I. Religious Stand: Christianity

In any country in the world, regardless of their economic or social status, has among in their populace unfortunate families that live along the trenches of poverty. Many of them are found in most parts Asia, Latin America, and Africa. With barely have enough food, clothing, shelter, and medicines to keep them alive, their future seems doomed.

They don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. Most don’t even know if it’s going to come at all. They live lives filled with bitterness, hardship, and scorn. People from the higher classes of society continue to mock them, and marginalize them from rest of the "human" society. In the minds of many affluent people, the poor are the human trash that needs to be disposed of as quickly as possible.

Since the dawn of industrialization in mankind, people, mostly the poor are the ones oppressed by the pressures of progress. They are made to work countless hours in sweatshops and factories, enduring subhuman conditions, and yet receive very little pay. No longer are they treated as humans, but already considered as slave-driven animals. Such a drastic shift in humanity somehow made its mark into the ranks of Christianity. Thus was the birth of the church’s social teachings.

Christianity’s social teachings mainly revolve around the concept of equality between the poor and those holding economic power. It talks about dignity of workers and empowering them with rights to voice out their concerns to their employers. In some cases, these social teachings even go beyond in just upholding economic balance, but also gives importance to the human aspect of work. The examples below are just some of the social teachings the Roman Catholic Church has released throughout history.

• The Condition of Labor (Rerum Novarum). Encyclical letter of Pope Leo XIII (1891).
• The Reconstruction of the Social Order (Quadragesimo Anno). Encyclical letter of Pope Pius XI (1931).
• A Call to Action (Octogesima Adveniens). Apostolic letter of Pope Paul VI (1971).
• On Human Work (Laborem Exercens). Encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II (1981).

As complex as these teachings present the common problem of poverty, they all convey the same message to its readers: "Love one another as I have loved you." No matter how rich or poor a person may be, they are still considered as brothers and sisters in the eyes of God. The major lessons of Catholic social teachings are listed as follows:

• Religious and social dimensions of life are linked.
• Dignity of the human person
• Option for the poor
• Love and justice are linked
• Promotion of the common good
• Political participation
• Economic justice
• Stewardship
• Global solidarity
• Promotion of Peace

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