Is the "Social Justice" gospel an idol?

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Did you post this in another thread? Because I was so impressed by this that I want to thank you. I felt there was some argument to be made, but could never articulate it except that I once had to proofread a Liberation Theology version of the Mass and even tho I was still a long time away from practicing my faith, I was disturbed by the way they seemed to have put the poor in the place of Christ.

Mnsgr Pope, as always!, hits the nail on the head!
 
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Monsignor Pope is one of the shining stars of the US Church. Doing “social good” or “social justice” works without the Gospel message front and center can amount to nothing more than comforting those on their way to hell.

I see no charity there.

Want to do some real justice? Contribute to the Sudan Relief Fund or the Missionaries of Africa, among many others. What is their need? Shelter from rockets and machine guns, enough food and antibiotics, a well with clean water.

What a concept!
 
The “Social Justice gospel” is all social justice, but no Gospel.

The term has been so utterly corrupted that perhaps the Church ought to consider a new label for how it defines it. Or better yet, go back to good old-fashioned charity and good works and lay off the politics - especially of the Leftist sort.
 
Agree. And avoid coining new terms if possible,please…
whatever that term is…" Social Justice Gospel"," Social Gospel "…
This need to add new unnecessary adjectives is puzzling…
 
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I agree with what the Monsignor wrote and they are good words (providing it’s kept in context).
A different way to put it might be the choice to do Social Justice the Catholic way or the choice to do Social justice the Government/politically correct way.
He mentions choosing between Jesus and serving the poor,but,correct me if I’m wrong, the poor “are Jesus” aren’t they?

I guess I understand though the heart of what he’s saying is that Catholics shouldn’t “sell out” for government money and Government social justice is done differently that Catholic social justice.
For example, in the country I live in we have Government approved methadone programs which are meant to help people with heroin addiction.Its seen by doctors and the gov as being a lesser evil than heroin.
Maybe it helps some,but in my opinion many just swap one addiction for another and they end up instead with an addiction to methadone.
So have “we” really helped them?
Yes,they might not be dead from overdose and alive but are they really living?
A Catholic social justice program may instead help them by trying to get to the root cause of what causes them to be addicted in the first place and provide effective therapy instead of a drug “substitute”.
 
That’s the thing.

“Social justice” isn’t justice.

“Political correctness” isn’t correct.
 
“Social justice” has become a leftist code word for socialism and wealth re-distribution. In many cases, it has virtually nothing to do with Christ - either in the Church or outside! It is decidedly secular. The Church has been sucked into this much the same as the Latin American Church got sucked into “Liberation Theology”

Of course, parts of each are true, but in crucial areas they are not consistent with Church teaching. Social justice has come to mean allowing unlimited immigration, and making the illegal immigrant into a martyr. DW came here the hard way from El Salvador. Remember that? Death squads, Archbishop Romero assassinated? Yeah, that one. She had to cross every t and dot every i, pay fees, wait, have medical tests, wait, be interviewed, wait and wait - all the while war was heating up and shots were being fired.

There was no refugee status for her. 'Splain that one to me Lucy!

You want to do actual, life-saving good combined with the Gospel being preached? Contribute to the various Catholic African charities. The greatest region of Church growth is Africa! They are dying from simple infections, starving, being hunted down and killed. Do right, do good and help them.

Now, helping them is true social justice. Heck, it is justice period.
 
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Sachsen said:
Pope John Paul II was a good man, but even saints make mistakes.
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How about Pope Benedict then ?

What do you think of Pope Benedict’s references to social justice ?

I suppose you will say that even he makes mistakes .

And if you do I have other popes you can say have made mistakes .
 
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Of course. We all do make mistakes. I believe their hearts were in the right place, but their mistake was using the term “social justice,” which always was left vaguely defined and which was always a rallying point for the Marxist, anti-Catholic Left.

Let’s put it this way: when people think of “Catholic social justice” nowadays, they don’t think of the wholesome, life-affirming social justice of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Instead, what immediately comes to mind is the activist and degenerate social justice of the likes of the gay-aligned Fr. James Martin, SJ.

Now here’s what’s sad: the two kinds get often mixed up and thanks to the media being always eager to hijack the message, people are led to assume that the Popes are openly advocating causes championed by the Left. For now, I won’t comment on what’s going on with Pope Francis, but I have met leftists who think that Pope John Paul II was firmly on their side when in reality, he was never really happy about Marxist encroachment into the Church like liberation theology. Sad, really.
 
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Are both of these Catholic-based charities?

It is surprisingly difficult sometimes to determine if a certain charity is Catholic.
 
In which way do you distinguish Social Justice from Catholic service to the poor or vulnerable?
po18guy said:
Contribute to the various Catholic African charities. The greatest region of Church growth is Africa!
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Contributing to African people in need is a great thing but are you suggesting that Catholics should only help other Christians or potentially where people may become Christians,or have I misunderstood that?
 
po18guy said:
Want to do some real justice? Contribute to the Sudan Relief Fund or the Missionaries of Africa, among many others. What is their need? Shelter from rockets and machine guns, enough food and antibiotics, a well with clean water.
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This is very confusing to me. Are you saying that only charity to those suffering in Africa is “real”? So, we shouldn’t be helping the vulnerable around us?
 
You mean like labeling people ‘rad-trads’ or even 'traditional"? That’s a code word in the ‘other direction’ if you will, for 'repressive, RIGID, closed-minded, backward-thinking, I-hate-Pope-Francis, you name it.

But those people are told that “but you really ARE those things’ and 'if you want to call yourself traditional, you’d better expect to defend yourself because the majority of the people define the word in those ways. So either don’t call yourself that at all or, better still, just be a 'plain Catholic” because that ‘embraces everything’.

Doesn’t feel so good, I think, when the shoe is on the other foot.

A lot of people DO define "Social Justice’ in the way the OP stated, and quite frankly there is no need for the term, is there?

Why not just go back to talking about 'the gospel"?
 
Another article from the Monsignor but with the help of Cardinal Sarah may help explain better…

Eradicating Poverty Is Not a Gospel Value – A Reflection on a Teaching by Cardinal Sarah

The Gospel is not a slogan. The same goes for our activity to relieve people’s suffering … [it is a matter] of working humbly and having a deep respect for the poor. For example, I remember being disgusted when I heard the advertising slogan of a Catholic charitable organization, which was almost insulting to the poor: “Let us fight for zero poverty” … Not one saint … ever dared to speak that way about poverty and poor people.
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The Catholic Church mission is not to solve poverty (or fill in your favorite agenda, cause, activism). The mission is the salvation of souls.
 
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