Catholics in the U.S. have recently been active and effective advocates for right to life issues (abortion, euthanasia, death penalty, etc.). Consider how you might explore the following issues which are usually treated in the popular press from political, economic, and/or purely "secular" perspectives, from the Catholic social justice perspective:
When searching for books and articles you would add keywords like these to the issues in the table below.
1 = Research
2 = Activism and Lobbying
3 = Public Education
4 = Development Work, Intervention, and Relief Services
| Poverty | Access to Health Care |
| Fair wages/ Living wage | Disarmament/ Promotion of Peace |
| Labor rights | Domestic violence/ violence against women and children |
| Immigration | Global Warming |
| Third World Debt Relief | Deforestation |
| Fair Trade | Species Extinction |
| Globalization/ "Economic Imperialism" | Water scarcity |
| Human Trafficking | Depletion or Privatization of Natural Resources |
| Agriculture/ Farming | Food/ Food Security |
| Local or Family Owned Farms | Ethics of eating |
| Promoting equitable economic development | Supporting education for global awareness |
| Promoting human rights | Promoting environmental protection |
| Reducing state-sponsored oppression | Grassroots participation in political processes |
| Arms Control, Disarmament, Military Policy | Protecting civil liberties in the United States |
| Environment | Civil and Constitutional Rights |
| Domestic Social and Economic Justice | Education |
| Faith/Religion | Conflict Resolution |
| International or Regional Affairs, general | Media and Journalism |
| Media and Journalism | Third World Economic Development and Human Rights |
| Abortion | Firearms |
| Race Relations | Racial Profiling |
| Youth Gangs |