Post on 23-Feb-2016
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Catholic Social Teaching and
PovertyThe Competence to See
and the Courage to Act
What from last class stuck out to you? What was your reaction to it?
How do we respond? What is the solution to this?
Hopefully, reactions…
What is your definition of justice?
Justice
The Church teaches that Justice is rooted in Scripture◦ Is 1:15 “Make Justice your aim.”◦ Micah 6:8 “You have been told, O man, what is
good and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
◦ LK 10:34 Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Justice and the Church
Not about straight correlations About making things RIGHT We need to correct our relationship with:
◦ God◦ Each other◦ Creation
Justice is…
Brings together all people, place, events, and movements following the call of the Scriptures
The lived experience of this call
Dorothy Day
Catholic Social Tradition
Reflection on what it means to live JUST lives
Patristic and Classical◦ Aquinas◦ Augustine
Ongoing Theological Inquiry◦ Liberation Theology◦ Eco-theology
Catholic Social Thought
Official teachings of the Magisterium
Papal Encyclicals◦ Rerum Novarum – Caritas in
Veritate Bishops Conferences
Catholic Social Teaching
Offers Wisdom about building a just society
Able to offer an unchanging light to the new problems that we are confronted with
Social Teaching of the Church
The Scriptures make social demands on us◦ Matthew 25◦ Prophets◦ The Law is for Love
Social Dimension of the Scriptures
Encyclical Letter of John XXIII Four Major Sections:
◦ Individual and Humankind◦ Individual and State◦ States and the Rights and Duties of Individuals◦ Community amongst States
This encyclical outlines a clear social teaching of the Church founded on Justice and Equality
Pacem en Terris
“Man has a right to live.” “Right to bodily integrity.” “Right to be looked after in ill-health.”
Pacem en Terris (11)
Right to worship God according to one’s conscience (14)
Basic Human Rights
We have a right to exercise personal initiative in the work we do (18).
Wages are determined with the precepts of justice (20).
Right to own private property is a social obligation (22).
We have to meet these criteria if we are to live in a just society
Economic Rights
The existence of rights are necessarily tied to duties
We have an obligation to protect our rights, and the rights of others
Rights can only function when exercises them with duty
Rights vs. Duties
Dignity of the Human Person Community and the Common Good Rights and Responsibilities Option for the Poor Dignity of Work Solidarity Care for Creation
Values and Principles
These are the basis for all of CST
These principles will never change, though may be applicable in any situation
Everything in CST is centered on the Dignity of the Human Person
Principles
Foundation of CST Humans are created in the Image of God All human life, from conception to natural death
is sacred.
Gen 1:26 Then God said: “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.”
Eph 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Human Dignity
Humans are social beings Perfect model is God’s Trinitarian (Relational)
Nature We realize our own humanity in relationship
with others
Lv 19:9-15 “These things you shall leave for the poor and alien. I, the LORD, am your God.
Jn 13:34 “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”
Community and the Common Good
“With great power comes great responsibility”
We must fulfill basic rights for human dignity to be recognized
Rights are not the ends we seek; we have to ensure that others can exercise theirs as well
Am 5:21-24 “Then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream”
Mt 23:11 “The greatest among you must be your servant”
Rights and Responsibilities
Every person, regardless of status is welcome in Christ
We stand with the poor and afflicted because only from there can we appeal as Jesus did for the conversion and deliverance of all.
Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 13 Ps 41:1-3 “Happy those concerned with the
poor and the lowly” Lk 4:16-30 “It was to none of these that
Elijah was sent, but only to a widow”
Option for the Poor
Our human vocation is to participate in the creative work of God
This necessarily means that we are made to work; work is a good thing
Work must be dignifying Every person has a right to fair, meaningful,
decent work that respects their dignity
Dignity of Work
As humans, we are connected to all other human beings
There is a global dimension to loving our neighbor We come not just as servants, but as their
neighbors, to be with them and of them. Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 13
Is 32:16 “Right will dwell in the desert and justice abide in the orchard”
Mt 25:31-46 “Amen, I say to you, what you did for the one of these least ones, you did for me”
Solidarity
All creation is a gift from God We are not masters of creation; we are the
stewards of creation Responsible to protect it
Gen 2:15 “The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate it and care for it”
Mt 6:25 “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing”
Care for God’s Creation
Every economic decision has a moral consequence
Caritas in Veritate We can tell a lot about people based on
their economic choices
Economics
Budget
GasCableGroceriesFriday NightsCharityElectronicsLoansFamily WeddingInsurance
What can we tell about this person?
Our choices reflect what we believe in If we believe in Christ, we must act like it
◦ We are not taking sides against “sinful enemies” Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 13
◦ As Christians, we are to serve: The Oppressed
Relieving their suffering The Oppressor
Conversion of heart
How CST effects our lives
CST is not just our mind, or heart, or soul isolated from one another
It is all three integrated Ought to be a transformative experience Andre House Experience
Experience of CST
“The mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.”
- Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C.
“For the Kingdom to come in this world, disciples must have the competence to see, and the courage to act.”
-Constitution 2: Mission
Holy Cross Spirituality
Break into Small Groups