QUOTATION: Living in Solidarity

A genuinely human society flourishes when individuals dedicate the exercise of their freedom to the defense of others' rights and the pursuit of the common good, and when the community supports individuals as they grow into a truly mature humanity-- that is what "living in solidarity" means.

--George Weigel, "The Free and Virtuous Society", in Against the Grain: Christianity and Democracy, War and Peace, 2008

QUOTATION: The Common Good

The second classic principle of Catholic social doctrine is the principle of the common good, or what might be called the communitarian principle; it complements and completes the personalist principle because men and women grow into the fullness of their humanity through relationships, each of us should exercise our rights in such a way that that exercise contributes to the general welfare of society, and not simply to our individual aggrandizement. Living in service to the common good is essential for the good of society, as well as for the integral development of persons.  Thus, in the classic Catholic view, society is a "natural phenomenon", not a remedial reality (...).

--George Weigel, "The Free and Virtuous Society", in Against the Grain: Christianity and Democracy, War and Peace, 2008

QUOTATION: The Common Good

The common good of the state cannot flourish unless its citizens are virtuous.

--St. Thomas Aquinas

QUOTATION: Religion in the Public Square

At the heart of the noble American project is a recognition that religion is essential for a virtuous democracy and the promotion of the common good.

--Cardinal Timothy Dolan