Solidarity – the Key Concept of the Catholic Social Teaching

Sa？etak The paper deals with the concept of solidarity as a key concept of Catholic social teaching. The paper has been a logical continuation of the author's solidarity issue consideration since 1980s, in particular the issue of synergetic effect of the sociological legal and theological insights. The latter flourished in Croatia in particular in the period between 1995-2005 when theological thought contributed significantly to understanding of solidarity and its conceptual differentiation from similar concepts such as charity, compassion, brotherhood etc. In the field of social sciences solidarity has shown itself as an autonomous and important concept and from a theological viewpoint it is the most important virtue of Catholic social teaching. The etymological insight into solidarity, its social role and its integrational potential are indisputable