Overview
Leading economist, Catholic writer, and advisor to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Charles K. Wilber masterfully engages pressing economic concerns and other complex spending issues in light of Catholic social teaching. Americans continually face economic choices as local and immediate as where to buy food and as global and long-term as how much oil and natural gas our nation should consume. This eight-week, small-group resource on economic stewardship explores ongoing questions about how one spends limited human, natural, and monetary resources. Following an introductory session, groups learn about the seven core themes of Catholic social Dignity of the Human Person, Community and the Common Good, Rights and Responsibilities, Preferential Option for the Poor, Dignity of Work, Solidarity, and Subsidiarity. Groups are then taught how to apply Catholic moral principles to the pressing economic decisions of their households, local communities, nation, and world. Between meetings, group members are encouraged to take small steps toward better stewardship such as studying family consumption patterns, evaluating household budgets against Catholic values, improving one's work environment, or helping someone unemployed find a job. This guide is ideal for parish faith-sharing and social outreach groups, as well as families, schools, and campus ministry programs.