How should a society be built and governed? Can an economy be ordered according to God's will? How does a citizen decide how to vote?
Many Catholics are not aware that with regard to questions concerning life in society, the Church offers simple, concrete guidelines. This is known as Catholic social doctrine. A "compendium" of this doctrine is spelled out in 583 paragraphs by the Vatican, and the US bishops summarize 7 key principles.
But when it comes to hot-button moral issues, how can we as parents approach these topics with our kids in a way that’s clear and thorough but also directed toward truth, beauty, and goodness?
If you’d like to make it really, really easy on yourself to handle these confusing topics as they come up, you have to check out a new book from the always excellent Catholic Sprouts, called Catholic Social Teaching for Youth.
Catholic Social Teaching for Youth offers a ready-to-use script for Catholic parents as we work to teach our children what we believe about all of the modern moral and social issues.
Organized around the themes set by the USCCB, Catholic Social Teaching for Youth lays out for families 31 Catholic social teaching topics, from the Dignity of the Human Person, through the Call to Family, Solidarity, Care for the Land, and Workers' Rights.
An education that starts from the parents
Nancy Bandzuch, the creative Catholic mom behind this beautiful book, shared with Aleteia why she wrote it.
“Catholic Social Teaching for Youth belongs on the bookshelf of every Catholic family,” she explained. “Kids need to learn about these complicated issues from their parents. While a high school student can work through the book cover to cover, and learn about all topics from Abortion to Workers' Rights, Catholic Social Teaching for Youth is important to have on hand for all ages as your child encounters the lies of this world, which they will at a younger age than any of us want.”
She recommended what she calls “Sunday Afternoon Big Kid Study,” saying,
“Our big kids need to hear the truth about modern moral issues directly from us, so Bill and I set aside 30 minutes on Sunday afternoons to read a section of Catholic Social Teaching for Youth with our big kids.”
Very helpfully, the book requires zero preparation: “No prep. Just open, read, discuss, and you’re done.”
With full imprimatur from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, you can trust that everything in this book is exactly what the Church teaches.
“We invented nothing inside of this book,” said Bandzuch. “Instead we studied Church teaching presented in the Catechism, various encyclicals, and bishop letters. After much study and prayer, we strove to pull all of this information together in one clear, beautiful passage that allows children to see what is true.”
Calls to action in an engaging format
But it’s not just the information we could find by opening up the Catechism: Catholic Social Teaching for Youth uses stories of the saints, calls to action, and luminous custom images to leave a lasting impression on our children’s hearts and minds.
Catholic Social Teaching for Youth shares the truth proclaimed by the Catholic Church in a format that is incredibly easy to use for parents and engaging for children.
If you’re not sure how to handle tough topics with your kids as they grow up, or you want to learn more about these issues yourself, you’ll want Catholic Social Teaching for Youth on your bookshelf. It’s a resource you’ll turn to again and again through the years ahead.
