reflect his influence.
Key themes in Pope Francis’ social teaching include:
Environmental Stewardship
Building on the efforts of Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis fully integrated environmental issues, both human and natural, into Catholic Social Teaching.
Preferential Option for the Poor
Pope Francis consistently advocated for an economy that serves people, not profits, emphasizing the Church’s commitment to the marginalized and advocating for social justice.
Human Dignity
Pope Francis consistently upheld Church teachings on the fundamental role of the family, the inherent worth of every individual, the significance of work, and the dignity of labor. He has also addressed changes in Church teaching on the death penalty and maintained the Church’s clear teachings on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, transgenderism, and LGBTQ+ matters.
Environmental Stewardship
Pope Francis’ concern for the natural environment was deeply rooted in Catholic theology and social teaching – particularly the understanding that care for creation is inseparable from care for humanity. He emphasized the intricate link between caring for the natural environment and the human environment.
“Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity.”
Laudato Si, 240
The Natural Environment
“Egoism and self-interest have turned creation…into an arena of competition and conflict.” (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation)
The earth “cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her”. (Laudato Si, 2)
“Too many of us act like tyrants with regard to creation.” (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation)
“The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” (Laudato Si, 21)
However…
“[A] true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice…so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
Laudato Si, 49
Pope Francis Connected the Environment with the Poor
Pope Francis emphasized that neglecting the environment directly impacts the poor, who are often the most vulnerable to environmental crises. This disregard perpetuates social injustice, as those with the least resources bear the heaviest burden of environmental degradation.
Therefore, caring for our common home is deeply connected to caring for one another and upholding human dignity.
“We are faced…with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” (Laudato Si, 139)
Ecology “is inseparable from the notion of the common good, a central and unifying principle of social ethics.” (Laudato Si, 156)
“Creation is made to connect us with God and to each other; it is God’s social network.” (To Participants in the “Euromoot”)
“[E]nvironmental problems cannot be separated from… how individuals relate to themselves.” (Laudato Si, 141)
“The neglect of creation and social injustices influence each other”. (To Participants of the Laudato Si Communities)
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“Unless we struggle with these deeper issues, I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results.” (Laudato Si, 160)
“The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone.” (Laudato Si, 95)
“There can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology.”
Laudato Si, 118
The Answer is an Integral Ecology
Pope Francis’ concern for the natural environment stems from his belief that caring for creation is inseparable from caring for humanity. For him, the health of the environment and the well-being of humanity are profoundly interconnected.
“There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.” (Laudato Si, 118)
“[E]nvironmental problems cannot be separated from… how individuals relate to themselves.” (Laudato Si, 141)
“[T]he relationship between human life and the moral law…is necessary for the creation of a more dignified environment.” (Laudato Si, 155)
“Acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father…thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation”. (Laudato Si, 155)
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“Pope Benedict spoke of ‘ecology of man’ based on the fact that ‘man too has a nature that he must respect and that he cannot manipulate at will.’” (Laudato Si, 155)
“The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations.” (Laudato Si, 66)
“Unless we struggle with these deeper issues, I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results.”
Laudato Si, 160
Pope Francis’ Call to Action
The Church’s commitment to the environment goes beyond theory — it calls for immediate and tangible action.
“The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations.” (Laudato Si, 66)
“Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.” (Laudato Si, 127)
“A spirituality which forgets God as all-powerful and Creator is not acceptable.” (Laudato Si, 76)
“Let us make an effort to change and to adopt more simple and respectful lifestyles!” (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation)
“Faith…by revealing the love of God the Creator, enables us to respect nature all the more, and to discern…a dwelling place entrusted to our protection and care.” (Lumen Fidei, 55)
“There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.”
Laudato Si, 118
Conclusion
Pope Francis’ environmental advocacy was deeply spiritual, ethical, and practical. It unites ecological care with social justice, calling on humanity to embrace a more sustainable and compassionate way of life. By addressing environmental challenges through this holistic perspective, he underscores that ecological care and social justice are inseparable—two sides of the same coin—both vital for the well-being of humanity and the planet.
Preferential Option for the Poor
Pope Francis emphasizes that true Christian love is demonstrated in concrete deeds. Love should lead to transformative encounters and works of mercy that reflect God’s grace.
“If we truly wish to encounter Christ, we have to touch his body in the suffering bodies of the poor”.
Message for the 1st World Day of the Poor, 3
Challenges of Modern Poverty
Today’s world faces widespread poverty in many forms—social, economic, and spiritual.
We must contend with three types of “destitution”. This poverty is much worse because it entails a situation “without faith, without support, without hope:” (Message for Lent, 2014, 2)
Material Poverty – which “affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity: those who lack basic rights and needs such as food, water, hygiene, work and the opportunity to develop and grow culturally”. (Message for Lent, 2014, 2)
Moral Poverty – “which consists in slavery to vice and sin“. (Message for Lent, 2014, 2)
Spiritual Poverty – “which we experience when we turn away from God and reject his love. If we think we don’t need God…we are headed for a fall. God alone can truly save and free us.” (Message for Lent, 2014, 2)
“Dear brothers and sisters, I encourage you to seek, in every poor person whom you encounter, his or her true needs, not to stop at their most obvious material needs”.(Message for the 3rd World Day of the Poor, 8)
What is Needed
A preferential option for the poor “demands before all else an appreciation of the immense dignity of the poor”. (Laudato Si, 158)
“Where the poor are concerned, it is not talk that matters; what matters is rolling up our sleeves and putting our faith into practice through a direct involvement, one that cannot be delegated.” (Message for the 6th World Day of the Poor, 7)
“We need to broaden our perspective…We need to grow in a solidarity which ‘would allow all peoples to become the artisans of their destiny’, since ‘every person is called to self-fulfillment.’” (Evangelium Gaudium, 190)
What Must I Do?
“Our duty is to continue to insist…that the human person and human dignity are not simply catchwords, but pillars for creating shared rules and structures”. (Address to Participants in the 38th Conference of FAO, 2)
“In order to help the poor…We cannot feel ‘alright’ when any member of the human family is left behind and in the shadows.” (Message for the 4th World Day of the Poor, 4)
“It must be reiterated that ‘the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others’”. (Evangelium Gaudium, 190)
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“In closeness to the poor, the Church comes to realize that she is one people…she includes everyone in a shared journey of salvation.” (Message for the 3rd World Day of the Poor, 6)
Pope Francis Taught Faith First
“For the Church, the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political or philosophical one.” (Evangelium Gaudium, 198)
“[T]here is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ.” (Message for Lent, 2014, 1)
“[T]he preferential option for the poor is implicit in the Christological faith in the God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty”. (Quoting Pope Benedict XVI in Evangelium Gaudium, 198)
Let us recognize that “[t]he poor evangelize us and help us each day to discover the beauty of the Gospel.” (Message for the 2nd World Day of the Poor, 10)
Bottom Line
“Our commitment does not consist exclusively of activities or programs…but above all an attentiveness that considers the other…as one with ourselves. This loving attentiveness is the beginning of a true concern for their person which inspires me effectively to seek their good”. (Evangelium Gaudium, 199)
The poor “have much to teach us….We are called to discover Christ in them…to be their friends, to listen to them, to understand them and to welcome the mysterious wisdom that God wants to communicate to us through them.” (Message for the 5th World Day of the Poor, 2)
“Almsgiving is occasional; mutual sharing, on the other hand, is enduring. The former risks gratifying those who perform it and can prove demeaning for those who receive it; the latter strengthens solidarity and lays the necessary foundations for achieving justice.” (Message for the 5th World Day of the Poor, 3)
Our “Common Home”
“There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.”
Laudato Si, 118
“Creation is made to connect us with God and to each other; it is God’s social network.” (To Participants in the “Euromoot”)
“Too many of us act like tyrants with regard to creation.” (2019 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation)
“The neglect of creation and social injustices influence each other”. (To Participants of the Laudato Si Communities)
“Let us make an effort to change and to adopt more simple and respectful lifestyles!” (2019 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation)
“A spirituality which forgets God as all-powerful and Creator is not acceptable.” (Laudato Si, 76)
“Faith…by revealing the love of God the Creator, enables us to respect nature all the more, and to discern…a dwelling place entrusted to our protection and care.” (Lumen Fidei, 55)
Read More
“The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations.” (Laudato Si, 66)
“Pope Benedict spoke of ‘ecology of man’ based on the fact that ‘man too has a nature that he must respect and that he cannot manipulate at will.’” (Laudato Si, 155)
Human ecology “is inseparable from the notion of the common good, a central and unifying principle of social ethics.” (Laudato Si, 156)
“[T]he relationship between human life and the moral law…is necessary for the creation of a more dignified environment.” (Pope Francis, 155)
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Pope Francis, 128
The Dignity of Work
“We were created with a vocation to work.”
Laudato Si, 128
“Work is a…path to growth, human development and personal fulfilment.” (Laudato Si, 128)
Jesus, by his life as a worker, “sanctified human labor and endowed it with a special significance”. (Laudato Si, 98)
“[T]here is no poverty worse than that which takes away work and the dignity of work”. (Fratelli Tutti, 162)
“We can aspire to a world that provides…work for all. This is the true path of peace”. (Fratelli Tutti, 127)
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“[T]he very thing which is most important about work: its meaning.” (Laudato Si, 237)
“Work gives us a sense of shared responsibility for the development of the world, and ultimately, for our life as a people.” (Fratelli Tutti, 162)
“Underlying every form of work is a concept of the relationship which we can and must have with what is other than ourselves.” (Pope Francis, 125)
“Jesus worked with his hands…It is striking that most of his life was dedicated to this task”. (Laudato Si, 98)
“The real, and potentially painful, questions will be, ‘How much love did I put into my work?'”. (Fratelli Tutti, 197)
The Importance of the Family
It is “the fundamental cell of society”.
Evangelii Gaudium, 66
Pope Francis viewed the family as so crucial that in his first year as Pope he initiated a global survey on the family and called for a Synod on the Pastoral Care of the Family, whose report is referenced here.
“The first setting in which faith enlightens the human city is the family.” (Lumen Fidei,46)
“Family relations contribute decisively to the sound building of human society”. (Synod Report to Pope Francis, 50)
“The authorities responsible for the common good must be seriously committed to the primary good of society, namely, the family.” (Synod Report to Pope Francis, 12)
“Marriage…transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple…it is not born ‘of loving sentiment, ephemeral by definition, but from the depth of the obligation assumed by the spouses who accept to enter a total communion of life’.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 66)
“[T]he Family begins with the creation of humanity in the image of God who is love and calls man and woman to love according to his likeness”. (Synod Report to Pope Francis, 35)
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Pope Francis, 128
More from Pope Francis
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FAQs
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A: “It is not for the Church to analyze scientifically the consequences that these changes may have on human society. But the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide the above-mentioned changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.” (Laborem Exercens, 1)
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A: “[T]echnology is undoubtedly man’s ally. It facilitates his work, perfects, accelerates and augments it. It leads to an increase in the quantity of things produced by work, and in many cases improves their quality.
However, it is also a fact that, in some instances, technology can cease to be man’s ally and become almost his enemy, as when the mechanization of work ‘supplants’ him, taking away all personal satisfaction and the incentive to creativity and responsibility, when it deprives many workers of their previous employment, or when, through exalting the machine, it reduces man to the status of its slave.” (Laborem Exercens, 5)
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A: “Christianity brought about a fundamental change of ideas in this field, taking the whole content of the Gospel message as its point of departure, especially the fact that the one who, while being God, became like us in all things devoted most of the years of his life on earth to manual work at the carpenter’s bench. This circumstance constitutes in itself the most eloquent ‘Gospel of work’, showing that the basis for determining the value of human work is not primarily the kind of work being done but the fact that the one who is doing it is a person. The sources of the dignity of work are to be sought primarily in the subjective dimension, not in the objective one.” (Laborem Exercens, 6)
Catholic Social Teaching and Other Issues
Why These Issues Matter
Catholic social teaching informs our consciences and requires action from us, the lay faithful. “Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation.
For Christians, the responsibility is even greater: it is a commandment.”
