{"id":51958,"date":"2024-10-18T16:52:39","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T16:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/?p=51958"},"modified":"2026-07-28T16:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:54:02","slug":"what-is-a-wholesome-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/es\/2024\/10\/what-is-a-wholesome-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Wholesome Culture?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What is a Wholesome Culture?<\/span><\/h1>\n

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by CAPP-USA<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

A wholesome culture is one built on God and human dignity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What Defines a Wholesome Culture?<\/span><\/h2>\n


Wholesome is defined as \"indicative of good health or well-being\".<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As to culture, Pope St. John Paul II elevated culture in Catholic social teaching to be the third, and preeminent, structure of society \u2013 joining government and economics. Why? Because \u201cMan is understood in a more complete way<\/strong> when he is situated within the sphere of culture through his language, history, and the position he takes towards the fundamental events of life, such as birth, love, work and death.\u201d (Centesimus Annus, 24)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

So, a wholesome culture is one that promotes well-being. And not just physical, mental or financial well-being. \u201c[A]uthentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 11)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the heart of every culture lies the attitude man takes to the greatest mystery: the mystery of God. Different cultures are basically different ways of facing the question of the meaning of personal existence.\u201d (Pope St. John Paul II, 24)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Do we have a wholesome culture?<\/span><\/p>\n

A Wholesome Culture Would Not Be in Crisis<\/span><\/h2>\n


Catholic social teaching makes a strong case that the culture in the United States is NOT wholesome. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our fragmented culture finds many alienated, depressed, and selfish people. People who do not care for the environment, the next generation, each other, or even themselves. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XVI called our culture\u2019s secular mindset (which assumes truth and morality are subjective), the \u201cdictatorship of relativism\u201d<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

He warned that without God at the heart of culture, \u201cpublic life is sapped of its motivation and politics takes on a domineering and aggressive character. Human rights risk being ignored\u201d. (Caritas in Veritate, 56)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs Saint John XXIII wrote: 'There is nothing human about a society based on relationships of power<\/strong>\u2026it proves oppressive and restrictive.'\u201d (Pope Francis, 8)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Without the Truth, culture becomes about power, and we see this playing out in an increasingly tribal and divisive society. Hardly wholesome. <\/span><\/p>\n

We are a culture in crisis where \"human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a \u2018throw away\u2019 culture which is now spreading\u2026The excluded are not the \u2018exploited\u2019 but the outcast, the \u2018leftovers\u2019.\u201d (Pope Francis, 53)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

What Does a Wholesome Culture Require?<\/span><\/h2>\n


<\/span>Firstly, a wholesome culture requires God<\/strong>. \"Man remains above all a being who seeks the truth and strives to live in that truth\u2026From this\u2026the culture of a nation derives its character.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 51)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culture \u201cmust not be understood solely in economic terms, but in a way that is fully human.\u201d (Pope St. John Paul II, 29)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A wholesome culture requires religious freedom. \u201cFreedom\u2026demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one\u2019s deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A wholesome culture requires the family, \"founded on marriage...the\u00a0<\/strong>mutual gift<\/b>\u00a0of<\/strong>\u00a0self<\/strong>\u00a0by husband and wife<\/strong>\". (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)<\/a> Yet rising divorce rates, the normalization of cohabitation, and advocacy for same-sex marriages erode the \u201cfundamental cell of society\u201d. (Pope Francis, 66)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide are part of a \u201cculture of death\u201d. A wholesome culture promotes and defends the dignity of human life. The dignity of the human person<\/a>\u00a0is the prime principle of Catholic social teaching.<\/span><\/p>\n

We must throw off the yoke of materialism and consumerism. \u201c[P]olitics and economy cannot be reduced to mere technical know-how bereft of ideals and unconcerned with the transcendent dimension of man\u2026\u201d (Pope Francis, 10)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, our culture requires solidarity<\/a><\/span> and subsidiarity<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

What is Culture?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Happiness?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

10 Reasons Culture is in Crisis<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Culture Quotes from Catholic Social Teaching<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Culture: The Most Important Structure of Society from Catholic Social Teaching<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Social Media and Mental Health<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Cultural Appropriation and Catholic Social Teaching<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Is Feminism Good or Bad?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

More About Culture<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Back to Articles<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\"Three<\/div>

Three Key Principles<\/a><\/h2>

Catholic social teaching is built on three foundational principles -\u00a0<\/strong>Human Dignity<\/strong>,\u00a0Solidarity\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Subsidiarity.\u00a0<\/strong>Human Dignity, embodied in a correct understanding of the human person, is the greatest. The others flow from it. Good governments and good economic systems find ways of fostering the three principles.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Human Dignity<\/a><\/h2>

This means a correct understanding of the human person and of each person\u2019s unique value. All Catholic social teaching flows from this: the inherent dignity of every person that comes from being made in God\u2019s image.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Solidarity<\/a><\/h2>

Solidarity is not \u201ca feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of others. It is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good\u201d. (Pope St. John Paul II, 38)<\/a> Love of God and love of neighbor are, in fact, linked and form one, single commandment.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Subsidiarity<\/a><\/h2>

Subsidiarity \u201cis a fundamental principle of social philosophy, fixed and unchangeable, that one should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry. So, too, it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and a disturbance of right order to transfer to the larger and higher collectivity functions which can be performed and provided for by the lesser and subordinate bodies\u201d. (Pope Pius XI)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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