Representatives of a number of scientific disciplines, mainly social and humanities, pay their attention to the issue of the nation. Catholic social teaching also participates in this discussion, using its own research equipment and methods of applying the obtained results, what is presented in this article. In the face of difficulties related to the precise definition of the concept of nation, it is important to try to formulate theoretical approach. Catholic social teaching also refers to most of them, describing the nation as a community of people characterized by a common origin, language and culture, and having a common political awareness. On the basis of these principles, John Paul II formulated his own teaching about the nation, taking into account the situation of the changing world at the turn of the millennium. An important matter in the context of the discussed discourse on the nation and its rights is also to indicate the erroneous principles of national morality, with two basic ones – cosmopolitanism and nationalism.