Matthew 6, 1-4 + CSDC and CV

(CV 7c) Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis. When animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater worth than a merely secular and political stand would have. Like all commitment to justice, it has a place within the testimony of divine charity that paves the way for eternity through temporal action.

The Church seeks to carry forward the work of Christ himself

CSDC 13b. In this perspective, the Church is “inspired by no earthly ambition and seeks but one solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. For Christ entered this world to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to sit in judgment, to serve and not to be served”[16].

Notes: [16] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 3: AAS 58 (1966), 1027.

(Mt 6, 1-4) Solidarity and equality among men and peoples

[1] "(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. [2] When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. [3] But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, [4] so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

CSDC 194. The message of the Church's social doctrine regarding solidarity clearly shows that there exists an intimate bond between solidarity and the common good, between solidarity and the universal destination of goods, between solidarity and equality among men and peoples, between solidarity and peace in the world [420]. The term “solidarity”, widely used by the Magisterium[421], expresses in summary fashion the need to recognize in the composite ties that unite men and social groups among themselves, the space given to human freedom for common growth in which all share and in which they participate. The commitment to this goal is translated into the positive contribution of seeing that nothing is lacking in the common cause and also of seeking points of possible agreement where attitudes of separation and fragmentation prevail. It translates into the willingness to give oneself for the good of one's neighbour, beyond any individual or particular interest[422].

    

Notes: [420] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 17, 39, 45: AAS 80 (1988), 532-533, 566-568, 577-578. International solidarity too is required by the moral order; peace in the world depends in large part on this: cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 83-86: AAS 58 (1966), 1107- 1110; Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 48: AAS 59 (1967), 281; Pontifical Commission “Iustitia et Pax”, At the Service of the Human Community: an Ethical Approach to the International Debt Question (27 December 1986), I, 1, Vatican Polyglot Press, Vatican City 1986, p. 11; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1941, 2438. [421] Solidarity, though not yet with that explicit name, is one of the basic principles of Rerum Novarum (cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961], 407). “What we nowadays call the principle of solidarity ... is frequently stated by Pope Leo XIII, who uses the term ‘friendship', a concept already found in Greek philosophy. Pope Pius XI refers to it with the equally meaningful term ‘social charity'. Pope Paul VI, expanding the concept to cover the many modern aspects of the social question, speaks of a ‘civilization of love' “ (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 10: AAS 83 [1991], 805). Solidarity is one of the basic principles of the entire social teaching of the Church (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Libertatis Conscientia, 73: AAS 79 [1987], 586). Starting with Pius XII (cf. Encyclical Letter Summi Pontificatus: AAS 31 [1939] , 426-427), the term solidarity is used ever more frequently and with ever broader meaning: from that of “law” in the same encyclical to that of “principle” (cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961] , 407), that of “duty” (cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 17, 48: AAS 59 [1967], 265-266, 281) and that of “value” (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38: AAS 80 [1988], 564-566), and finally that of “virtue” (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38, 40: AAS 80 [1988], 564-566, 568-569).[422] Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the Study and Teaching of the Church's Social Doctrine in the Formation of Priests, 38, Vatican Polyglot Press, Rome 1988, pp. 40-41. 

[Initials and Abbreviations].- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]