The thesis of this dissertation is that Catholic teaching on family planning can be strengthened by framing it within a social ethic of care that situates its treatment of family planning in the context of Catholic social teaching, and privileges the experiences of poor and vulnerable girls and women, making their dignity and full-flourishing the central criterion for judging the moral adequacy of its approach. Such a Catholic social ethic of care emphasizes the authority and responsibility of the Church as educator—both in its official, magisterial teaching and in its pastoral practice—and makes connections between family planning, global health, and peacebuilding, in the service of shalom.