Article · 4-minute read
Life and justice on campus
Why the Compass gives equal weight to pro-life work and to other works of justice and solidarity.
Catholic families sometimes speak as if they must choose between defending unborn life and serving the poor, the migrant, and the stranger. Church teaching asks for both.
St. John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae that human life, even “in its temporal phase,” is “a sacred reality entrusted to us, to be preserved with a sense of responsibility and brought to perfection in love and in the gift of ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters” (§2). Ex Corde Ecclesiae asks every Catholic university to develop in its students “the Christian spirit of service to others for the promotion of social justice” (§34).
How the scorecard reflects this
In our Service and Catholic Social Teaching pillar, pro-life engagement (such as a student pro-life group, support for pregnant and parenting students, or institutional initiatives) and other justice and solidarity programs (immersion trips, poverty and migration work, care for creation) each carry 15 of 100 points. Neither crowds out the other. Read the full rubric.
Sources
Catholic School Compass editors · Oct. 7, 2026. Every quotation was checked against the source linked above.