Expanding Our Circles of Care: The late Pope’s definition of ordo amoris and the “Rings of Responsibility”

Expanding Our Circles of Care
The late Pope’s definition of ordo amoris and the “Rings of Responsibility”
April 29, 2025
Shelby Clark 

In a February letter to US bishops, the late Pope Francis wrote: "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating ... on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

This idea of loving humanity as a rippling effect is familiar to those of us at The Good Project: It appears that, in response to new American immigration policies, Pope Francis called out our “Rings of Responsibility” framework. 

Rings of Responsibility: A bullseye made of concentric circles labeled “self” in the center, followed by “others” on the next circle, followed by “community” on the next circle, “profession” on the next circle, and “wider world” on the outermost circle.

The Rings of Responsibility asks individuals to consider: To whom or what are you responsible? In our research we’ve found that some people feel responsible to themselves—their own ideals and values. Others feel responsible for their professions, while others feel responsible for their families and communities. Others might look even wider than this, and talk about their responsibility to their nation or the global world at large. When thinking about our 3Es framework and the “E” of ethics, we’ve asked people to think about responsibility:

• What is your responsibility to yourself, and beyond yourself?

• How do you think about each of these rings?

• Where do you place most of your responsibilities?

A Synchronous, Conceptual Tool

Pope Francis emphasized a Christian love that is inclusive and open to all, noting, “Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity.” 

He continued, “In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation.”

While we agree, we would also argue that the Rings of Responsibility is a conceptual tool that allows people to be aware of multiple aims: It asks you to consider your own self, your values, your ideals and to be pushing yourself to think beyond yourself towards your broader community, society, and the wider world, ideally at the same time. 

We know from our research that this is harder for some than others. 

Going “Glocal” 

Adolescence is a time of egocentrism and individual identity development. For most early adolescents, this is a time to be thinking more about the self, one’s own values, ideals, and personality. In fact, famed developmental psychologist Erik Erikson argued that, generally, adolescents don’t begin to think about wider social concerns until later adolescence (Flanagan, 2013), and we have seen this in our own research as well. For these students, we can push them to think about the outer ring of responsibility, but it might be harder for them. Just exposing these students to the outer rings of responsibility can be an eye opening experience and a push for them to begin considering broader communities when taking actions. 

On the other hand, we’ve also seen through our work with students focused on social responsibility projects, that the more adolescents think about themselves as part of a wider global community, the more they do think about responsibilities beyond themselves. 

As part of the Global Citizens Initiative, approximately thirty students from around the world join together each summer to design “Glocal” projects—social entrepreneurship projects that are focused on tackling global issues (poverty, discrimination, the environment) within their local environments. The students speak to how this experience opens their minds, helps them empathize more, and encourages them to gain new perspectives. 

Our research shows that, in addition, students evolve during their fellowship experience from being focused on the inner rings of responsibility more towards a broader swath of the Rings of Responsibility. 

Some Takeaways and Lingering Questions 

• Yes, perhaps it is okay to love oneself, but shouldn't we also think beyond ourselves and our responsibilities to the wider world? 

• How can we gain those broader perspectives? What will help us feel in “fraternity” with others? 

• What are our shared responsibilities in encouraging the growth of these broader perspectives?

• What are the consequences of not doing so?

• How do other religions and cultures speak to the ideas of the rings of responsibility and ordo amoris?

• All rings of responsibility might not be appropriate for all ages. 

The Good Project Core Concepts: Responsibility

by Lynn Barendsen

As we think about what’s involved in carrying out good work and the challenges we face in our efforts, whether or not we realize it, issues of responsibility are often at the core of our decision-making. Some examples:

• Should I stick to my principles and speak up in a group meeting or go along with a majority that feels otherwise? 

• Should I confront my colleague about hurtful actions or remain quiet in an effort to keep the peace? 

• Should I tell the truth or remain quiet to protect someone close to me?

In the mid 1990s, when we began our research into what eventually became a study of good work, we interviewed well over a thousand workers in a variety of different domains. One of the most revealing questions we asked was “to whom or what do you feel responsible in your work?” Using this question as a reflection prompt for students and for educators, we have been struck by the impact of this simple inquiry. One student, having written a long list of his responsibilities, said “no wonder I’m so stressed!” Of course, simply making a list of responsibilities doesn’t mean that choices between them are spontaneously clear or obvious. But the process does help to reveal the factors that pull us in various directions, and sometimes this additional information can aid in decision-making.

When we grapple with ethical dilemmas, we are often wrestling with conflicting responsibilities:  responsibilities to ourselves, to our friends, to our families, to our co-workers, our workplace or profession, or to the wider world. Some of us express a sense of responsibility to our religion, to our identity or identities, to principles or ideals. Responsibility is a core idea on The Good Project for many reasons: how we understand our responsibilities (and which responsibilities take priority) is closely related to what we value and, which of those values have priority, how we construe our roles in the world, and what we understand our identities to be. Taking ownership for our work and its impact on the world is key to our understanding of what it means to do good work.

Over the years, we have written a great deal on the topic of responsibility. In fact, we’ve written an entire book on the topic, where various authors examine different aspects of responsibility through the lens of “good work” and additional perspectives: i.e., the relationship between creativity and responsibility, how responsibility may be understood differently by various groups (genders, types of workers, individuals who are/are not religious), considering responsibility as an “ability” to be responsive. 

In the world of education, teachers juggle multiple responsibilities, and during these past few years, many have felt overburdened by them. Although many tell us they feel their primary responsibility is to their students, they are conflicted about how best to fulfill these obligations. Some examples of dilemmas in which teachers struggle with responsibility might be found here (links in titles):

• The Protest: A teacher struggles to decide whether to take a stance about an issue she believes in (responsibility to ideal) or to respect another’s privacy (responsibility to colleague).

• Discriminating Decisions: An educator is deeply conflicted about following directions at work when the request conflicts with her core beliefs (responsibility to workplace versus responsibility to an ideal).

• The Meaning of Grades: A professor grapples between his responsibility to his beliefs (learning for learning’s sake) versus responsibility to his students (opportunities that might be lost if their grades aren’t top notch).

• Looking Good: The issue of grade inflation is explored from a slightly different angle as a teacher in a new pilot school is torn between his responsibilities to his students and to the school itself.

• Excellence at Risk: A teacher’s safety is at risk when a student threatens her, and she is torn about whether or not to press charges (responsibilities to self, to student, to the community).

We offer a number of additional resources on our website that address responsibility in various ways:

• This video describes the research findings that led to the development of the Circles of Responsibility.

• These writing prompts which encourage reflection about our various obligations and decision-making.

• This video, in which the GP team uses the idea of responsibility to unpack and analyze an ethical dilemma from our dilemmas database.

• Several blogs tackle the topic of responsibility from varied angles. Howard Gardner uses the rings of responsibility in this blog to analyze the life and work of John F. Kennedy. Two blogs consider responsibility in light of the COVID pandemic: Shelby Clark writes about encouraging student responsibility during the pandemic here; in this blog, Kirsten McHugh uses the rings of responsibility as a tool to reflect on how understandings of personal and professional responsibilities since the beginning of the pandemic.

Revisiting responsibilities regularly can be a useful exercise, especially as most of us are regularly juggling multiple obligations. Taking the time to pause, reflect and consider our responsibilities (perhaps using the 5 Ds as a guide) may help to identify core values driving our work.

Encouraging College Students’ Responsibility During the Pandemic

by Shelby Clark

A few weeks ago, The Good Project researcher Kirsten McHugh wrote about “Parents as Educators: A Good Work Perspective”. But what about the other side of the story--the students? What does it mean for students to be good workers during a pandemic?

As college campuses have become the new “hot spot” for COVID-19 outbreaks, this question has become even more important. College students consistently encounter ethical dilemmas, but the pandemic has thrust new ethical dilemmas upon them, such as whether to “snitch” on fellow classmates holding gatherings, or even large parties where numerous people might become infected. Because of COVID-19 we are now asking young adults to think more and more beyond their own needs, and to be responsible as well to others in their community and society; yet, we know from past research that youth often have difficulty with such “beyond the self” thinking. With COVID-19 constantly throwing new dilemmas in young people’s ways, how can we as educators and adults help our students to think about their responsibilities to self and others during the pandemic? 

When trying to help youth handle ethical dilemmas, it is helpful to use a tool such as The Good Project’s Rings of Responsibility. This tool was originally designed to help individuals think about to whom or what they are responsible in their work. The rings of responsibility are five concentric circles that begin with responsibility to oneself, and then expand to wider and wider areas of responsibility. The second ring represents responsibility to others, like family, peers, and friends; the third ring represents responsibility to community, such as one’s school or neighborhood; the fourth ring represents responsibility to one’s profession, which, for students, indicates commitment to being a student and the rules and norms of being a student; and the fifth ring represents responsibility to the wider world or to society as a whole (see image). 

Let’s take the example of whether a student should “snitch” on their classmate’s unallowed party on a college campus in the age of COVID-19. Below, I consider how I might reflect on my own responsibilities if I were a student in such a situation. 

• Self: I would most likely feel guilty if I did not inform on my classmates. As such, “snitching” would be a way to ease my guilt and by doing so act responsibly towards myself.

• Others: Perhaps the classmate holding the party is a close friend; if so, I would think that my responsibility to “others'' would be to not tell on the friend in order to save my friendship. 

• Community: On the one hand, I can see that being responsible towards my community means informing on the party; in doing so I can protect the public health of other students on the college campus. On the other hand, I’ve seen as a researcher that when students are expelled for misbehavior, it can create stark divisions on campuses that lead to mistrust amongst the student body--it may therefore be better for the community’s mental well-being that I keep silent after all.  

• Profession: Are there codes of conduct for the students at their university regarding these parties? If so, informing an authority is likely the correct thing to do according to the student code of conduct. I would also need to consider whether doing so would promote or hinder student learning at the university, which is, ultimately, the “point” of higher education. 

• Wider World: In light of the ripple effect seen from a variety of parties held during the pandemic, it seems likely that informing on a classmate’s party could save lives. 

Ultimately, the choice becomes whether I would not inform on the hypothetical campus party and potentially save a friendship and campus dynamics, or whether I would “snitch” and uphold the college community’s public health, the student code of conduct, societal public health, and ease my own guilt. For me, as an adult, the choice is clear: the outer rings of responsibility should come first, and I would inform on the party. However, for youth the choice is often not as transparent. 

Given that youth often have difficulty thinking beyond their own self-interest, it is more important than ever that adults and educational institutions continue to find ways to help young people to think about, and make decisions in light of, their broader impacts on society. Certainly, considering the rings of responsibility doesn’t give a student the answer of what to do in a difficult situation. In fact, students might feel that it pits their responsibilities against one another--what’s good for them versus what’s good for others. Ultimately, though, it should help a student consider the pros and cons of a situation, and how they might weigh their various responsibilities to self and others when things become difficult. We know the pandemic will continue to throw new ethical challenges in the way of our students; as such, let’s give students the skills needed to become the socially responsible adults the world needs.