Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

HANDOUT B
A Just Hierarchy of Values
Part I
Directions:
Read the essay, then answer the question that follows.
Since no one in society can do everything
at once, and no one has infinite resources,
individuals and governments must make
choices about which values to spend time and
resources on. Therefore, a just society and
government must have the correct priorities.
(To prioritize something means to give it
greater importance, or have it come before
other things.)
Just as some sins are more serious than
others, some values are more important
than others. The greatest example of this is
human life. Life is the most important value.
Without the right to life, no other rights are
possible. Therefore protecting human life
from conception to natural death must be at
the top of any just government’s priorities.
The USCCB’s document Living the Gospel
of Life explains, “[A]bortion and euthanasia
have become preeminent threats to human
dignity because they directly attack life itself,
the most fundamental human good and the
condition for all others.”
Some issues can be honestly debated by
Christians, but some policies must always
be opposed. The policies that must always
be opposed are those that are always wrong,
such as allowing the killing of unborn babies
in the womb or laws permitting euthanasia
or assisted suicide. These actions are always
wrong, no matter what the circumstances.
They also always have direct, clear effects: for
example, in an abortion, a baby always dies.
Euthanasia always results in an elderly, sick,
or disabled person being killed.
Others policies require more discernment
because their effects may not always match
up with their intentions: they may not always
do what they set out to do. For this reason,
they can be honestly debated. For example,
it may be hard to tell if a policy intended to
help the poor actually helps the poor; a law
intended to improve education may actually
harm it; law intended to help the environment
may not actually help it, and/or it might
require balancing with other important
values. Therefore, these policies can and
should be debated by Christians in good
conscience. The Chuch has a responsibility to
make judgments in these matters when the
dignity of the human person and the salvation
of souls is at stake.
What is the difference between those policies that must always be opposed, and those which
can be honestly debated?
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