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Montie_Claunch
Guest
R.C.I.A. was so long ago it feels and I haven’t herd anything much about the Churchs Social teachings. Could anyone tell me what they are and why we beleive them? Thanks and God bless.
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SoCalRC
Guest
You might take a look at something like www.justfaith.org. Our Archdiocese approved the program and the response from parsishes has been very good.
The principal fondation for Social Justice in Catholicism lies in Holy Scripture.
The principal fondation for Social Justice in Catholicism lies in Holy Scripture.
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verdigirl
Guest
The themes of Catholic social teaching (excerpted here), according to the USCCB, are:
- Life and dignity of the human person
- Call to Family, Community, and Participation
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
- The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
- Solidarity
- Care for God’s Creation
The central reason why we believe in these things is because of Jesus’ mandate to love one another, because of the Beatitudes, and because of Matthew 25, which I list here for you:
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
The Catechism says:
1928 Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority.
The run-down from the Catechism is here.
On a side note, my opinion as to why you don’t hear so much about social justice could be because the media is connecting social justice with the Democratic party, which is an immediate turn-off to many conservative Catholics. But I don’t mean to say that you are anything other than a Catholic brother.
Cool?
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verdigirl
Guest
Yep, I think this is an excellent program. I wish we could afford it at our parish.
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SoCalRC
Guest
FWIW, we subsidized two of our sister parish’s for all the books. They, in turn, really helped with putting together some meaningful immersion experiences.
I was actually skeptical. Like many ‘Irish Catholics’, social justice was emphasized as a critical part of our faith from a young age. So the idea of spending, say, 30 weeks learning as opposed to ‘doing’ seemed odd to me. But having followed along with the reading and watched the first group go through the process, I’m now convinced that the approach is a very good one.
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steveandersen
Guest
Key themes
Life and dignity of the human person
Call to family, community, and participation
Rights and responsibilities
Preferential Option for the poor and vulnerable
Dignity of work and the rights of workers
Solidarity
Care for God’s creation
try this
or this might be more readable
We believe them because while free will is part of our being that doesn’t mean that we can do anything we want. Our interactions with others must be in accordance with Natural law.
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fix
Guest
Take a peek at the entire page. It mentions more than that including links to dissident groups.Ah yes, the ‘if it doesn’t address abortion it can’t be Catholic’ point of view. I suppose I should be thankful that this crowd hasn’t noticed that Jesus didn’t bother with the matter in his earthly ministry either…
Also, that Scripture does not specfically record the word abortion as coming out of Christ’s mouth in no way means it is of little importance.
And more…
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ChrisR246
Guest
It at least appears to me that those Catholcis who are most passionate for Social Justice often neglect a key component - subsidiarity, (CCC 1883-1885) vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a1.htm
Essentially, the lowest level of community that can deal with an issue should be enabled and allowed to do so.
Essentially, the lowest level of community that can deal with an issue should be enabled and allowed to do so.
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SoCalRC
Guest
No one said otherwise. But elevating anything above the direct teachings of Christ seems dangerous.
As far as dissidents, etc., yes the reading lists will typically include works like “The Gospel through 3rd World Eyes” which discusses how very differently Christains in different parts of the world interpret very famliar readings in Scripture. Or, say, a work on Ghandi’s non-Christain, non-violent movement in India.
I guess the assumption is that the program is more suitable for Catholics who feel that their faith is a powerful beacon to carry into a dark world. Such people are seldom intimidated by alternate world views. However, if you are the sort of Catholic who views faith as a feeble candle that must be sheltered and protected, lest it fall pray to an outside concept, a challenging and thought provoking reading list is probably not for you.
If I sound like I am rolling my eyes, I am. I’ve heard the same ‘it’s an attack on the Church because it might suggest that there is more to our faith than abortion!!!’ stuff about RENEW. But year after year, I see life long active parish members stand up and talk about their experiences with the program. Gasp, they generally recite Scripture and the Catechism with passion, and explain how prayer and study help reinject both into their lives…
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SoCalRC
Guest
So are you saying social justice is incompatible with democracy and/or a free market?
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fix
Guest
Huh? The teaching on abortion is from Christ.
The link referred to specific heterodox Catholics and their organizations. I hardly think things like CTA have any legitimacy as related to Church teaching.
Alternate views? Heterodoxy is not simply an alternate view, it is an error.
What type of Catholic supports CTA?
Great, then why the need to support things like CTA?
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chicago
Guest
You know, I often hear this argument. But I just don’t see it. I suppose it comes from the liklihood that those who are big on social justice often support government programs which assist in accomplishing this endoevaor. Yet, they are also typically the ones out there in the trenches helping the homeless, working with the poor, assisting immigrants, whatever it may be that needs to get addressed on the front lines. So their witness is for subsidiarity, indeed, but not simply subsidiarity without solidarity and support of society. Yes, it would seem that these are the ones who get it right as they see things and deal with them as they really are, understanding the true needs which exist instead of just abstractions of ideals.
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Brendan
Guest
It transcends economic systems. It means that The State or the upper classes should not do for the poor what they themselves can do.
In essence, it rules out Communism right out, and makes Socialism kinda’ ‘iffy’ as well.
It basically follows the words of St. Paul ( 2 Thes 3:7-10)
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Ender
Guest
The social teachings aren’t that complex: feed the poor, heal the sick, lift up the weary, etc. The thing that is important to remember is that nowhere are we told how to achieve these goals; the choice of the best means to use are left up to individuals to make. Although it is not uncommon for one side to accuse the other of rejecting Christ’s teaching and ignoring the poor (sick, in prison, …) that is almost never the case. The arguments are typically over what solutions will work best and are outside the expertise of the Church and, while individual bishops may support one or another approach, these prudential choices cannot be considered Church teachings.
Ender
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fix
Guest
I like that group back in the 70s.To avoid gridlock in the city.
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ChrisR246
Guest
Not at all. OTOH, I don’t think democracy and free market necessarily go hand in hand. It seems to me that social justice and subsidiarity are perfectly compatible with free market economics. Democracy doesn’t necessarily go with Social Justice, Subsidiarity or free markets.
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ChrisR246
Guest
Exactly. And not just any government programs, but generally federal government programs. Looking over the lists in this thread describing social justice issues, I don’t see any that wouldn’t best be addressed by individuals, families and parishes.
I would argue that the past encroachments on subsidiarity started us down a slippery slope: local control and involvement preempted by further removed authorities caused individuals and families to become less involved and so there were more calls for more removed authorities to get involved in more social issues, repeat. Calling for more removed entitites to back out would allow local support to move back in.
- Status