Catholic Social Teaching Principles March, 2000
The Principle of Stewardship
Article by Fr. Byron
Lesson Plans
Primary (K-2)
Intermediate (3-5)
Middle School (6-8)
Secondary (9-12)
Facilitator's Guide
Background/Supporting Quotations:
from Genesis 1:26, 28-31
"God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image and likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, over all the wild animals and every creature that crawls on the earth.' "
"Then God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle and all the animals that crawl on the earth.' God also said, 'See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the earth and every tree which has seed-bearing fruit to be your food. To every wild animal of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to every creature that crawls on the earth and has the breath of life, I give the green plants for food.' And so it was. God saw that all he had made was very good. And there was evening and morning, the sixth day."
from Ephesians 1:9-10
"And this his good pleasure he purposed in him to be dispensed in the fullness of the times: to re-establish all things in Christ, both those in the heavens and those on the earth."
from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions
"The Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the creator by our stewardship of creation." (p.6)
from Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)
The dominion granted by the Creator over the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be separated from respect for moral obligations, including those toward generations to come. (#2456)
The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. [Our] dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of [our] neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation. (#2415)
from The Catholic Northwest Progress, publication of the Archdiocese of Seattle, 3/2/2000, article by Rev. William Byron, SJ, Stewardship.
from the papal encyclical, Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples), Pope Paul VI, 1967
"Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every person and of all humanity." (#14)
from the papal encyclical, Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year), Pope John Paul II, 1991
"Consumerism also raises the ecological issue. Humanity is consuming the resources of the earth and life in an excessive and disordered way, forgetting the earth's own needs and God-given purpose, provoking a rebellion on the part of nature, and overlooking our duties and obligations toward future generations." (#37)