Catholic Social Justice

In the recent months there has been much debate in the media with regards to the activities of faith based communities including the Catholic Church with regards to the value of social justice ministries. Some have suggested that the ministries of social justice are not authentic Christian ministries and that they are a cover for a political or leftist agenda. Others accept that social justice ministries have a value but not one that merits much if any attention. It should probably be obvious to most that by virtue of having a Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Office nationally and internationally that the Passionist community believes that social justice is an important and essential Christian value. This article will explore our Catholic  understanding of social justice and the official Catholic position regarding it.

The 1971 Catholic Synod of Bishops offered a powerful support for the promotion of social justice within the life of the Church. Under paragraph 6 of their document “Justice in the World” The Catholic Bishops of the entire world say the following:

God has revealed himself to us, and made known to us, as it is brought progressively to realization, his plan of liberation and salvation which is once and for all fulfilled in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.

Here, the pursuit of justice is described as being a constitutive element rather than an unimportant or secondary dimension of the Gospel mandate. Furthermore the Bishops also highlight the theological center of our call to pursue social justice within the Pascal Mystery. In the mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection the plan of God’s Kingdom is revealed to us and the social program that Jesus pursues of publically promoting a society that is based on love, compassion, non-violence and justice is given the divine stamp of approval.

The Passionist Constitutions eloquently describes this theology further under Constitution article 65:

We Passionists make the Paschal Mystery the center of our lives. This entails a loving commitment to follow Jesus Crucified, and a generous resolve to proclaim His Passion and death with faith and love. His Passion and death are no mere historical events. They are ever-present realities to people in the world of today, “crucified” as they are by injustice, by the lack of a deep respect for human life, and by a hungry yearning for peace, truth, and the fullness of human existence.

Here again the centrality is the Paschal Mystery. However we Passionists also look towards the incarnation of the social injustice that Christ suffered with the unjust suffering that continues in our world today. Devotion to Jesus Crucified calls us to walk with the “people in the world today, “crucified” as they are by injustice.” Social justice is not an afterthought. It is a central part of the Christian mystery. Of course the pursuit of social justice has evolved along with the development of the social order so that the methods of pursuing the social agenda looks different now compared to the 2000 year history of the Christian faith. So with that we will examine what we mean by social justice today.

Actions on Behalf of Justice:

In a retreat program on social justice that the Campaign for Human Development offers the parishes the facilitator offers the following story to the participants:

Once there was a church picnic. It was a beautiful day. The picnic site was by a river, and there was a cool breeze across the water. Kids were playing ball. There was lots of food. Bingo was in full swing! All of a sudden someone shouted, “Look, there is a body floating face down in the river.” At once, a few people waded into the river and pulled the person ashore. Someone else called an ambulance while another administered CPR. Other shaded the person form the heat of the sun. Everything looked under control, but then another body was sighted and then another, and then another… Everyone scurried to help in some way. One person, left the group and began to run upstream. “Where are you going?” the crowd cried out. “We need you to help.” He replied, “I’m going upstream to find out why people keep floating down the river…”

This story begins to describe to us the concept of the two feet of social justice. The basic concept is that if we are to participate in God’s salvific plan that includes the transformation of unjust systems then we must address two aspects of social injustice. The first dimension of injustice is the real manifestations of suffering and injustice. We must help those who are suffering. Like the story above me must give aid to the people who are floating down the river. This form of service is traditionally called charity and we usually express this with direct social service ministries or donations. Homeless shelters, soup kitchen, prison and hospital ministries, educational opportunities, all these are expressions of charity ministries that address the real needs of people who are suffering.

However the person who left the group to run upstream exemplifies the other dimension of social justice. In this case the person is analyzing the situation to uncover the root cause of suffering. As the person goes upstream and discovers the reason for why people are ending up in the river he will have to further understand the reason of this situation and respond to the need. It may be that a bridge is broken and in need of repair. It may be that a criminal activity is happening whereby they will need to advocate for the end of this practice. This is the dimension we traditionally call justice and it is usually expressed with advocacy and community development. Legislative advocacy, corporate responsibility, micro-finance and development projects, Community organizing, are all expressions of justice ministries that address the root causes of suffering in the world. 

The analogy of the two feet is intentional because it suggests that just as a person finds it easier to progress walking on two feet versus hoping on one so to is it easier for a society to experience progress by utilizing both justice and charity. Justice without Charity is insensitive and bound to fail since it is not taking into consideration the needs of the victims. It would be as if the person at the church picnic just begins to make an assumption that some criminal activity is taking place and advocates for better policing when the entire time a bridge is broken. Similarly Charity without Justice leads to an unending cycle of service and ministry and at some point the community will either become exhausted or callous to the suffering.

The founder of the Passionist Community, St. Paul of the Cross illustrates the use of the two feet during an episode in the 1730’s when he and his community found themselves in the middle of a battle between the Austrians and Spanish in the town of Orbetello. In addressing the sufferings of the wounded soldiers St. Paul tended and ministered to the needs of the wounded from both sides. This shows his use of charity to the victims of the battle. During this same episode he became aware of the Spanish General’s intent to bombard the town. He appealed against the bombardment and as a result the Spanish General opted for a blockade which brought an end to the battle. This shows his use of justice to advocate against any further suffering.   

The Church has traditionally placed more emphasis on charity over justice. In the encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI states “It must be admitted that the Church’s leadership was slow to realize that the issue of the just structuring of society needed to be approached in a new way.” In this encyclical Pope Benedict maintains that the Church by its very nature is required to promote charity. Politics and the State on the other hand have the responsibility to administer justice, although the Church is deeply committed to the “promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good.” The Gospel and social tradition of the Church offer moral principles that promote the values of justice. Yet in the pluralistic global society that we live in we cannot expect nor want our Church to be legal authority behind the establishment of the just social order.

However because the Church’s mission is the promotion of the Gospel we must expect the institution, and us as members of that institution, to participate in the global order by assessing justice or the lack thereof and offering guidance and assistance as individuals or as Non-Governmental Organizations especially where States either cannot or do not take responsibility with policies that fly in the face of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church. “In today’s complex situation, not least because of the growth of a globalized economy, the Church’s social doctrine has become a set of fundamental guidelines offering approaches that are valid even beyond the confines of the Church.” With her orientation towards charity, the Church seeks to humanize and personalize secular and public institutions that otherwise may not meet the total needs of those they seek to serve.

Pope Pius XI reminds us in the encyclical Divini Redemptoris that “charity will never be true charity unless it takes justice into constant account… let no one attempt with trifling charitable donations to exempt himself from the great duties imposed by justice. Both justice and charity often dictate obligations touching on the same subject-matter, but under different aspects.” Catholic social teaching has always described a deep relationship between these two values. However in the recent social encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, the Holy Father goes further in actually integrating these values and suggesting again that they serve the same function only with a different emphasis.

To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity. To take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally, making it the pólis, or “city”. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis.

Justice and charity function to promote the common good. With this statement there is no longer a hierarchy of values. Charity is the personal encounters where we directly give to our neighbors in need. Justice is a “no less excellent and effective” form of charity that pursues such virtue through an institutional or “political path”, the path of social justice.

2 Responses to “Catholic Social Justice”

1. AGATHA VERONICA THOMPSON says:

   August 11, 2010 at 9:20 am

   I believe Justice and Charity also means Respect and Love for all. If this is so, then, I want to believe RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, which always leads to total disrespect for the underperveledged must come to an end.
2. johngonzalez says:

   August 11, 2010 at 9:37 am

   Justice, charity and respect all from from an ethic of Love. Love that is based on the dignity that we all share with God and through God. To love God means to love all of creation with a reverant respect. Racial discrimination cannot be tolerated under this great principle of Love and dignity.