Human Dignity: The foundation of all Catholic Social Teaching is the inherent dignity of every human person because everyone is created in God's image and likeness and therefore, valuable and worthy of respect. The Church calls for Integral Human Development, which concerns the wellbeing of each person in every facet of life including economic, political, social, ecological, and spiritual. The dignity of the individual demands justice: people should not make economic, social or environmental choices which cause disparities between people. The dignity of the person does not come from the work they do but from the people they are: each person is imprinted with God's image. When we deal with each other, we should do so with a sense of awe that arises from the presence of something holy and sacred. Subhuman living conditions, unlawful imprisonment, slavery, human trafficking, and poor working conditions poison human society and destroy human dignity. Human personhood must be respected with a reverence that is religious. Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31; Deuteronomy 10:17-19; Luke 10:25-37; Romans 12:9-18; 1 Corinthians 3:16

Humans are sacred and social: As human beings, we are both sacred and social people. Humans have a need to form relationships with others. Communities are formed over time and have an accumulated pool of significant shared memories and shared hopes. Christian life is profoundly social. It is communitarian. Christian spirituality, like Christian identity, emerges from relationships, of which community is a major, enduring and necessary form. Humans thrive in loving and caring community. Compassion is the key human ability that binds sacred, solitary beings into a community that works together to achieve their mutual flourishing and happiness. Human beings are accompanied on the path to fulfilment through the formation of human communities, encompassing how society is organised. Economy, law and policy directly affect human dignity and how individuals are able to grow and flourish within community. While it is very important to love our neighbour, we are also required to have a broader view of life and to take responsibility to contribute to the good of the whole of society, to contribute to the common good. Human dignity can only be realised and protected within society. We must love our neighbour, locally and globally, and prioritize the good of the human family over commercial interests. Becoming a Christian is a lifelong community project. The full power of a community requires intentionality. Membership of a Catholic Christian community involves partaking in the sacramental rites of initiation. Every community of Jesus Christ not only cares for its own but directs social energies beyond itself to the challenges of our larger life upon the earth. Communities endeavour to mediate the abundant gift of the Christ event.