CSDC 79

The social doctrine belongs to the Church because the Church is the subject that formulates it, disseminates it and teaches it. It is not a prerogative of a certain component of the ecclesial body but of the entire community; it is the expression of the way that the Church understands society and of her position regarding social structures and changes. The whole of the Church community — priests, religious and laity — participates in the formulation of this social doctrine, each according to the different tasks, charisms and ministries found within her. These many and varied contributions — which are themselves expressions of the “supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people” ¹¹² Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 12: AAS 57AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 57 (1965) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1965), 16. — are taken up, interpreted and formed into a unified whole by the Magisterium, which promulgates the social teaching as Church doctrine. To the Church's Magisterium belongs those who have received the “munus docendi”, or the ministry of teaching in the areas of faith and morals with the authority received from Christ. The Church's social doctrine is not only the thought or work of qualified persons, but is the thought of the Church, insofar as it is the work of the Magisterium, which teaches with the authority that Christ conferred on the Apostles and their successors: the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him¹¹³ Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2034..