Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: While the common good embraces all people, those most in need deserve preferential concern. A basic test for society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor and vulnerable should be highest priority for all in society. All public policy decisions should be examined for how they affect the poor. The option for the poor means that one of the first questions asked when decisions are being made is 'How will this affect the poor'? The option for the poor is an essential part of society's effort to achieve the common good and the common good can only be achieved if the needs of the poor and those on the margins of society are considered. God's love is universal, so this principle does not intend that we should focus on the poor to the exclusion of others, but rather that we are called to prioritize those who are in most need of our solidarity. The option for the poor includes all who are marginalised: people with disabilities, the elderly, the terminally ill, victims of injustice and oppression. The needs of the poor take priority over the desires of the rich; the rights of workers over the maximization of profits; the preservation of the environment over uncontrolled industrial expansion; the production to meet social needs over production for military purposes' (Economic Justice for All, #94). Scripture: Exodus 22:20-26; Leviticus 19:9-10; Isaiah 58:5-7; Luke 6: 20-23; I John 3:17-18