“The Church desires to stir Christian hearts ‘to the cause of justice’ and to a ‘preferential option or love for the poor,’ so that her presence may really be the light that shines and salt that cures.”
—Justice in the World (41)--
—Justice in the World (41)--
“People today need to turn to Christ once again in order to receive from him the answer to their questions about what is good and what is evil.” It is not the politician who is responsible for telling us what is and is not a basic human right, the Supreme Court should not be our moral guide, and Congress is not an authority on the ethical treatment of others.
When it comes to defining justice, to setting the agenda for the Common Good, and calling attention to the greatest needs in our society, even the greatest of our political leaders, just like you or I, are merely participants. We are the people who look to Christ, and to his Church for guidance. It is our hope that our leaders are inspired by their faith in God to build a better and more just world.
No government has been endowed with a special gift of prophecy, nor does government in general possess a unique insight into the cause of human dignity or the value of freedom. These are the gifts of the church. Throughout history, from the time of the Hebrew prophets through the founding of this country and into the present day, the vision of need, morality and human dignity has come through Christ. Many of us have seen the portrait of George Washington kneeling in prayer, or read his words: “it is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” The prophets of these sacred scriptures were the loyal servants of God who saw the oppression and pain of their neighbors and cried out for a nation to change and renew its ways. This is the role of the Church today, that she acts as prophet to the nations, sharing her vision of love for one another, of the condition of human living, the fullness of what it means to be human, and call our attention to those in greatest need.
We have heard this prophetic call loudly in Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. Yet, between these two socially active popes, many Catholics would be surprised to know that Pope Benedict XVI has written, “The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State". This statement does not mean that the Church takes a hands-off approach. It is not her role to abandon everything political. Rather, as Pope Benedict goes on to write, “she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.”
What he is describing is that the Church’s ambition is justice, not governing, and that there is a difference between these two. She is not an expert on public policy, on political strategy or in law-making. When Christ our King handed the keys to Peter, saying “whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” the Church was not given the keys to a political kingdom, but a Kingdom of God that dwells in the actions, hearts and souls of people, one that becomes manifested in the world through our actions of love and faithfulness to one another and to God.
The Church acts as prophet, a voice often crying out in the wilderness, calling for justice, peace and the needs of the poor. She provides a vision for the value of life, the needs of the human soul and purpose of society. It is through the people that she becomes a force of social evangelization, helping to lead the people of God into transforming the conditions of our communities and world toward a greater presence of human dignity and freedom. It is the Church who provides a vision of God’s Will for the conditions and hopes of all people.
The collection of this work is what we call Catholic Social Teaching. These are constitutions, encyclical letters, speeches and other documents written by Bishops, Popes and Councils responding to the social challenges of our times and by connecting our faith born in scripture, to some of the most complex issues we face in the world. These writings include work on the value of labor, the balance between rights and responsibilities, religious freedom, justice and peace, the dangers of communism and capitalism, on nuclear war, and most recently on care for creation and the environment…everything that touches, inspires or threatens the further realization of human dignity and freedom. Catholic Social Teaching is the Church’s voice for the fullness of humanity and bringing about social transformation, which includes questions of politics and governance.
Manifesting and bringing this vision into the work of government is the work of the faithful, the people, so that in 2007, we hear the U.S. Bishops say, “we do not intend to tell Catholics for who or against whom to vote.” As John Paul II wrote on the one hundredth anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the document that laid the foundation for Catholic Social Teaching, the Church’s “contribution to the political order is precisely her vision of the dignity of the person revealed in all its fullness in the mystery of the Incarnate Word."
When it comes to defining justice, to setting the agenda for the Common Good, and calling attention to the greatest needs in our society, even the greatest of our political leaders, just like you or I, are merely participants. We are the people who look to Christ, and to his Church for guidance. It is our hope that our leaders are inspired by their faith in God to build a better and more just world.
No government has been endowed with a special gift of prophecy, nor does government in general possess a unique insight into the cause of human dignity or the value of freedom. These are the gifts of the church. Throughout history, from the time of the Hebrew prophets through the founding of this country and into the present day, the vision of need, morality and human dignity has come through Christ. Many of us have seen the portrait of George Washington kneeling in prayer, or read his words: “it is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” The prophets of these sacred scriptures were the loyal servants of God who saw the oppression and pain of their neighbors and cried out for a nation to change and renew its ways. This is the role of the Church today, that she acts as prophet to the nations, sharing her vision of love for one another, of the condition of human living, the fullness of what it means to be human, and call our attention to those in greatest need.
We have heard this prophetic call loudly in Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. Yet, between these two socially active popes, many Catholics would be surprised to know that Pope Benedict XVI has written, “The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State". This statement does not mean that the Church takes a hands-off approach. It is not her role to abandon everything political. Rather, as Pope Benedict goes on to write, “she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.”
What he is describing is that the Church’s ambition is justice, not governing, and that there is a difference between these two. She is not an expert on public policy, on political strategy or in law-making. When Christ our King handed the keys to Peter, saying “whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” the Church was not given the keys to a political kingdom, but a Kingdom of God that dwells in the actions, hearts and souls of people, one that becomes manifested in the world through our actions of love and faithfulness to one another and to God.
The Church acts as prophet, a voice often crying out in the wilderness, calling for justice, peace and the needs of the poor. She provides a vision for the value of life, the needs of the human soul and purpose of society. It is through the people that she becomes a force of social evangelization, helping to lead the people of God into transforming the conditions of our communities and world toward a greater presence of human dignity and freedom. It is the Church who provides a vision of God’s Will for the conditions and hopes of all people.
The collection of this work is what we call Catholic Social Teaching. These are constitutions, encyclical letters, speeches and other documents written by Bishops, Popes and Councils responding to the social challenges of our times and by connecting our faith born in scripture, to some of the most complex issues we face in the world. These writings include work on the value of labor, the balance between rights and responsibilities, religious freedom, justice and peace, the dangers of communism and capitalism, on nuclear war, and most recently on care for creation and the environment…everything that touches, inspires or threatens the further realization of human dignity and freedom. Catholic Social Teaching is the Church’s voice for the fullness of humanity and bringing about social transformation, which includes questions of politics and governance.
Manifesting and bringing this vision into the work of government is the work of the faithful, the people, so that in 2007, we hear the U.S. Bishops say, “we do not intend to tell Catholics for who or against whom to vote.” As John Paul II wrote on the one hundredth anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the document that laid the foundation for Catholic Social Teaching, the Church’s “contribution to the political order is precisely her vision of the dignity of the person revealed in all its fullness in the mystery of the Incarnate Word."
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