Catholic Ethic for Agriculture,
the Environment, Food, and the Land
For 75 years, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC) has applied Catholic Social Teaching to rural life. The Catholic Church has a long and rich heritage of developed reflection, an ethic which relates Catholic teaching to rural communities and the environment. That profound tradition has been developed over the ages .
When developing economic, social and environmental policies for rural communities, the following can be used as principles for reflection, criteria for judgment, and directives for action. These principles are drawn from the Gospel, papal encyclicals, statements of bishops, Catechism of the Catholic Church, and NCRLC publications.
Principle of Human Dignity: Human beings are created in the image of God. Any diminishment of that dignity violates Catholic conviction. Any reduction of the human self to a commodity or a cog in a machine violates that dignity. Humans are called to "rise to full stature."
Principle of Subsidiarity: Human dignity requires that persons and communities should exercise responsible self-governance. No higher community should strip a person or local community of its capacity to see, judge, and act on its own behalf without serious and good reason. Local control and democratic participation are supported by the principle of subsidiarity.
Principle of Solidarity: Solidarity carries individuals and communities beyond narrow selfishness to care for their neighbors, their regions, and the world beyond their borders. Corporate and personal responsibility requires going beyond self-interest or private advantage.
Principle of Universal Destination of Goods: The earth is the Lord's and has been created for the well-being of all. Greed, excess profits, control by a few of goods meant for the many are contrary to God's desire that creation is for the good of all. Excessive profits violate the divine intention.
Principle of the Common Good: The common good encourages individuals and communities to act on behalf of the good of all. Where the common good is ignored, social, economic, personal, ecological disharmonies grow.
Principle of the Integrity of Creation: The web of life is one. Creation has an integrity that has an inherent value beyond its usefulness to human beings. Humans are to be responsible stewards of creation in that they work in harmony with God as co-creators.
Principle of the Option for the Poor: The option for the poor includes threatened land, nature, or people. A fundamental moral measure of any society, economy, or ecology asks how the poor and vulnerable are faring.
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