What is social justice?

[bacon_man]

is it welfare? What is it?

 

[WMM]

is it welfare? What is it?

***What is meant by Catholic social teaching?

There is a broad and a narrow understanding to the expression Catholic social teaching. Viewed one way, Catholic social teaching (hereafter CST) encompasses all the ideas and theories that have developed over the entire history of the Church on matters of social life. More commonly, as the term has come to be understood, CST refers to a limited body of literature written in the modern era that is a response of papal and episcopal teachers to the various political, economic and social issues of our time. Even this more narrow understanding, however, is not neatly defined.

No official list of documents exists; it is more a matter of general consensus which documents fall into the category of CST. Some documents, for example Rerum Novarum (an encyclical letter by Leo XIII) are on everyone’s list while the Christmas radio addresses of Pius XII are cited by some but not all as part of the heritage. Most people, when referring to CST, use Leo’s 1891 encyclical as a benchmark for the beginning of the tradition of social teaching. Yet not only did Leo write important encyclicals on politics before Rerum Novarum but a number of his predecessors promulgated significant statements on a variety of social matters. Thus, it can be argued that since the modern papal practice of issuing encyclicals began with Benedict XIV (1740-1758) many of these pre-Leonine letters should be considered part of CST. (Michael Schuck’s book That They Be One is a fine overview of the entire body of social teaching found in the papal encyclicals.)

Clearly, the expression CST is elastic, sometimes designating an expansive body of material and at other times used in a more constricted sense to identify a limited number of papal and episcopal writings dating from the papacy of Leo XIII. Perhaps we can understand the term Catholic social teaching as an effort by the pastoral teachers of the church to articulate what the broader social tradition means in the era of modern economics, politics and culture. ***

Ref: osjspm.org/answers_to_questions_1_5.aspx#1

 

[Joe_5859]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains a section on social justice (CCC 1928-1948). Here’s an excerpt that sums up the concept:

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.

Welfare is one possible part of the working towards social justice, but it is debateable about whether it is a good thing or not. The Catechism makes no mention of it one way or the other.

Pope Benedict came out with a new encyclical today on social justice issues: Caritas in Veritate. It would give you a much more in depth view of what the Church means by social justice.

 

[Harri_Laaksonen]

Joe,

Thanks for the link. Now I have it on a memory stick awaiting printing when I have some more paper

 

[AndyF]

is it welfare? What is it?

I can site 4 examples, although a definition I can’t:

1/Incarceration of Japanese American citizens during WW2 and expropriation of their property, and most was resold to WA’s.
2/Keeping criminal records on the books for misdemeanors that go back decades.
3/Ignoring God’s law not to execute prisoners.
4/aborting babies

All under the guise of common good.

No telling what nasties society has next.

Andy