"There is a growing awareness of the sublime dignity of human persons, who stand above all things and whose rights and duties are universal and inviolable. They ought, therefore, to have ready access to all that is necessary for living a genuinely human life: for example, food, clothing, housing, the right freely to choose their state of life and set up a family, the right to education, work, to their good name, to respect, to proper knowledge, the right to act according to the dictates of conscience and to safeguard their privacy, and rightful freedom, including freedom of religion." (The Church in the Modern World, #26)

Notable Quotations from Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching

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Because each person is sacred, each person possesses inherent rights which are bestowed on them by God, independent of any human accomplishment. Every person has a fundamental right to life - the right that makes all other rights possible. Each person also has a right to all those conditions necessary to achieve their full human potential: food, shelter, education, employment, living wages, health care, etc. We also have a duty to secure and respect these rights not only for ourselves, but for others.

Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities - to one another, to our families, and to the common good of the larger society. The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met.