The Church’s sole and primary purpose in her social doctrine is helping mankind to achieve salvation. The Church has the right to be a teacher of the truth of faith: the truth not only of dogma but also of morals whose source lies in human nature itself and the Gospel. The right of the Church is also her duty for to fail to exercise this right would be a denial of herself and her fidelity to Jesus Christ. Because of the public relevance of the Gospel and faith and because of the corruption of injustice in the public sphere, the Church cannot remain indifferent to social matters. The Church always then has the right and the duty to speak out about moral principles. even in the social order, and to render judgments on human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or to the salvation of souls.
For a thorough discussion of this topic, refer to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, nos. 66-71.
