Justice and Peace
LEARNING STRAND: SOCIAL JUSTICE
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMME
FOR CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND 12B TEACHER GUIDE THE LOGO The logo is an attempt to express Faith as an inward and outward journey.
This faith journey takes us into our own hearts, into the heart of the world and into the heart of Christ who is God’s love revealed.
In Christ, God transforms our lives. We can respond to his love for us by reaching out and loving one another.
The circle represents our world. White, the colour of light, represents God. Red is for the suffering of Christ. Red also represents the Holy Spirit. Yellow represents the risen Christ.
The direction of the lines is inwards except for the cross, which stretches outwards.
Our lives are embedded in and dependent upon our environment (green and blue) and our cultures (patterns and textures).
Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, is represented by the blue and white pattern.
The blue also represents the Pacific…
Annette Hanrahan RSCJ
UNDERSTANDING FAITH
YEAR 12
This book is the Teacher Guide to the following topic in the UNDERSTANDING FAITH series
12B JUSTICE AND PEACE
TEACHER GUIDE
Copyright 2005 by National Centre for Religious Studies
No part of this document may be reproduced in any way, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, without prior permission of the publishers.
Imprimatur: † Colin D Campbell DD Bishop of Dunedin Conference Deputy for Religious Studies March 2005
Authorised by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Published by: National Centre for Religious Studies Catholic Centre P O Box 1937 Wellington New Zealand
Printed by: Printlink 33-43 Jackson Street Petone Private Bag 39996 Wellington Mail Centre Lower Hutt 5045
Māori terms are italicised in the text. The first time a Māori term occurs its English meaning appears in brackets after it. A Māori glossary at the back of the book gives a more detailed explanation of these terms and provides a guide for their pronunciation.
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Topic ...... 2
Part One: What is Justice? ...... 33
Part Two: Justice in the Old Testament ...... 46
Part Three: Justice in the Gospels ...... 60
Part Four: The Church’s Tradition of Social Justice ...... 72
Part Five: Principles of Social Justice ...... 93
Part Six: Human Dignity, Freedom and Responsibility...... 101
Part Seven: Peace – More Than the Absence of War ...... 111
Part Eight: No More War! ...... 119
Part Nine: See, Think, Judge, Act – A Method for Action ...... 129
Part Ten: Acting Justly, Building Peace ...... 133
Glossary of General Terms ...... 138
Glossary of Māori Terms ...... 145
Acknowledgements ...... 148
1 TOPIC 12B: JUSTICE AND PEACE
LEARNING STRAND: SOCIAL JUSTICE
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
This book contains teacher material and resources for classroom use – including OHT originals and supplementary articles, as well as activities and tasks that can be photocopied – for Topic 12B “Justice and Peace” which forms the Social Justice Strand of the Understanding Faith programme at year twelve.
The study of topics in the Social Justice Strand is intended to raise students’ understanding of the Social Teaching of the Church which emphasises that ‘action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world’ is ‘a constitutive dimension of the Gospel’ (n.6 Justice in the World – 2nd Synod of Bishops, 1971).
The material in this guide should be read alongside the following:
• The Religious Education Curriculum Statement for Catholic Secondary Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand • The student resource book for Topic 12B “Justice and Peace” • The supplementary material and activities on the Faith Central website
The opening words of the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World remind Christians of the solidarity of the Church with the whole human family:
The joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. (1)
The Church’s solidarity with the contemporary world is expressed largely through its social teaching – the body of principles, guidelines and statements that have over time developed within the Church, especially since 1891 when Pope Leo XIII issued what is regarded as the first of the papal social encyclicals, Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things.
Grounded in the values and principles of the Jewish and Christian religious experiences, Catholic social teaching is expressed in the Christian Scriptures and the Church’s lived tradition. As an intellectual tradition, Catholic social teaching has been shaped by the work of great patristic and classical theologians, such as Augustine, Suarez and Thomas Aquinas. More recently, individuals and movements involved with liberation theology, African theology, Asian theology, eco-theology and feminist theology have contributed to its development.
2 Although the Church has always been concerned about social issues, Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things, which condemned the inhuman working and living conditions endured by many industrial workers and their families, is generally recognised as precedent setting because it heralds the development of the Church’s systematic teaching on matters relevant to society:
… the encyclical letter Rerum Novarum marks the beginning of a new path. Grafting itself onto a tradition hundreds of years old, it signals a new beginning and a singular development of the Church’s teaching in the area of social matters. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 87)
A second social encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno – After Forty Years, was issued in 1931 by Pope Pius XI to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things. Thirty years later, in 1961, the third encyclical in the series, Pope John XXIII’s Mater et Magistra – Mother and Teacher, initiated an explosion of social teaching, with major teaching statements being issued much more frequently by individual popes and bishops, bishops’ synods and conferences, and Vatican congregations, as well as by the Second Vatican Council. These statements, including Centesimus Annus – The Hundredth Year, issued by Pope John Paul II in 1991 to mark the centenary of the publication of Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things, reflect the rising social consciousness and concern of the Church as it searches for more just and sustainable ways for the peoples of the earth to live together in peace.
While an active commitment to social justice is now recognised by the Church as essential to authentic Catholic faith, the inspiring and challenging body of social teaching remains unheeded, and indeed unknown, by many Catholics. A recent introduction to Catholic social teaching refers to it as “our best kept secret”.1
At the heart of Catholic social thought and teaching is the simple but forceful truth that all people are made in the image and likeness of Te Atua (God) and possess an inherent human dignity as members of the community of creation. It is on this basis that the Church teaches that all people have basic human rights which must be respected and responsibilities that cannot be ignored. It is because of the dignity of human persons and their place within creation that the Church exercises a special option for those living in poverty and on the margins of society, and calls for stewardship and a sense of global solidarity.
The Church’s social teaching has many facets – the life and dignity of the human person; the call to family, community, and participation; human rights and responsibilities; the promotion of the common good; subsidiarity; the preferential option for the poor and vulnerable; the dignity of work and the rights of workers; solidarity; and the care of God’s creation.
1 Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret. 4th revised and expanded edition by Edward P. Deberri et al, Orbis Books, 2003.
3 This present topic explores the themes of justice and peace – two very broad and closely connected issues that have been of increasing concern to the world and the Church throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries.
The topic begins with the concept of justice and the Christian understanding of it. It examines the sources of the Church’s teachings on justice in the Old and the New Testaments, before briefly outlining the historical development of the Church’s tradition of social action and teaching. After briefly introducing students to the most significant Church statements on its social doctrine – beginning with Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things – and to the key teachings which they present, the topic then looks at those important themes and principles that recur again and again in the Church’s social teaching, and which shape the Church’s response to a wide range of social issues. The Church’s teachings about human dignity, freedom and responsibility are emphasised, and its perspectives on the issues of work and race are examined in the light of these fundamental concepts.
The issue of peace is given considerable emphasis in this topic. In reflecting on the Church’s teachings on peace, war and terrorism – one of the greatest current threats to peace in our world – students will be encouraged to see that peace is much more than the absence of violence and war. Although the just- war theory has, in the past, played an important role in the Church’s response to war, it is hoped that students will appreciate the increasing emphasis that Church leaders are giving to the role played by justice and forgiveness in building a lasting peace. They will also be reminded of the peace-giving qualities of the Eucharist and of the challenge that participation in this sacrament confronts us with – to be people of peace in the world.
In the course of this topic, as they learn about various injustices and the situations that cause them, students will be encouraged to recognise the steps that can be taken – however small – to challenge and remedy injustice. To this end, students will be introduced to the well-known See-Think-Judge-Act method, popularised after the Second World War by the Belgian priest (and later cardinal), Joseph Cardijn, and the Young Christian Workers. The teacher should invite students to use, wherever possible, the See-Think- Judge-Act process to involve them in reflection and action on a specific issue. In this way the myth that injustices are ‘out there’, and have ‘nothing to do with us’ can be countered.
When faced with great injustices such as the global imbalance of wealth and resources, or the proliferation of terrorism, it is easy for people to become paralysed by the magnitude of the problem, and to simply turn their backs on it. Given this context, it is important for teachers to offer the viewpoint that, as Colin Morris once said, “the most any Christian can hope to do is to take hold of the near edge of a great problem and act at some cost to themselves”. This is expressed in another way in an ancient Chinese proverb:
4 It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.2
Because of their psychological and emotional preoccupation with questions of identity, some young people can be resistant to learning about issues of social justice. While it is true that year twelve students are not responsible for causing the numerous large-scale injustices in our world, and it is natural that they are more interested in more immediate goals – social, educational, sporting, vocational etc. – it is important that teachers raise their awareness that an over emphasis on their own need for acceptance and affection is liable to lure them into an uncritical assimilation of consumerist values. A consumerist mentality, in itself, is contrary to Gospel values such as stewardship and simplicity, and enables the continuation of the problem of the unjust distribution of the world’s wealth.
By encouraging students to seek a balance between what they as young people have a right to and challenging them to see what their responsibilities are to the world in which they live, the teacher assists their development into adults who are capable of transforming the world so that it becomes, more fully, the reign of God:
“a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.” (Preface of the Feast of Christ the King)
More is to be gained by appealing to young people’s sense of generosity and fair play, than by trying to make them feel guilty about situations over which they have little control. However, they have to come to terms with the fact that we share responsibility for the actions of our community as such, including the present effects of past actions. In regard to Māori grievances from the past a young New Zealander is not in the same position as a young Norwegian.
While an important aim of this topic is to inform students about Catholic social teaching – “our best kept secret” – through the study of Scripture, the Church’s living tradition, and Church documents, there may be some limited opportunity during the course of this six to eight week topic for students to gain valuable experience and insight by meeting or working alongside people who are struggling in some way for social justice. However, the present topic is designed to lay the groundwork for a lifetime of commitment to justice, and its practical application, rather than providing a once only opportunity for involvement with those experiencing injustice.
Throughout this topic, as students become more aware of the existence of various injustices they will come to appreciate that all human efforts – even
2 This proverb was adopted by “The Christophers”, founded by Fr James Keller in the USA in 1945. They are a movement which aims to encourage people to take personal responsibility for raising standards in all phases of human endeavour by taking the spirit of Christ into the world. They do this through television and radio, and through their Christopher News Notes which are published 10 times a year.
5 the most noble – can be thwarted by sin. There are no perfect solutions to the problems of human life. For example:
• The dismantling of colonialism in Africa and Communism in Europe has led to the emergence of many corrupt dictatorships, and in some cases to the practice of genocide • The abolition of apartheid in South Africa is already setting black against black in a struggle for power • Immigration that seems to solve one set of injustices may produce others • Operations to eliminate international terrorism have resulted in wars in which thousands of innocent civilians have been killed
No one is exempt from trying to do what one can to ensure that life is humane, that is just and peaceful. But prudence is a necessary adjunct to both peace and justice — so are wisdom and knowledge.
ACHIEVEMENT AIMS
In this topic students will gain and apply knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to understand:
1. The principles, grounded in Scripture and Tradition, which guide the Church’s teaching on issues of justice and peace. 2. The Church’s perspective on contemporary justice and peace issues. 3. Actions that people can take on behalf of justice and peace.
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
1. Develop an understanding of the Christian vision of tika (justice). 2. Recognise the sources of the Church’s teaching on justice in Scripture and the on-going Catholic tradition. 3. Identify and explore key principles and concepts – including human dignity, freedom and responsibility – underlying the Church’s teaching on particular issues of social justice. 4. Develop an understanding on the Church’s teachings on peace and war. 5. Identify ways in which people can build justice and peace.
CHURCH TEACHINGS AND LINKS WITH CHURCH DOCUMENTS Underpinning the five achievement objectives for the topic are important teachings of the Church. Where possible, direct links with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church have been established and quotations used to highlight the relationship between the various achievement objectives and the Church teachings that they embody. On occasions, other Church documents are referred to and quoted.
6 In all cases the official translations of Church documents have been used, but where necessary changes have been made so that the language is gender inclusive.
Achievement Objective 1
Students will be able to develop an understanding of the Christian vision of justice.
Church Teachings
Justice
• Justice consists in giving what is their due – that which is owed to them – to God and to neighbour. • Tika recognises the other as a person. • The Church emphasises the need for social justice, which concerns the social, political and economic aspects of life and addresses problems and their solutions in a structural way. • Justice is of particular concern in today’s context, where the identity, value, mana (dignity) and rights of the person are seriously threatened.
Justice and Mercy
• Merciful love goes beyond justice, transforming it from within.
Church Document Links
Justice
Justice is a value that accompanies the exercise of the corresponding cardinal moral virtue. According to its most classic formulation, it consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbour. From a subjective point of view, justice is translated into behaviour that is based on the will to recognise the other as a person, while, from an objective point of view, it constitutes the decisive criteria of morality in the intersubjective and social sphere.
The Church’s social magisterium constantly calls for the most classical forms of justice to be respected: commutative, distributive and legal justice. Ever greater importance has been given to social justice, which represents a real development in general justice, the justice that regulates social relationships according to the criterion of observance of the law. Social justice, a requirement related to the social question which today is worldwide in scope, concerns the social, political and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective solutions. (CSDC 201)
Justice is particularly important in the present-day context, where the individual value of the person, their dignity and their rights – despite proclaimed intentions – are seriously threatened by the widespread tendency
7 to make exclusive use of criteria of utility and ownership. Justice too, on the basis of these criteria, is considered in a reductionist manner, whereas it acquires a fuller and more authentic meaning in Christian anthropology. Justice, in fact, is not merely a simple human convention, because what is “just” is not first determined by the law but by the profound identity of the human being. (CSDC 202)
Justice and Mercy
It is from the inner wellspring of love that the values of truth, freedom and justice are born and grow. Human life in society is ordered, bears fruits of goodness and responds to human dignity when it is founded on truth; when it is lived in justice, that is, in the effective respect of rights and in the faithful carrying out of corresponding duties; when it is animated by selflessness, which makes the needs and requirements of others seem as one's own and intensifies the communion of spiritual values and the concern for material necessities; when it is brought about in the freedom that befits the dignity of men and women, prompted by their rational nature to accept responsibility for their actions. These values constitute the pillars which give strength and consistency to the edifice of life and deeds: they are values that determine the quality of every social action and institution. (CSDC 205)
Love presupposes and transcends justice, which must find its fulfilment in charity…. Human relationships cannot be governed solely by the measure of justice: The experience of the past and of our own time demonstrates that justice alone is not enough, that it can even lead to the negation and destruction of itself…. In fact, in every sphere of interpersonal relationships justice must, so to speak, be ‘corrected’ to a considerable extent by that love which, as St.Paul proclaims, 'is patient and kind' or, in other words, possesses the characteristics of that merciful love which is so much of the essence of the Gospel and Christianity. (CSDC 206)
Achievement Objective 2
Students will be able to recognise the sources of the Church’s teaching on justice in Scripture and the on-going Catholic tradition.
Church Teachings
Foundations of the Church’s Social Doctrine
• The Church’s social doctrine is based on Scripture and the tradition of the Church.
Justice in Scripture
• God’s justice is revealed in the events of the Old Testament, especially in the freeing of the people from slavery in Egypt, the Covenant of Sinai, and the prophets’ call to faithfulness.
8 • Ngā Rongopai (the gospels) reveal Hehu Karaiti (Jesus Christ) as the model of perfect justice and the fulfilment of the law.
Development of the Church’s Social Teachings
• The Church has always been concerned about social matters but Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things marks the beginning of the Church’s systematic development of social teachings. • The Church’s rich heritage of social teachings has its origins in Scripture, especially the Gospels, and has been shaped by the writings of great theologians throughout the ages.
Church Document Links
Foundations of the Church’s Social Doctrine
The Church's social doctrine finds its essential foundation in biblical revelation and in the tradition of the Church. (CSDC 74)
Justice in Scripture
After the patriarchs, God formed Israel as his people by freeing them from slavery in Egypt. He established with them the covenant of Mount Sinai and, through Moses, gave them his law so that they would recognise him and serve him as the one living and true God, the provident Father and just judge, and so that they would look for the promised Saviour. (CCC 62)
Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. (CCC 64)
The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and bestows the justice of God: “For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.” (Romans 10:4) (CCC 1953)
Development of the Church’s Social Teachings
The social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century when the Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and authority, and its new forms of labour and ownership. The development of the doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent value of the Church's teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning of her Tradition, always living and active. (CCC 2421)
9 The Church's social teaching comprises a body of doctrine, which is articulated as the Church interprets events in the course of history, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, in the light of the whole of what has been revealed by Jesus Christ. This teaching can be more easily accepted by people of good will, the more the faithful let themselves be guided by it. (CCC 2422)
The term “social doctrine” goes back to Pope Pius XI and designates the doctrinal corpus concerning issues relevant to society which, from the encyclical letter Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, developed in the Church through the magisterium of the Roman pontiffs and the bishops in communion with them. The Church's concern for social matters certainly did not begin with that document, for the Church has never failed to show interest in society. Nonetheless, the encyclical letter Rerum Novarum marks the beginning of a new path. Grafting itself onto a tradition hundreds of years old, it signals a new beginning and a singular development of the Church's teaching in the area of social matters.
In her continuous attention to men and women living in society, the Church has accumulated a rich doctrinal heritage. This has its roots in Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels and the apostolic writings, and takes on shape and body beginning from the Fathers of the Church and the great Doctors of the Middle Ages, constituting a doctrine in which, even without explicit and direct magisterial pronouncements, the Church gradually came to recognise her competence. (CSDC 87)
Achievement Objective 3
Students will be able to identify and explore key principles and concepts – including human dignity, freedom and responsibility – underlying the Church’s teaching on particular issues of social justice.
Church Teachings
Key Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
• The principle of the dignity of the human person is the basis of all that the Church teaches about social justice. • Other key principles of Catholic social teaching include the common good, subsidiarity, participation, and solidarity.
Human Dignity
• He tangata (human beings), created in God’s image to be in relationship with God, possess the dignity of persons. • Humans are social beings who develop their potential through their relationships with other people, who themselves are reflections of Te Atua.
10 • He tangata must show respect and responsibility in their relationship with the earth and its creatures because these have value and reflect God’s goodness. • Each human being is unique and unrepeatable. • Just societies respect and have as their goal the mana of the human person.
Freedom and Responsibility
• Every human being has the right to be recognised as free and responsible. • Freedom enables people to seek Te Atua and accept responsibility for their lives. • Freedom is a gift that needs to be nurtured. • Freedom is not achieved in self-sufficiency but through the bonds that link people to one another. • Freedom is respected when every member of society is able to seek the truth, profess their religious, cultural and political ideas, choose their state of life and line of work, and take their own economic, social and political initiatives.
The Common Good
• The principle of the common good stems from the mana, unity and equality of all people. • The common good refers to the sum total of social conditions which allow people, individually or in groups, to develop and fulfil their potential. • A society that seeks to serve its individual members must seek to serve the common good. • The common good is served when persons and their fundamental rights are respected and promoted. • All members of a society must co-operate and contribute to the common good. • The common good is the responsibility of the state as well as of individuals.
The Universal Destination of Goods
• The principle of the common good requires that the world’s material resources be shared fairly among all. • The right to private property is not absolute and is secondary to the fact that the earth’s resources are intended for the good of all.
The Preferential Option for the Poor
• Social responsibility requires the exercise of a preferential option for the poor and the marginalised when decisions are made about the ownership and use of goods.
11 Subsidiarity
• The principle of subsidiarity – that nothing should be done at a higher level which can be done as well, or better, at a lower level – protects initiative, freedom and responsibility, and strengthens the social fabric. • At times, the state needs to intervene to ensure that justice is done and to protect the common good.
Participation
• Each person has a right and duty to participate in the public life of society. • Participation in community life is one of the pillars of democracy.
Solidarity
• Individuals and societies are interdependent and must recognise the ties that unite them and ensure that they treat each other as neighbours.
Forms of Justice
• There are various forms of justice – commutative, distributive, legal, and social. • Commutative justice regulates exchanges between persons and between institutions in accordance with a strict respect for their rights – it requires safeguarding property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. • Legal justice concerns what the citizen owes in fairness to the community. • Distributive justice regulates what the community owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs. • Social justice provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation – it is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority.
Work
• Hehu teaches that we should work but not be enslaved by it. • By means of work, men and women govern the world with and under Te Atua, accomplishing good things for themselves and others. • Work is a fundamental right and must be made available to all people capable of engaging in it. • Rest from work is a right – it enables people to rest, and to develop their cultural, social and religious life. • The organisation of work must take into account the gifts and needs of women as well as men. • The rights of workers are based on their mana as persons.
12 • Workers have a right to a fair wage. • The Church recognises the legitimacy of striking when other solutions to disputes cannot be found. • Relations within the world of work should be characterised by co- operation. • Workers have a right to form unions or associations to protect their interests. • Changes in production, such as the globalisation of finance, trade and labour, must not violate human dignity or freedom. • Society and the state must work together to protect workers from unemployment. • Those who are unemployed have a right to be supported financially.
Race
• All people are made in God’s image and likeness and are equal in regard to dignity. • The dignity of every person before God is the foundation of their equality before all people, regardless of race, nation, sex, origin, culture, or class. • For Christians, racial and cultural differences must not be causes of division. • All forms of racism or racial discrimination are immoral, going against Christ’s message that every person is a neighbour. • In Aotearoa New Zealand we are challenged to recognise past and present injustices against Māori and to work towards reconciliation based on tika.
Church Document Links
The Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
Men and women, in the concrete circumstances of history, represent the heart and soul of Catholic social thought. The whole of the Church's social doctrine, in fact, develops from the principle that affirms the inviolable dignity of the human person. In its manifold expressions of this knowledge, the Church has striven above all to defend human dignity in the face of every attempt to re- dimension or distort its image; moreover it has often denounced the many violations of human dignity. History attests that it is from the fabric of social relationships that there arise some of the best possibilities for ennobling the human person, but it is also there that lie in wait the most loathsome rejections of human dignity. (CSDC 107)
The permanent principles of the Church's social doctrine constitute the very heart of Catholic social teaching. These are the principles of: the dignity of the human person, which is the foundation of all the other principles and content of the Church's social doctrine; the common good; subsidiarity; and solidarity. These principles, the expression of the whole truth about humankind known by reason and faith, are born of the encounter of the
13 Gospel message and of its demands summarised in the supreme commandment of love of God and neighbour in justice with the problems emanating from the life of society. In the course of history and with the light of the Spirit, the Church has wisely reflected within her own tradition of faith and has been able to provide an ever more accurate foundation and shape to these principles, progressively explaining them in the attempt to respond coherently to the demands of the times and to the continuous developments of social life. (CSDC 160)
Human Dignity
The fundamental message of Sacred Scripture proclaims that human persons are creatures of God (cf. Psalm 139:14-18), and sees in their being in the image of God the element that characterises and distinguishes them: “God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). God places the human creature at the centre and summit of the created order. Man (in Hebrew, adam) is formed from the earth (adamah) and God blows into his nostrils the breath of life (cf. Genesis 2:7). Therefore, being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. People are capable of self-knowledge, of self- possession and of freely giving themselves and entering into communion with other persons. Further, they are called by grace to a covenant with their Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in their stead. (CSDC 108)
The whole of a person’s life is a quest and a search for God. This relationship with God can be ignored or even forgotten or dismissed, but it can never be eliminated. Indeed, among all the world's visible creatures, only people have a capacity for God. The human being is a personal being created by God to be in relationship with him; People find life and self-expression only in relationship, and tend naturally to God. (CSDC 109)
The relationship between God and human beings is reflected in the relational and social dimension of human nature. Persons, in fact, are not solitary beings, but social beings, and unless they relate themselves to others they can neither live nor develop their potential…. In one's neighbour, whether man or woman, there is a reflection of God himself, the definitive goal and fulfilment of every person. (CSDC 110)
With this specific vocation to life, man and woman find themselves also in the presence of all the other creatures. They can and are obliged to put them at their own service and to enjoy them, but their dominion over the world requires the exercise of responsibility, it is not a freedom of arbitrary and selfish exploitation. All of creation in fact has value and is good (cf. Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) in the sight of God, who is its author. People must discover and respect its value. (CSDC 113)
Each person exists as a unique and unrepeatable being, he [or she] exists as an “I” capable of self-understanding, self-possession and self-determination.
14 Human persons are intelligent and conscious beings, capable of reflecting on themselves and therefore of being aware of themselves and their actions. However, it is not intellect, consciousness and freedom that define the person, rather it is the person who is the basis of the acts of intellect, consciousness and freedom. These acts can even be absent, for even without them a man or woman does not cease to be a person. (CSDC 131)
A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person. The person represents the ultimate end of society, by which it is ordered to the person…. Every political, economic, social, scientific and cultural programme must be inspired by the awareness of the primacy of each human being over society. (CSDC 132)
Freedom and Responsibility
Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognised as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. (CSDC 199)
Men and women can turn to good only in freedom, which God has given to them as one of the highest signs of God’s image: “For God has willed that people remain under the control of their own decisions” (Sirach 15:14), so that they can seek their Creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through loyalty to him. (CSDC 135)
Men and women rightly appreciate freedom and strive for it passionately: rightly do they desire and must form and guide, by their own free initiative their personal and social life, accepting personal responsibility for it. (CSDC 135)
Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly. When the contrary is the case, freedom dies, destroying people and society. (CSDC 138)
The meaning of freedom must not be restricted, considering it from a purely individualistic perspective and reducing it to the arbitrary and uncontrolled exercise of one’s own personal autonomy. Far from being achieved in total self-sufficiency and the absence of relationships, freedom only truly exists where reciprocal bonds, governed by truth and justice, link people to one another. The understanding of freedom becomes deeper and broader when it is defended, even at the social level, in all its various dimensions. (CSDC 199)
The value of freedom, as an expression of the singularity of each human person, is respected when every member of society is permitted to fulfil their personal vocation; to seek the truth and profess their religious, cultural and political ideas; to choose their state of life and, as far as possible, their line of work; to pursue initiatives of an economic, social and political nature. (CSDC 200)
15 The Common Good
The principle of the common good, to which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its fullest meaning, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily.
Just as the moral actions of an individual are accomplished in doing what is good, so too the actions of a society attain their full stature when they bring about the common good. The common good, in fact, can be understood as the social and community dimension of the moral good. (CSDC 164)
A society that wishes and intends to remain at the service of the human being at every level is a society that has the common good – the good of all people and of the whole person – as its primary goal. Human persons cannot find fulfilment in themselves, that is, apart from the fact that they exist “with” others and “for’ others. (CSDC 165)
The demands of the common good are dependent on the social conditions of each historical period and are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of persons and their fundamental rights. These demands concern above all the commitment to peace, the organisation of the state's powers, a sound juridical system, the protection of the environment, and the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation, basic health care, the freedom of communication and expression, and the protection of religious freedom. Nor must one forget the contribution that every nation is required in duty to make towards a true worldwide cooperation for the common good of the whole of humanity and for future generations also. (CSDC 166)
The common good therefore involves all members of society, no one is exempt from cooperating, according to each one's possibilities, in attaining it and developing it. (CSDC 167)
The responsibility for attaining the common good, besides falling to individual persons, belongs also to the state, since the common good is the reason that the political authority exists. (CSDC 168)
The Universal Destination of Goods
Among the numerous implications of the common good, immediate significance is taken on by the principle of the universal destination of goods. God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and women and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity. (CSDC 171)
Christian tradition has never recognised the right to private property as
16 absolute and untouchable. On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone. The principle of the universal destination of goods is an affirmation both of God's full and perennial lordship over every reality and of the requirement that the goods of creation remain ever destined to the development of the whole person and of all humanity. This principle is not opposed to the right to private property but indicates the need to regulate it. Private property, in fact, regardless of the concrete forms of the regulations and juridical norms relative to it, is in its essence only an instrument for respecting the principle of the universal destination of goods; in the final analysis, therefore, it is not an end but a means. (CSDC 177)
The Preferential Option for the Poor
The principle of the universal destination of goods requires that the poor, the marginalised and in all cases those whose living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular concern. To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force. This is an option, or a special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions to be made concerning the ownership and use of goods. Today, furthermore, given the worldwide dimension which the social question has assumed, this love of preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without health care and, above all, those without hope of a better future. (CSDC 182)
Subsidiarity
Socialisation also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. The teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good. (CCC 1883)
The principle of subsidiarity protects people from abuses by higher-level social authority and calls on these same authorities to help individuals and intermediate groups to fulfil their duties. This principle is imperative because every person, family and intermediate group has something original to offer to the community. Experience shows that the denial of subsidiarity, or its limitation in the name of an alleged democratisation or equality of all members of society, limits and sometimes even destroys the spirit of freedom and initiative. (CSDC 187)
17 Various circumstances may make it advisable that the state step in to supply certain functions. One may think, for example, of situations in which it is necessary for the state itself to stimulate the economy because it is impossible for civil society to support initiatives on its own. One may also envision the reality of serious social imbalance or injustice where only the intervention of the public authority can create conditions of greater equality, justice and peace. In light of the principle of subsidiarity, however, this institutional substitution must not continue any longer than is absolutely necessary, since justification for such intervention is found only in the exceptional nature of the situation. In any case, the common good correctly understood, the demands of which will never in any way be contrary to the defence and promotion of the primacy of the person and the way this is expressed in society, must remain the criteria for making decisions concerning the application of the principle of subsidiarity. (CSDC 188)
Participation
“Participation” is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person in social interchange. It is necessary that all participate, each according to their position and role, in promoting the common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person. (CCC 1913)
Participation in community life is not only one of the greatest aspirations of citizens, called to exercise freely and responsibly their civic role with and for others, but is also one of the pillars of all democratic orders and one of the major guarantees of the permanence of the democratic system. (CSDC 190)
Solidarity
Solidarity highlights in a particular way the intrinsic social nature of the human person, the equality of all in dignity and rights and the common path of individuals and peoples towards an ever more committed unity. Never before has there been such a widespread awareness of the bond of interdependence between individuals and peoples, which is found at every level. The very rapid expansion in ways and means of communication “in real time”, such as those offered by information technology, the extraordinary advances in computer technology, the increased volume of commerce and information exchange all bear witness to the fact that, for the first time since the beginning of human history, it is now possible – at least technically – to establish relationships between people who are separated by great distances and are unknown to each other.
In the presence of the phenomenon of interdependence and its constant expansion, however, there persist in every part of the world stark inequalities between developed and developing countries, inequalities stoked also by various forms of exploitation, oppression and corruption that have a negative influence on the internal and international life of many states. The acceleration of interdependence between persons and peoples needs to be accompanied by equally intense efforts on the ethical-social plane, in order to avoid the dangerous consequences of perpetrating injustice on a global scale.
18 This would have very negative repercussions even in the very countries that are presently more advantaged. (CSDC 192)
The term "solidarity", widely used by the magisterium, expresses in summary fashion the need to recognise in the composite ties that unite people and social groups among themselves, space given to human freedom for common growth in which all share and in which they participate. The commitment to this goal is translated into the positive contribution of seeing that nothing is lacking in the common cause and also of seeking points of possible agreement where attitudes of separation and fragmentation prevail. It translates into the willingness to give oneself for the good of one's neighbour, beyond any individual or particular interest. (CSDC 194)
Forms of Justice
Contracts are subject to commutative justice which regulates exchanges between persons and between institutions in accordance with a strict respect for their rights. Commutative justice obliges strictly; it requires safeguarding property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. Without commutative justice, no other form of justice is possible.
One distinguishes commutative justice from legal justice which concerns what the citizen owes in fairness to the community, and from distributive justice which regulates what the community owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs. (CCC 2411)
In virtue of commutative justice, reparation for injustice committed requires the restitution of stolen goods to their owner. (CCC 2412)
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. (CCC 1928)
Work
In his preaching, Jesus teaches that we should appreciate work. (CSDC 259)
In his preaching, Jesus teaches people not to be enslaved by work. Before all else, they must be concerned about their souls; gaining the whole world is not the purpose of their lives. (CSDC 260)
By means of work, men and women govern the world with God; together with God they are its “lords” and accomplish good things for themselves and for others…. Christians are called to work not only to provide themselves with bread, but also in acceptance of their poorer neighbours, to whom the Lord has commanded them to give food, drink, clothing, welcome, care and companionship. (CSDC 265)
19 Rest from work is a right. As God “rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had done” (Genesis 2:2), so too men and women, created in God’s image, are to enjoy sufficient rest and free time that will allow them to tend to their family, cultural, social and religious life. (CSDC 284)
Work is a fundamental right and a good for humankind, a useful good, worthy of people because it is an appropriate way for them to give expression to and enhance their human dignity. (CSDC 287)
Work is a good belonging to all people and must be made available to all who are capable of engaging in it. Full employment therefore remains a mandatory objective for every economic system orientated towards justice and the common good. (CSDC 288)
The recognition and defence of women’s rights in the context of work generally depend on the organisation of work, which must take into account the dignity and vocation of women …. An urgent need to recognise effectively the rights of women in the workplace is seen especially under the aspects of pay, insurance and social security. (CSDC 295)
… the Church’s social doctrine condemns the increase in the exploitation of children in the workplace in conditions of veritable slavery. This exploitation represents a serious violation of human dignity … (CSDC 296)
The rights of workers, like all other rights, are based on the nature of human persons and on their transcendent dignity. (CSDC 301)
Remuneration is the most important means for achieving justice in work relationships. The just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. They commit grave injustice who refuse to pay a just wage or who do not give it in due time and in proportion to the work done. (CSDC 302)
The Church’s social doctrine recognises the legitimacy of striking when it cannot be avoided, or at least when it is necessary to obtain a proportionate benefit, when every other method for the resolution of disputes has been ineffectual. (CSDC 304)
The Church’s social doctrine teaches that relations within the world of work must be marked by co-operation: hatred and attempts to eliminate the other are completely unacceptable. (CSDC 306)
The magisterium recognises the fundamental role played by labour unions, whose existence is connected with the right to form associations or unions to defend the vital interests of workers employed in the various professions. (CSDC 305)
The new realities that are having such a powerful impact on the productive process, such as the globalisation of finance, economics, trade and labour, must never violate the dignity and centrality of the human person, nor the freedom and democracy of peoples. (CSDC 321)
20 It is also Catholic teaching that those who are unemployed must be supported financially and that society and the state must act together in assuming responsibility for protecting the worker from unemployment. These are not privileges to be given or taken back at the will of the state but a right in justice. While the state may set reasonable conditions for the granting of benefits, it should not do so in a way which threatens the dignity of the person or undermines the family unit. (NZ Bishops – Some Concerns About Employment)
According to Catholic Social Teaching, wages are to be determined not only by the bargaining power of workers but also by their absolute right to a just participation in the fruits of their labour. The traditional role of the state in New Zealand in ensuring a basic minimum wage is utterly consistent with the teaching of the Church on "the just wage". We would recommend that the Government introduce a minimum wage which is adequate for the needs of workers and their dependents, which enables them to live in health and with dignity and recognises the right of workers to a just remuneration for their labour. (NZ Bishops – Some Concerns About Employment)
Race
“God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), since all people have the same dignity as creatures made in God’s image and likeness. The Incarnation of the Son of God shows the equality of all people with regard to dignity: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). (CSDC 144)
In the definitive witness of love that God has made manifest in the cross of Christ, all the barriers of enmity have been torn down, and for those who live a new life in Christ, racial and cultural differences are no longer causes of division. (CSDC 431)
Since something of the glory of God shines on the face of every person, the dignity of every person before God is the basis of the dignity of the human person before all other people. Moreover, this is the ultimate foundation of the radical equality and kinship among all people, regardless of their race, nation, sex, origin, culture, or class. (CSDC 144)
… any theory or form whatsoever of racism and racial discrimination is morally unacceptable. (CSDC 433)
The review of our history clearly indicates that the promises and guarantees made in 1840 have not been consistently upheld and that the Māori partner has suffered grave injustices. The Māori have not always been given the protection of the state as promised under the Treaty. Worse still, the state has often deprived them by law of many of the promised guarantees. The state reflects the attitudes and behaviour of its people. In New Zealand racial prejudice still exists and is practised, particularly against the Māori. Racist thoughts, attitudes and behaviour are sinful because they are clearly against the specific message of Christ, for whom neighbour is not only a person from
21 my tribe, my milieu, my religion or my nation: it is every person that I meet along the way.
Like a Jubilee Year, 1990 gives us an opportunity to recognise past and present injustices and to work to resolve them and effect reconciliation based on justice. With the tradition and teaching of the Church, we affirm: that the right of the first occupants to land, and a social and political organization which would allow them to preserve their cultural identity, while remaining open to others, must be guaranteed. This is what the Treaty set out to do. (NZ Bishops – He Tau Whakamaharatanga Mo Aotearoa - Nui Tireni A Commemoration Year for Aotearoa - New Zealand)
Achievement Objective 4
Students will be able to develop an understanding of the Church’s teachings on peace and war.
Church Teachings
Peace
• All creation aspires to peace. • Peace originates in the primary “right relationship” which exists between every person and Te Atua. • Peace is the fullness of life and God’s blessing. • The Old Testament promise of peace is fulfilled in Hehu Karaiti. • Working for peace is essential to the message of Te Rongopai. • Peace is the consequence of justice – when persons and their mana are threatened peace cannot exist. • Peace is also the fruit of aroha (love).
War
• War is a scourge and never an appropriate way to resolve conflict. • War is a defeat for humanity. • It is urgent that solutions to war be sought and the injustices that cause it eliminated.
Terrorism
• Terrorism, which has no regard for any of the rules of international humanitarian law, is one of the most brutal and traumatic forms of violence today. • The elimination of terrorism requires the creation of conditions that will prevent it developing. • Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms because it strikes at the heart of human dignity in its use of the human person as a means to an end.
22 • Actions against terrorists and the way in which they are treated must show regard for human rights and follow the rule of law. • It is blasphemous to carry out acts of terrorism in God’s name. • To define as “martyrs” those who die while carrying out terrorist attacks is a serious distortion. • Religions have an obligation to work together to remove the causes of terrorism and promote friendship among peoples.
The Just War
• All governments and people are obliged to work to avoid war, but have the right to lawful self-defence if all peace efforts fail. • The just war theory sets criteria which determine when it is morally allowable to engage in war and how such a war can be waged in a just manner. • In today’s world, where modern weaponry gives us the potential for mass destruction, it is increasingly difficult to define a war as “just”.
Church Document Links
Peace
Creation, which is a reflection of the divine glory, aspires to peace. God created all that exists, and all creation forms a harmonious whole that is good in every part. Peace is founded on the primary relationship that exists between every human being and God, a relationship marked by righteousness. (CSDC 488)
Peace and violence cannot dwell together, and where there is violence, God cannot be present. (CSDC 488)
In biblical revelation, peace is much more than the simple absence of war; it represents the fullness of life. (CSDC 489)
Peace is the effect of the blessing that God bestows upon his people: “The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:26) (CSDC 489)
The promise of peace which runs through the entire Old Testament finds its fulfilment in the very person of Jesus …. Jesus “is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility among people, reconciling them with God. (CSDC 491)
Working for peace can never be separated from announcing the Gospel, which is in fact the good news of peace addressed to all men and women. (CSDC 493)
Peace is the fruit of justice, understood in the broad sense as the respect for the equilibrium of every dimension of the human person. Peace is threatened when people are not given all that is due to them as human persons, when
23 their dignity is not respected and when civil life is not directed to the common good. The defence and promotion of human rights is essential for the building up of a peaceful society and the development of individuals, peoples and nations. (CSDC 494)
Peace is also the fruit of love. True and lasting peace is more a matter of love than of justice, because the function of justice is merely to do away with obstacles to peace: the injury done or the damage caused. Peace itself, however, is an act and results only from love. (CSDC 494)
War
War is a “scourge” and is never an appropriate way to resolve problems that arise between nations, it has never been and it will never be, because it creates new and still more complicated conflicts. (CSDC 497)
In the end, war is the failure of all true humanism, it is always a defeat for humanity: “Never again some peoples against others, never again! … no more war, no more war! (Pope Paul VI, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations – 4 October, 1965) (CSDC 497)
Seeking alternative solutions to war for resolving international conflicts has taken on tremendous urgency today, since the terrifying power of the means of destruction – to which even medium and small-sized countries have access – and the ever closer links between the peoples of the whole world make it very difficult or practically impossible to limit the consequences of a conflict. It is therefore essential to seek out the causes underlying bellicose [war-like] conflicts, especially those connected with structural situations of injustice, poverty and exploitation, which require intervention so that they may be removed. For this reason, another name for peace is development. Just as there is a collective responsibility for avoiding war, so there is a collective responsibility for promoting development. (CSDC 498)
Terrorism
Terrorism is one of the most brutal forms of violence traumatising the international community; it sows hatred, death, and an urge for revenge and reprisal. From being a subversive strategy typical of certain extremist organizations, aimed at the destruction of material goods or the killing of people, terrorism has now become a shadowy network of political collusion. It can also make use of sophisticated technology, often has immense financial resources at its disposal and is involved in large-scale planning, striking completely innocent people who become chance victims of terrorist actions. The targets of terrorist attacks are generally places of daily life and not military objectives in the context of a declared war. Terrorism acts and strikes under the veil of darkness, with no regard for any of the rules by which people have always sought to set limits to conflicts, for example through international humanitarian law; in many cases terrorist methods are regarded as new strategies of war. Nor must we overlook the causes that can lead to such unacceptable forms of making demands. The fight against terrorism
24 presupposes the moral duty to help create those conditions that will prevent it from arising or developing. (CSDC 513)
Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms. It shows complete contempt for human life and can never be justified, since the human person is always an end and never a means. Acts of terrorism strike at the heart of human dignity and are an offence against all humanity; there exists, therefore a right to defend oneself from terrorism. However, this right cannot be exercised in the absence of moral and legal norms, because the struggle against terrorists must be carried out with respect for human rights and for the principles of a state ruled by law. The identification of the guilty party must always be duly proven, because criminal responsibility is always personal, and therefore cannot be extended to the religions, nations or ethnic groups to which the terrorists belong. International co-operation in the fight against terrorist activity cannot be limited to repressive and punitive operations. It is essential that the use of force, even when necessary, be accompanied by a courageous and lucid analysis of the reasons behind terrorist attacks. Also needed is a particular commitment on the political and educational levels in order to resolve, with courage and determination, the problems that in certain dramatic circumstances can foster terrorism: the recruitment of terrorists is easier in situations where rights are trampled and injustices are tolerated over a long period of time. (CSDC 514)
It is a profanation and blasphemy to declare oneself a terrorist in God’s name. In such cases, God, and not only people, are exploited by a person who claims to possess the totality of God’s truth rather than one who seeks to be possessed by the truth. To define as “martyrs” those who die while carrying out terrorist attacks distorts the concept of martyrdom, which is the witness of persons who give themselves up to death rather than deny God and love. Martyrdom cannot be the act of a person who kills in the name of God.
No religion may tolerate terrorism and much less preach it. Rather religions must work together to remove the causes of terrorism and promote friendship among peoples. (CSDC 515)
The Just War
All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defence, once all peace efforts have failed. (CCC 2308)
The strict conditions for legitimate defence by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
• The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
25 • All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; • There must be serious prospects of success; • The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the “just war” doctrine. The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good. (CCC 2309)
Achievement Objective 5
Students will be able to identify ways in which people can build justice and peace.
Church Teachings
The Challenge to Build Justice and Peace
• Made new by God’s aroha, people are able to transform relationships and social structures, and so bring justice and peace where they do not presently exist. • Christians must interpret today’s reality and seek appropriate paths of action. • There are many situations of great injustice, poverty and need where Christians can bring God’s love. • Christian love requires the denunciation of social and cultural evils and the commitment to projects that are directed towards the true good of humanity.
Church Document Links
The Challenge to Build Justice and Peace
Discovering that they are loved by God, people come to understand their own transcendent dignity, they learn not to be satisfied with only themselves but to encounter their neighbour in a network of relationships that are ever more authentically human. Men and women who are made “new” by the love of God are able to change the rules and the quality of relationships, transforming even social structures. They are people capable of bringing peace where there is conflict, of building and nurturing fraternal relationships where there is hatred, of seeking justice where there prevails the exploitation of human beings by human beings. Only love is capable of radically transforming the relationships that people maintain among themselves. This is the perspective that allows every person of good will to perceive the broad horizons of justice and human development in truth and goodness. (CSDC 4)
26 Love faces a vast field of work and the Church is eager to make her contribution with her social doctrine, which concerns the whole person and is addressed to all people. So many needy brothers and sisters are waiting for help, so many who are oppressed are waiting for justice, so many who are unemployed are waiting for a job, so many peoples are waiting for respect. How can it be that even today there are still people dying of hunger? Condemned to illiteracy? Lacking the most basic medical care? Without a roof over their head? The scenario of poverty can extend indefinitely, if in addition to its traditional forms we think of its newer patterns. These latter often affect financially affluent sectors and groups which are nevertheless threatened by despair at the lack of meaning in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination ... And how can we remain indifferent to the prospect of an ecological crisis which is making vast areas of our planet uninhabitable and hostile to humanity? Or by the problems of peace, so often threatened by the spectre of catastrophic wars? Or by contempt for the fundamental human rights of so many people, especially children? (CSDC 5)
Christian love leads to denunciation, proposals and a commitment to cultural and social projects; it prompts positive activity that inspires all who sincerely have the good of man at heart to make their contribution. Humanity is coming to understand ever more clearly that it is linked by one sole destiny that requires joint acceptance of responsibility, a responsibility inspired by an integral and shared humanism. It sees that this mutual destiny is often conditioned and even imposed by technological and economic factors, and it senses the need for a greater moral awareness that will guide its common journey. Marvelling at the many innovations of technology, the men and women of our day strongly desire that progress be directed towards the true good of the humanity, both of today and tomorrow. (CSDC 6)
The Christian knows that in the social doctrine of the Church can be found the principles for reflection, the criteria for judgement and the direction for action which are the starting point for the promotion of an integral and solidary humanism. Making this doctrine known constitutes, therefore, a genuine pastoral priority, so that men and women will be enlightened by it and will thus be enabled to interpret today’s realities and seek appropriate paths of action. (CSDC 7)
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOPIC For teaching purposes the material in this topic is organised into ten sections each of which is linked to one of the achievement objectives:
Part One: What is Justice Achievement Objective 1
Part Two: Justice in the Old Testament Achievement Objective 2
Part Three: Justice in the Gospels Achievement Objective 2
Part Four: The Church’s Tradition of Social Justice Achievement Objective 2
27 Part Five: Principles of Social Justice Achievement Objective 3
Part Six: Human Dignity, Freedom and Responsibility Achievement Objective 3
Part Seven: Peace – More than the Absence of War Achievement Objective 4
Part Eight: No More War! Achievement Objective 4
Part Nine: See, Think, Judge, Act – A Method for Action Achievement Objective 5
Part Ten: Acting Justly, Building Peace Achievement Objective 5
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Each learning outcome for the topic is derived from one of the achievement objectives. The learning outcomes identify what students are expected to learn as they work through each section of the topic.
While teachers must ensure that the learning outcomes for the topic are covered so that all of the achievement objectives for the topic are met, it is not intended that students work through every task or activity, nor that every achievement objective is assessed.
Teachers should select a range of tasks appropriate for their students’ interests and abilities and well-matched to their own teaching style.
Learning outcomes for each of the ten sections of the topic are listed at the beginning of the appropriate part.
LINKS WITH OTHER TOPICS IN UNDERSTANDING FAITH Various aspects of Catholic social teaching are dealt with in depth in other topics in the Understanding Faith programme. These include:
Topic 11A: Reverence for Life Topic 11B: Conscience, Morality, Values Topic 12F: Christian Morality and Moral Values Topic 13D: Current Religious Issues:
(A) The Changing Role of Women (B) Poverty and Wealth (C) Work and Leisure (D) Bioethics (E) Influence of the Media (F) Creation – the Christian Response
28 RESOURCES FOR 12B JUSTICE AND PEACE
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Each year, during Social Justice Week, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand highlights a different social justice issue and produces resources on it for use in schools and parishes. The following materials, which can be used very profitably by teachers and students in the course of this topic, will already be available in many schools. If not, they can be ordered from Caritas.
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand PO Box 12-193, Wellington 6038
+64 4 496 1742
1. A Fresh Start - The Eradication of Poverty (1996) 2. Homelessness (1997) 3. Employment and Justice (1998) 4. Health: A Social Justice Perspective (1999) 5. The Digital Divide: Poverty and Wealth in the Information Age (2000) 6. Paying the Piper: The Ethics of Debt (2001) 7. Welcoming the Stranger: Refugees and Migrants in the Modern World (2002) 8. Born to Us: Children in New Zealand (2003) 9. Out of the Depths: Mental Health in New Zealand (2004)
Statements on Justice Issues by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Statements by the New Zealand Catholic bishops on a range of justice issues, especially those that are of concern to New Zealanders, may also be very useful for this topic. These can be obtained from the website: www.catholic.org.nz
Statements available include the following:
Foreshore and Seabed legislation - 2004 The continued detention of Ahmed Zaoui - 2004 Let us be fair and informed - 2004 (+ Peter Cullinane) The rights of refugees and migrant peoples - 2002 The Protection of Children - 2002 The rights of children - 2002 For a just peace in Palestine - 2002 An intolerable burden - 1998 The code of social and family responsibility - 1998
29 Some concerns about employment - 1998 Year of tolerance - 1995 Creating new hearts - 1995 The Treaty in today's perspective - 1995 Violence against women and children - 1992 Made in God's image - 1993 A commemoration year for Aotearoa - 1990
This material may assist students to meet assessment requirements, including those for unit standards.
THE USE OF MĀORI LANGUAGE IN THIS PROGRAMME
The first time a Māori word or phrase appears in a particular topic, either in the teacher material or the student texts, it is followed by its English equivalent which is placed inside brackets. In most cases the meaning of the Māori terms can be worked out from the context in which they appear.
A glossary which gathers together all the Māori terms used in a particular topic is provided. This glossary often explores the Māori concepts in greater depth than is possible in the brief descriptions that appear in the teacher material and student texts.
THE MĀORI SPIRITUALITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Christian morality is based on the understanding that the human person is made in the image and likeness of Te Atua. By responding freely to God’s great gifts of life and aroha men and women are able to realise their full human potential and so achieve genuine happiness – both here on earth and, in all its fullness, in the life to come. Morality is God’s revelation and humanity’s perception about how to be happy.
The present topic with its strong focus on identity of the human person is greatly enhanced by an awareness of the Māori understanding of te tangata (the human person). Other key Māori concepts which contribute to our understanding of morality and values include tapu (sacred), mana (spiritual power), and whānau (family).
For Māori, the human person has a place above every other being in the created universe. A well-known proverb emphasises the unique value given to the human person:
Hūtia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea te kōmako e ko? Kī mai ki ahau: He aha te mea nui o te ao? Māku e kī atu: He tangata he tangata!
If you pluck out the heart of the flax bush, how can the bell bird sing? You ask me: What is the greatest reality of the universe? I reply: The human person!
30 At the same time with its reference to the singing of the bell bird, the proverb also expresses human fragility and dependence on the other parts of creation.
Underlying the Māori understanding of the universe is the awareness that every aspect of creation is tapu or sacred. The ultimate value of every created thing comes from the very fact of its ‘being’ and from its connection with particular spiritual powers. Tapu is the spiritual essence of all things. It arises from the mauri, the life principle of all creation, and constantly points us back to the source: Io, or God.
Every part of creation has its tapu, because every part of creation has its link with one or other of the spiritual powers, and ultimately with Io matua kore, ‘the parentless one’, Io taketake, ‘the source of all’.
The human person’s tapu ultimately, therefore, comes from the person’s origins in Io or God. Once a human begins to exist, the person has her own tapu.
The Māori way of expressing this worth of the human person is to speak of a person’s mana or power. Mana is the term for spiritual power that proceeds from tapu, the power that radiates out from being. Mana finds its source in tapu.
Michael Shirres describes the connection between tapu and mana in these terms:
“Mana and tapu are closely linked. Where the tapu is the potentiality for power, mana is the actual power, the power itself.” From Te Tangata: The Human Person (Auckland: Accent Publications, 1997), page 53.
Mana comes to people in three ways: Mana tangata, from people, mana whenua, from the land, and mana atua, from the spiritual powers.
Over time tapu and mana can either increase or decrease. The greater the tapu of a person or thing, the greater the mana. However, if tapu is diminished, this leads to a loss of mana.
Because, during life a person’s mana can be either protected or destroyed, the real sign of a person’s mana and tapu is not that person’s power to destroy other people, but that person’s power to manaaki, to protect and look after other people.
As Shirres explains:
“The best way to build up one’s own mana and tapu, is not to destroy other people, but to recognize them, to manaaki, welcome them and show them fitting hospitality, and to tautoko, support them in the issues they take up.” (page 47)
31 Because death is not the end for the human being, a person still has tapu and mana after death.
For the Māori, to be a person is not to stand alone, but to be one with one’s people. The deeper this oneness the more the person develops his or her own humanity and have that mana tangata – mana from people. The persons we stand one with are not only the living, but even more so the ancestors, ngā tūpuna, those members of the family who have already gone before us. So basic to being a person and to being Māori is to be whānau, family, not just with the living, but also with the dead. For the Māori, identification with the ancestors stretches right back to human origins.
The word whānau, ‘family’, means to give birth. Māori are bound to their whānau, their family, by birth. The word hapū, ‘extended family group’, means to become pregnant. The hapū is made up of family groups bound together by marriage. The word for tribe, the word iwi, also means ‘bones’. The iwi finds its bond in a common ancestor and as Māori Marsden puts it, the ancestral bones are “the physical remains, the tangible links and association with one’s historic being, as derived through one’s ancestors.” It is through their whakapapa or genealogy, that Māori maintain and strengthen these vital links with their tūpuna (ancestors).
Thus, each person can become one with other people, not just with those in the present, but with people from the past. The whole movement of the human person is to be one with all people. As we move through the different stages of life, beginning with conception, life in the womb and birth, our journey is a movement ‘from the nothingness, into the night, into full daylight’.
32 PART ONE: WHAT IS JUSTICE?
Achievement Objective 1
Students will be able to develop an understanding of the Christian vision of tika.
Church Teachings
Justice
• Justice consists in giving what is their due – that which is owed to them – to Te Atua and to neighbour. • Justice recognises the other as a person. • The Church emphasises the need for social justice, which concerns the social, political and economic aspects of life and addresses problems and their solutions in a structural way. • Justice is of particular concern in today’s context, where the identity, value, mana and rights of the person are seriously threatened.
Justice and Mercy
• Merciful love goes beyond justice, transforming it from within.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Define and explain justice. • Give examples of justice and injustice in various contexts and situations. • Reflect on their responsibility regarding justice in the world.
Teacher Background
Justice and Injustice The term justice is derived from the Latin word ius, which means “right”. Justice is concerned with rights and with duties which correspond to those rights. The concept of justice, which demands both equality and fairness, is captured in the ancient Latin phrase suum cuique – to each what is due.
The Catholic tradition holds that Te Atua created a rational, ordered world, and that he tangata, made in God’s image and likeness, are graced, moral agents responsible for maintaining just relationships with one another and the environment in which we live.
Unfortunately, because of the reality of sin, since the beginning of human history our relationships with one another and the world have been characterised, to varying degrees, by imperfection, brokenness and evil. Yet
33 God's presence in human history in the person of Hehu Karaiti affirms that human life is good and should be of quality for all.
Today, injustices abound as people's mana and tapu are violated. The gap between the poor and rich, both individuals and nations, continues to widen. Every minute the nations of the world spend millions on arms; every hour thousands of children die from hunger and conditions that it causes; every day a species becomes extinct; every month the world's economic system adds billions of dollars to the unbearable debt resting on the shoulders of people living in the Third World.
Such injustices fly in the face of the Christian belief that all people – created by God, redeemed by Christ, and graced by Te Wairua Tapu (the Holy Spirit) – are equal in dignity. The Creator gives all individuals both their essential dignity and their unique identity. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the risen Christ lives in each person, inviting them to holiness. When Christians respect and serve others, especially the poor, imprisoned, and the hungry, they serve Christ himself (Matthew 25:40).
The Church teaches that disregard for human dignity is at the root of violence and injustice. However, it also insists that right order and justice can be re- established in society if each and every person undergoes an intellectual and moral conversion to greater love, accepts the norms of justice, and strives to serve the common good.
Justice and Human Rights All people are created equal, possessing a God-given dignity and a fundamental value. Both the Hebrew prophets and Jesus of Nazareth reveal that each person is loved by God and of infinite worth. The parables of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7) and the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10) emphasise the dignity and value of the individual person in God’s eyes.
Flowing from the reality that we are created in God’s image to live in relationship with others, all people possess certain basic human rights that must not be disregarded. A right is a power that we have to do things which are necessary for achieving the end or purpose for which we are destined as rational and free persons. It is a person's moral claim upon other people or society to the means of achieving this end or purpose. In a sense, rights flow from duties.
People have many rights, some of which are civil and political, others social and economic. Among the principal human rights identified in sections 11-45 of Pope John XXIII's Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth (1963) are:
• The right to life and a worthy manner of living • The right to respect for one's person regardless of sex, race, religion, or national origin • The right to freedom in the pursuit of truth and in its expression and communication • The right to be informed truthfully about matters of concern
34 • The right to a basic education • The right to worship God freely • The right to choose one's state in life • The right to gainful employment, to decent working conditions, to a proper compensation, to private property, to membership of a workers’ union or association • The right of meeting and association • The right to freedom of movement (emigration and immigration) • The right to participate in public affairs and to contribute to the common good
The Catholic tradition teaches that all rights are indivisible and that violations of any rights are due to selfishness and greed. It is unwilling to separate civil and political rights from social and economic ones.
Justice and Conflicts of Rights A person’s rights are always limited by the existence of others' rights. Inevitably, there will be conflict between different rights. When this occurs:
• Rights to spiritual goods take precedence over rights to purely temporal goods. For example, one person’s right to live in dignity is of greater value than another's person’s right to a profit on an investment. • Common goods take precedence over individual goods. For example, the right of the state to collect taxes to pay for social needs is greater than an individual’s right to keep what one earns.
Justice and the Common Good The most basic principle of Catholic social thought is the dignity, goodness, and inviolability of the human person. Church teaching opposes collectivist tendencies or systems that leave individuals, especially the poor, vulnerable to oppression of any kind. Its aim is the growth of a fully integrated human being.
However, Catholic teaching always places the dignity of the individual within the context of society, which is viewed as an organic, supportive network of overlapping and interlocking yet hierarchical relationships that work towards social well-being or “the common good”. The common good is the result of responsible citizens acting in a way that leads to mutual respect for rights and dignity. When the bishops at the Second Vatican Council discussed the common good, they declared:
Catholics should be ready to collaborate with all men and women of good will in the promotion of all that is true, just, holy, all that is worthy of love (see Philippians 4:8). (Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People 14)
The common good, since it is founded on mutual dignity, is not in opposition to human rights, but rather guarantees them. However, the common good of society encompasses more than the sum of the private goods of the individual persons. It includes the institutions, laws, and values that regulate in terms of justice the interaction of individuals and groups in society and protect them
35 from exploitation or oppression by the powerful and resourceful. In the Catholic view, personal freedoms have their clearly defined limits and the private good of individuals must be subordinated to the good of the whole society. The task of government is to enhance the common good by protecting the common values, institutions and laws, and by resisting any individualism that would raise an individual's own private good over the common good.
Justice and Subsidiarity Justice requires action both at the grassroots and by government.
Catholic social teaching regards society as organic and – because of the principle of subsidiarity which holds that wherever possible choices must be left in the hands of those most affected by decisions – values decentralisation. Healthy societies need to be built upon strong neighbourhoods and local communities. Local organisations and groups must be able to do what they can for the common good, retaining as much freedom and initiative as possible at the grassroots. At the same time, the state has the responsibility to step in and provide whatever is beyond the resources of the local level.
A plurality of cultures is an indication that there are many valid ways through which an individual can achieve wholeness.
Justice, Society and Social Sin Persons develop fully only in a societal context, since by our very nature we are fundamentally and radically social. The quality of life in society, its organisation, structures and systems – political, legal, economic, social, educational, and religious – will either enhance or limit the full human development of the person.
Our human rights are grounded in our relationships with each other. The obligation to be just springs from the reality that we were made to live in relationship – with Te Atua, self, others and the world. In the presence of another person, we are obliged to treat the other person as a person. Injustice is present whenever persons or social, political or economic structures hurt people or are indifferent to their presence – that is, they act in the presence of other persons as if they were not there or of no importance. Injustice occurs when individuals or groups fail to be responsive to the personal character of others. This view of justice is exemplified in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).
Social sin occurs when structures and institutions within a society work in a systematic way to the detriment of groups or individuals in that society. Such social structures and institutions can be said to be sinful even when people of good will administer them. Although the people involved may bear no personal guilt, the situation is sinful nonetheless.
36 Challenging unjust social structures requires more than love, forgiveness, and patience in inter-personal relationships. A profound Christian faith leads people to create systems of justice that are capable of saving society from its own selfishness.
A correct understanding of social justice also requires a correct understanding of the distinction between society and the state. Society includes the total network of social, political, economic, cultural, and religious relationships which are necessary for full human development. The state is the centre of coercive power in society. It is the civil authority by which the purposes of society are procured and preserved.
Justice and Peace Justice and peace go hand in hand and cannot be separated. Both are integral to God’s vision of shalom:
“The fruits of justice are peace . . .” (Isaiah 32:17)
From its beginnings, a strong tradition of pacifism has existed within Christianity. While a theory of “just war” suggests that in some circumstances – for example, self-defence – war is permissible, Catholic teachings insist that God’s people must always favour peace. For Christians, war is never “holy”.
Contemporary Catholic teaching recognises the unity of peace and justice. Injustice is seen as a form of institutional violence. In their pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace (1981), the American Catholic bishops state:
Violence has many faces: oppression of the poor, deprivation of basic human rights, economic exploitation, sexual exploitation and pornography, neglect or abuse of the aged and the helpless, and innumerable other acts of inhumanity. Abortion in particular blunts a sense of the sacredness of human life. (The Challenge of Peace 71)
Modelling Justice The Church and individual Christians must model the justice they preach.
The movement of history is towards the fulfilment of the reign of God – a kingdom of “justice, love, and peace” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World 39). The pursuit of justice is itself part of this movement.
However, throughout history the Church and individual Christians have often failed to act justly. The Crusades, anti-Semitism, the Inquisition, and witch hunts are among the most striking examples of the Church’s failure to practise justice. In recent years, Christians have become more aware that unless it practises the justice it preaches the Church cannot be an effective sign of God’s presence in the world. The Bishops Synod of 1971 expressed this idea in these words:
37 While the Church is bound to give witness to justice . . . anyone who ventures to speak to people about justice must first be just in their eyes. (Justice in the World 3)
Pope John Paul II had led the way for Catholics in the twenty-first century by stating that a new millennium requires repentance of past errors and instances of infidelity. And a commitment to eradicate present ones.
Such a commitment is a way of participating more intimately in the death and Te Aranga (resurrection) of Christ. Efforts on behalf of justice – towards the fulfilment of human needs, the protection of human rights, and the building of structures that enhance relationships between people – are the consequence of faith in the saving power of Christ's death and resurrection.
Links with the Student Text
Task One Here students are asked to write their own definition of justice.
Definitions will vary from student to student but the following points are important:
• Tika is a moral principle and a Christian virtue. • Justice requires us to give to God, self and others what is due to them. • Justice requires us to respect certain rights and fulfil certain duties. • Justice operates at the personal level but also at the social level, shaping the operation of the law and our political, economic and religious institutions.
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to suggest some of the rights that justice requires us to respect and some of the responsibilities or duties it requires us to carry out.
People have many rights and duties, some of which are civil and political, others social and economic.
On 10 December, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The text of this document which appears as a photocopy master on the following pages may be a useful resource for this activity and throughout this topic. Students could work in pairs or small groups identifying rights and responsibilities covered in this document. Each pair or group could be given a different section of the Declaration to work on. The teacher could collate and display the findings.
The teacher may need to clarify the connection between rights and duties with students. Flowing from the reality that we are created in God’s image to live in relationship with others, all people possess certain basic human rights that must not be disregarded. A right is a power that we have to do things which are necessary for achieving the end or purpose for which we are destined as rational and free persons. It is a person's moral claim upon other people or
38 society to the means of achieving this end or purpose. In a sense, rights flow from duties.
Pope John XXIII's Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth (1963), in sections 11- 45, identified many human rights. Principally among these are:
• The right to life and a worthy manner of living • The right to respect for one's person regardless of sex, race, religion, or national origin • The right to freedom in the pursuit of truth and in its expression and communication • The right to be informed truthfully about matters of concern • The right to a basic education • The right to worship God freely • The right to choose one's state in life • The right to gainful employment, to decent working conditions, to a proper compensation, to private property, to membership of a workers’ union or association • The right of meeting and association • The right to freedom of movement (emigration and immigration) • The right to participate in public affairs and to contribute to the common good
39 Photocopy Master: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
40
Photocopy Master: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2)
Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14. (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
41
Photocopy Master: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (3)
Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
42 Photocopy Master: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (4)
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
43 Task Two Here students are asked to study fifteen quotes about justice taken from famous people in history. They are asked to choose three that they like and explain why they appeal to them.
Answers will vary from student to student.
Something to Research Here students are asked to use a dictionary of quotes or the internet to find other notable statements about justice.
Answers will vary from student to student.
Something to Think About Justice is often represented by the Roman figure of Justitia – a blind woman holding a set of scales in one hand and a sword in the other. Students are asked to think about why justice is symbolised in this way.
The figure, named “Justitia” after the Roman goddess of justice, may have its origins in the Greek mythological goddess Themis – who is considered the goddess of divine justice – and her daughter Dike. She has also appeared in Christian imagery as a personification of the ancient virtue of justice.
The most common understanding of this symbol today is that the figure of a blindfolded woman with a scale in one hand and a sword in the other demonstrates the ideal of treating all people with fairness, equity and in a manner that is right. Justitia is blindfolded so that she may be impartial.
The meaning of her scales may be traced back to the Egyptian Book of the Dead (around 1400 BC), the Old Testament (Job 31:6), and to weighing as a symbol of judgment in the Koran. Clearly, scales imply some type of weighing, although there is disagreement about what is to be weighed. The most commonly accepted meaning of the scales is that each person receives that which is due them, no more and no less.
Justitia also is commonly depicted holding a sword. The sword is a symbol of the power of Justitia to condemn or punish those who fail in their public duties. It represents the rigour of justice, which does not hesitate to punish.
Something to Do Here students are invited to create their own symbol that represents some aspect of justice.
It may be useful for students to brainstorm possibilities in preparation for this.
44 Something to Discuss Justice and its denial – injustice – can be found in all areas of human life. Here students are asked to work in a pair or small group. They are asked to come up with examples of justice and injustice in the following contexts or situations.
• Our relationships with Te Atua • At home • At school • Among friends or peers • In the neighbourhood or local community • At the national level • Internationally
Answers will vary from student to student.
Task Three Here students are asked to read the prayer by Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-82) and the story by Anthony de Mello (1931-1987) and explain what they tell us about our responsibility regarding justice in the world.
Teresa’s prayer and de Mello’s story both carry the message that it is our responsibility to bring Christ’s justice into the world.
Jesus no longer walks our earth doing works of love and justice. It is our responsibility to be Christ’s body – his eyes, hands and feet – and to provide for those in need.
Something to Think About Here students are asked to read the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. They are asked to identify the ways in which the father in the story shows merciful love as well as justice towards his son.
The father’s justice can been seen in the fact that he gives his younger son his rightful share of the property that will belong to him.
However, the father welcomes the son back in a spirit that goes beyond the demands of justice. In his mercy and love the father rushes out to greet his son. He refuses to treat him as a servant in the household and instead showers him with gifts.
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to reflect on situations they are familiar with where people have gone beyond what is required by justice to show real mercy.
Answers will vary from student to student.
45 PART TWO: JUSTICE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Achievement Objective 2
Students will be able to recognise the sources of the Church’s teaching on tika in Scripture and the on-going Catholic tradition.
Church Teachings
• The Church’s social doctrine is based on Scripture and the tradition of the Church. • God’s justice is revealed in the events of the Old Testament, especially in the freeing of the people from slavery in Egypt, the Covenant of Sinai, and the prophets’ call to faithfulness.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Identify and explain features of the practice of justice in Old Testament times with reference to key passage from Scripture. • Relate the Old Testament experience of justice and injustice to today’s world.
Teacher Background
The Old Testament Understanding of Justice The Old Testament presents justice – the obligations of the Israelite to the community of Israel – as an essential dimension of the Covenant between God and humankind.
God desires complete human well-being, favouring the best of everything for all people. God’s dream of shalom requires justice and compassion, favour for the poor, integrity of life, and relationships of peace with other people and creation.
When God enters into covenant with the Hebrew people, they, in turn, must allow this special relationship to shape all aspects of their lives:
“I will be your God, and you will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12)
What God wishes all people to enjoy, becomes the law by which God’s people must live. Yahweh “is a God of justice” (Isaiah 30:18) who “secures justice and rights of all the oppressed” (Psalm 103:6), delights in its realisation (Jeremiah 9:23), and hates injustice of every kind (Isaiah 61:8). As Walter Brueggemann, the Scripture scholar, says:
46 “In biblical faith, the doing of justice is the primary expectation of God.”3
In the Old Testament justice is linked with righteousness (Hebrew, sedeq, and Greek, dikaiosynē). Justice involves “right relationship” with God, self, others and creation. God is righteous insofar as God saves. A person is righteous or in right relationship insofar as they are conformed and faithful to the Covenant.
The Scriptures do not reveal God as a blindfolded judge balancing scales but as a tender and compassionate mother. The Hebrew word for “compassion” is racham, which is closely related to rachum, the term for “womb”. When describing God’s compassion for us, the Scriptures compare God to a mother with her child:
“Can a woman forget her nursing-child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I [Yahweh] will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)
The hesed or loving kindness that God shows to us, we must show to others and creation.
God relates to the people “in right and in justice, in love and in mercy” (Hosea 2:21). When God must judge against injustice, it is not for the sake of vengeance:
“Behold, I am a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, rich in kindness and fidelity.” (Exodus 34:6)
God’s justice is seen to overflow from the heavens and spring up in abundance (Isaiah 45:8). God’s people must imitate God’s generosity in their own everyday relationships.
The Old Testament establishes that justice with compassion must be a mark of all human relationships, but especially with the poor. It defines poverty in economic terms and urges special concern for widows, strangers, and orphans. Compassionate justice should be a response to every form of poverty. For God hears the cry of the poor and oppressed (Exodus 22:22) and comes to help them (Psalm 113:7). God’s people must do likewise.
How God’s people treat the poor and the powerless is a measure of their faithfulness to the Covenant, their special relationship with God. The prophets continually remind the people of Israel that true worship of God demands justice for all and favour towards those most in need. Offering sacrifices while committing injustice or neglecting the needy is “an abomination” to God (Isaiah 1:13).
3 Walter Brueggmann, “Voices of the Night,” in To Act Justly, Love Tenderly, Walk Humbly (New York: Paulist Press, 1986), page 5.
47 The Old Testament looks forward in hope to a promised Messiah. In the messianic age, people “shall beat their swords into plough-shares . . . nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4). In the age that will come “God will make justice and praise spring up from all the nations” (Isaiah 61:11). Then “kindness and truth shall meet, justice and peace shall kiss” (Psalm 85:10). If Christians truly recognise Jesus as the promised Messiah they will help bring about the messianic promises.
Micah 6:1-7 portrays a dramatic scene in which God puts Israel on trial for forgetting that it was Yahweh who liberated the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt (6:4) and for failing to recognise what this saving act required of them. God rejects Israel’s practice of sacrificial offerings and emphasises the centrality of justice, love and faith in the covenant relationship. What Yahweh asks of humankind – and a core message of the prophets – is summarised in Micah 6:8:
“. . . and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
These are not three separate commands but form a unity – justice, love and faith are integral to the covenant of “right relationship”. God expects faith that does justice with love.
Links with the Student Text
Task Four This task asks students to list four important ideas about the practice of tika in the Old Testament and write a brief paragraph explaining each of them.
Answers will vary from student to student but the following ideas are important and should be covered:
The practice of justice was a requirement of the Covenant:
• God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and made a covenant with them. • The Israelites expressed their faithfulness to God and to the Covenant through just living – freeing the oppressed and being honest in dealings with others. • Justice flourished when people maintained right relationships with God, each other, and the neighbouring peoples.
The practice of justice demanded a special concern for the poor:
• God is moved by the plight of the poor, helpless and down trodden. • The Law instructed the Jewish people to remember the immigrant, the orphan and the widow – those most vulnerable to hunger and poverty. • Various provisions were made for the poor and needy:
48 • One-tenth of the harvest to be set aside for immigrants, orphans and widows (Deuteronomy 14:28-29) • Lending at no interest to those in need (Exodus 22:25) • Cancellation of debts every seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 7-11). • Every fiftieth year was to be a Year of Jubilee during which property was to be returned to the family of the original owner.
The practice of justice was closely linked to the concept of shalom:
• Shalom is concerned with the welfare of each person and that of society as a whole. • It is the ideal state in which humans were created to live. • Shalom is God’s gift but calls for dedication and commitment from people if it is to become a reality. • Crime broke shalom by destroying right relationships within a community and creating harmful ones. • Restitution – making right what is wrong – is an essential aspect of justice that helps restore the relationship between victim and offender, and re-establishes community peace.
The prophets demanded the practice of justice:
• The prophets reminded the Jewish people to keep faithful to the Covenant and, when they strayed, to return to the path of righteousness and justice. • The prophets were sent to speak on behalf of those who had no voice. • God complained through the prophets that the people of Israel had forgotten who it was that gave them their land and provisions. • The prophets reminded the people that they, who once were hungry and oppressed themselves, refused to feed the hungry and were now the oppressors.
Task Five Here students are asked to read the following Scripture passages – they are typical examples of what the prophets had to say about justice and injustice:
• Isaiah 1:16-17 • Isaiah 10:1 • Amos 8:4-6 • Micah 6:8
They are then required to answer the following questions: a) What do you think the prophet Micah means by the expression “to act justly” or “to do justice”?
Micah’s concept of acting justly involved faithfulness to Te Atua and providing for the poor and needy out of a sense of compassion. For example, he was critical of moneyed capitalists, those who charged interest on loans, dishonest
49 tradesmen, families divided by loyalty, greedy priests and prophets, tyrants, and corrupt judges.
b) What do the prophets suggest is God’s attitude towards those who are unjust?
Passages such as Isaiah 10:1 and Amos 8:4-6 suggest that God is angry with those who neglect justice and will punish them harshly.
c) List five types of injustice that seem to have been common in Old Testament times.
Common injustices include:
• Legislating unjust laws • Issuing tyrannical or oppressive decrees • Refusing to act on behalf of the poor and the oppressed • Cheating and various other forms of dishonesty • Victimising widows and orphans
Additional Activity Here students are asked to complete the crossword on justice in the Old Testament which appears on the following photocopy master.
The answers are as follows:
Clues Across 8. brokenhearted 9. Abraham 11. Egypt 13. seventh 15. restitution 18. idols 20. Moses
Clues Down 1. harvest 2. faith 3. widows 4. justice 5. Jubilee 6. God 7. prophets 10. Amos 12. shalom 14. Covenant 16. Exodus 17. Ten Commandments 19. Deuteronomy
50 This page may be photocopied: Crossword (1) Justice in the Old Testament
Clues Down 1. Various laws provided for sharing one-tenth of this with those in need. 2. Isaiah challenged people to see that seeking justice for the oppressed is the best way of expressing this. 3. The Israelites were required to take special care of immigrants, orphans, and ______. 4. The Old Testament emphasises that this is at the heart of right relationships. Clues Across 5. During this event, which happened once in fifty years, property was to be returned to the family of the original owner. 8. The Lord is near to the ______, and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) 6. Whenever ______was forgotten injustices flourished and oppression increased. 9. God made a promise to ______, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give their people possession of their own land. 7. These reminded God’s people to remain faithful to the Covenant and to return to the ways of justice. 11. God’s justice is revealed in the liberation of the Israelites from this country. 10. This poor shepherd called people back to justice in the reign of Jeroboam II. 13. Debts were cancelled every ______year. 12. Justice is closely linked to this ideal state. 15. Making right what is wrong. 14. This agreement promises God’s on-going love and protection to the 18. Sometimes the prophets had to insist that Israel abandon the people of Israel and asks that they in return will remain faithful to worship of these and return to faith in the one true God. God. 20. God formalised the Covenant with this person on Mount Sinai. 16. Through this defining experience God brought the Hebrew people out of slavery. 17. These and other laws formed the basis of community life for the people of Israel (two words). 19. This book of the Old Testament gives instructions about how the Israelites are to care for society’s most vulnerable people. The Cycle of Baal The Cycle of Baal is a useful tool in understanding the ups and downs in Israel’s relationship with God. It shows how the spread of injustice is always linked to the neglect of God and the decline in Israel’s fortunes.
The Baals were the fertility gods of Canaan whom the people of Israel turned to at certain times in their history after abandoning their worship of the one true God.
The teacher should emphasise the link between injustice, the neglect of God, and the loss of God’s favour when explaining the Cycle of Baal to students. The explanation below, which is intended to be used in conjunction with the OHT master that follows, also appears in the student text:
1. The Cycle of Baal begins when the people of Israel are in a right relationship with God. They are a healthy community, characterised by a sense of shared goods and of caring for the anawim in their midst – the widows, the orphans, and the strangers. 2. In the next phase of the cycle, the people prosper and become owners. They begin to place more emphasis on things than on people. They value having rather than being. They turn the order of creation on its head, as their possessions come to have dominion over them, and not vice versa. 3. This growing emphasis on “having” produces a dangerous self- centredness. As a result, the people forget the anawim, the poor. 4. Forgetting the poor is the critical sign of a more profound memory loss – forgetting God. It is a fundamental form of atheism, not knowing who God is and what God expects from the people. God repeatedly warns the people about the seductions of prosperity and about the tendency to this kind of forgetfulness. 5. In the next phase, the people create their own gods, gods who are more convenient and more like themselves. The Hebrews often turned to the fertility gods of Canaan, some of which were called the Baals. The Baals were gods that were satisfied with a few ritual sacrifices. Not only did they assure fertility, but they could also be counted on to not interfere with ownership. Thus, the Israelites were free to ignore the poor and forget the web of relationships that originally defined their community. 6. The result was self-destruction. The Scriptures repeatedly tell the story of the Israelites being overcome by their enemies. God raises up some neighbouring nation which invades the Promised Land, destroys Jerusalem, demolishes the Temple, kills many of the people, and takes the rest into exile. 7. God would then send prophets to deliver a message to the Israelites. The essence of the message was not that they had forgotten the rituals or the ceremonies but, rather, they had forgotten the poor. The prophets made it clear that God’s test of the people’s faith was how well justice was being practised in the land. The test of justice was how well the poor – the widows, the orphans, and the strangers – were treated. God wants the oppressed to be freed, the hungry to be fed,
52 the naked clothed, and the poor restored to their rightful place in the midst of the community. 8. The message of the prophets was not popular. What most prophets received was not the respect and reverence that one would expect for those who are sent by God, but rather banishment or death. 9. The next stage of the cycle is repentance. The people cry out to God for mercy and deliverance. They beg to be brought back to the Promised Land, to be restored to right relationship with God and to one another. 10. God hears the cry of the people and restores them to the land and makes right their relationships with God and each other. The covenant community is restored, the Temple is rebuilt, and all rejoice.
And then the cycle begins again. From healthy community to forgetfulness, faithlessness, and self-destruction. And eventually to forgiveness and restoration.
Task Six This task asks students to explain in their own words what insight the Cycle of Baal gives us about the reasons for and the consequences of the neglect of justice in Old Testament times.
Some relevant points include:
• The people forget about justice when they are prosperous and self- centred. • When they ignore the widow, the orphan, and the stranger they then turn away from God and worship idols made in their own image. • The neglect of right relationships with God and others results in self- destruction.
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to consider the following questions: Could it be that this Cycle of Baal is not just about the Israelites and their relationship with God several thousand years ago? How does the Cycle of Baal relate to our own time and place, our own history?
There is evidence that in many affluent societies in our world today the rich and the powerful neglect the demands of justice. People forget about justice when they are prosperous and tend to become self-centred. They ignore those around them who are suffering and have little time for God, instead giving priority to “idols” such as money, sex, fame, beauty, power etc.
The neglect of right relationships with God and others eventually results in social breakdown – as seen in the increase in crime, drug-taking, and a growing sense of hopelessness and social alienation etc.
53 OHT: The Cycle of Baal
54 Task Seven After reading Nehemiah 5:1-13 students are required to answer the questions that follow:
a) How did those people who were experiencing economic oppression make their feelings known?
The people experiencing oppression complained to Nehemiah about what their fellow Jews were doing to them.
b) Nehemiah is a member of the ruling class but is able to acknowledge that he himself is part of a system that exploits the poor. Which words from the scripture passage indicate that Nehemiah is aware that he and others of his social group are benefiting from an unjust situation?
Nehemiah’s awareness that he and the nobles and the officials belong to a system that exploits the poor can be seen in the following words:
I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. After thinking it over, I brought charges against the nobles and the officials; I said to them, "You are all taking interest from your own people."
c) Nehemiah’s response to the situation develops in a number of steps. Students are asked to arrange them in the order in which they occur. Here they are correctly sequenced:
• Nehemiah listens to the complaints of the poor • Nehemiah’s initial reaction is emotional – he becomes angry • Nehemiah looks at the facts and makes an analysis • Nehemiah plans his response and decides to act on behalf of the poor against his own class interests • Nehemiah first addresses the exploiters (the profiteers, the politicians) • Nehemiah calls an assembly of the people against the rulers when his appeal to the profiteers and the politicians fails
Something to Think About Here students are asked to consider how typical is the process that Nehemiah goes through – from emotion, to thought, to action – as he comes to terms with the injustice the people are experiencing. Students are asked to provide other examples of their own of this process.
The process – from emotion, to thought, to action – is a very typical human response. Students should be able to come up with plenty of examples of their own without too much difficulty.
Something to Research The socio-economic situation described in Nehemiah 5:1-13 is much like that of many Third World countries today and of poor communities within developed countries. Students are asked to identify some of the features
55 mentioned in Nehemiah 5:1-13 that are also aspects of life in many countries and poor communities today.
In Nehemiah 5:1-13:
• The people lose their lands and their homes. • They become tenants and day-labourers, but still have to borrow to survive. • When they cannot pay their debts, their sons and daughters are forced to become slaves. • They lose their self-reliance because they have lost their means of production.
Many features of this situation can be seen today – heavy taxation, defence spending, debt, economic dependency.
Additional Resource: References to Justice in the Old Testament The following OHT / photocopy original provides a list of justice-centred biblical passages from the Old Testament that may be useful for class work, preparing prayers and liturgies, or as a resource for reflection and prayer.
56 This page may be photocopied: References to Justice in the Old Testament (1)
References to Justice in the Old Testament
Genesis 1:1-31 God creates the world; humans are called to be stewards of earth.
Exodus 3:1-20 God is a liberator; Moses is sent to free the People of God from oppression.
Exodus 22:21-27 Justice is required toward strangers, orphans, widows, and neighbours.
Exodus 23:6-8 Legal systems must be fair.
Leviticus 19:9-18 Love your neighbour as yourself.
Leviticus 19:32-36 Respect foreigners and the elderly; be honest in business.
Leviticus 25:8-17 God wants the jubilee year and economic restoration.
Leviticus 25:23-28 The land is the Lord's; humans are guests.
Leviticus 25:35-38 Give support to the poor.
Deuteronomy 15:1-15 God gives laws on cancellation of debts and release of slaves; let there be no poor among you.
Deuteronomy 24:17-22 Have just relations with strangers, orphans, and widows.
Deuteronomy 26:12-13 Paying tithes shows concern for the poor.
Deuteronomy 30 Choosing the Lord means choosing life.
Psalm 9:7-12,18 God is a just ruler.
Psalm 25:6-18 God hears and protects the just.
57
This page may be photocopied: References to Justice in the Old Testament (2)
Psalm 65:9-13 God cares for creation.
Psalm 72 God liberates the oppressed; in God's day, justice thrives.
Psalm 82 God calls for fair judgment.
Psalm 103 God works for justice for the oppressed.
Psalm 146:1-10 God upholds the oppressed, bringing justice and liberty.
Proverbs 19:17 Helping the poor is helping God.
Proverbs 21:13 Do not ignore the cry of the poor.
Proverbs 31:8-9 Speak out for those who have no voice.
Isaiah 11:1-9 Justice is brought by God's servant.
Isaiah 32:16-20 The effect of justice will be peace.
Isaiah 42:1-7 God calls us for the victory of justice.
Isaiah 58:1-12 God desires conversion of heart, not vain worship.
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Messiah's mission of justice is prophesied.
Jeremiah 7:1-11 The Temple is not a place for doers of evil.
Jeremiah 22:13-17 To know the lord is to act justly.
Ezekiel 34 Leaders and authorities have obligations.
58
This page may be photocopied: References to Justice in the Old Testament (3)
Amos 5:10-15 Do what is right; establish justice.
Amos 5:21-24 Worship must express real conversion and renewal.
Amos 8:4-7 Those who have power oppress the needy.
Micah 4:1-4 In God's Reign of Peace, swords will be beaten into ploughshares.
Micah 6:8 Act justly, love tenderly, walk humbly.
Zechariah 7:9-10 Show each other kindness and mercy.
59 PART THREE: JUSTICE IN THE GOSPELS
Achievement Objective 2
Students will be able to recognise the sources of the Church’s teaching on justice in Scripture and the on-going Catholic tradition.
Church Teachings
• The Church’s social doctrine is based on Scripture and the tradition of the Church. • The gospels reveal Hehu Karaiti as the model of perfect justice and the fulfilment of the law.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Identify features of Jesus’ attitude to justice. • Explain how Jesus communicated tika in particular situations described in the gospels.
Teacher Background
The New Testament
The New Testament affirms and builds on the rich Jewish tradition. At the heart of the Gospel is Jesus’ great commandment to love which demands justice as well as charity. For in both personal and social relationships, love is only genuine if it is built on justice.
“Christian love of neighbour and justice cannot be separated. For love implies an absolute demand for justice, namely a recognition of the dignity and rights of one's neighbour. Justice attains its inner fullness only in love.” (Justice in the World 34)
According to Luke’s Gospel, before Jesus was born, Mary in her song of praise, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), proclaimed God’s justice in deposing the mighty from their thrones, raising up the lowly, and feeding the hungry. The God of Mary favours those who most need God.
At Jesus’ birth, a “heavenly host” proclaimed “peace on earth” (Luke 2:13-14). At the end, Jesus left his disciples with the “new commandment” to love one another as he had loved them and as God had loved him (John 13:34). He also bestowed his peace upon them (John 14:27). “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36) was the greeting of the Risen Christ.
Between his birth and resurrection, Jesus’ life was one of right and loving relationship with God, self, others and creation. This included outreach to the
60 poor, the oppressed and the marginalised. By rejecting all types of discrimination and victimisation, Jesus’ ministry was a counter-sign to the injustices within his culture.
The passage of Luke’s Gospel that shows Jesus reading the Scriptures in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21) is a key text in regard to justice, one that the events of the previous chapter have prepared readers for. In chapter three, Luke recounts that Jesus was baptised by John in the Jordan. As this occurs “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form, as a dove. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’” (3:22).
At the beginning of chapter four “filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days” (4:1-2). There Jesus fasted and was tempted by the devil. Jesus resists the three temptations he is faced with – pride, power, and presumption – and in each case reaffirms the fundamental “right relationship” which gives God priority in his life. He returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (4:14).
Back home in Nazareth, Jesus, as was his custom, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath for worship. As a member of the local faith community he was invited to read. Taking the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus delivers the great messianic text (Isaiah 61:1-2):
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ (Luke 4:18-19)
After a pause he made the astonishing announcement: ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:21).
Most scholars agree that this text from Isaiah is the most radical social justice statement found in the Old Testament. Jesus, in choosing this passage to inaugurate his public ministry, was showing his commitment to justice – a commitment stirred up by God’s Spirit working within him.
Jesus recognised himself as anointed by God’s Spirit in order to fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy. The Spirit empowered Jesus for the messianic work of establishing the reign of God – right and loving relationships among humankind and throughout creation. Christians must look to the same Spirit to empower their work of justice.
Christian approaches to social justice take their lead from Isaiah’s text and Jesus’ proclamation of it. Good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed form the basis of Christian initiatives in social justice.
“The year of the Lord’s favour” mentioned in Luke 4:19 refers to the year of Jubilee described in Leviticus 25 and 27. This occurred every fiftieth year at
61 the conclusion of seven cycles of seventh year sabbaticals. It marked a radical social proposal which recognised that everything belongs to God and must, in the end, be returned to God. The three defining features of Jubilee were that the land should lie fallow, all debts be forgiven, and all slaves be set free. By associating his mission with Jubilee, Jesus indicated that his justice includes care for the environment, economic reform, and opposition to every form of oppression.
The first generations of Jesus’ followers recognised that to be included in God’s reign required them to work for justice and peace. They had to “put on justice” (Romans 14:17) in order to preach Jesus’ “gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). Jesus’ disciples committed themselves to Jesus Christ as the agent and model of right relationships among humankind and with God.
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:14-18)
Convinced that God had reconciled the world in Jesus Christ, his followers believed that Jesus had given them the ministry of reconciliation.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
Saint Paul developed the Old Testament notion of righteousness in a thoroughly Christian sense. For Paul, righteous persons are “right” with God. They are saved and vindicated. A new life has been given to them.
Christian righteousness – the state of vindication and deliverance – is achieved through the death of Christ:
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. (Romans 5:16)
The kingdom of God is not food and drink but “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Accordingly, perfect and complete righteousness is still an object of hope to be achieved beyond history:
62 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. (Galatians 5:5)
Christian righteousness requires that Christians live in a way that is consistent with the death and resurrection of Christ and with the new life in the Spirit that flows from Christ's saving work. This righteousness cannot be achieved by the observance of the Law. It is a free gift of God which reaches its fullness with Te Rangatiratanga (the reign of God).
The New Testament gives a distinct perspective on justice by adding the dimension of self-giving love to the Old Testament vision of justice as right relationship. Agape is the usual term for “love” in the New Testament, appearing much more commonly than eros for sexual love or philos for friendship. Agape, which describes God’s generous love for humankind, is presented by the New Testament authors as the norm for Christians. In the famous statement from John’s Gospel that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16), the verb used of God is agapao. Agape requires Christians to adopt a generous, self-giving way of living that does not depend on response or results. It is to love as the Father loves Jesus, and as Jesus loves us.
Agapaic love must always be a part of the justice that the Christian faith promotes. Christians need to be keenly aware that justice is a call to right and loving relationship – with God, self, others, and creation.
Links with the Student Text
Task Eight This task asks students to identify which of the following statements are accurate descriptions of Jesus’ attitude towards justice and injustice and which are not. The correct answer is given in bold after each statement. 1. Jesus made it possible for all people to enter God’s reign. Accurate. 2. Jesus’ continued the work of justice that was proclaimed by the Old Testament prophets. Accurate. 3. Wealth and status in society are a sign of God’s blessing. Inaccurate. 4. God’s kingdom in heaven reflects the values of this world. Inaccurate. 5. Jesus criticised social structures that excluded those at the bottom levels of society. Accurate. 6. Jesus taught that compassion was more important than following the letter of the law. Accurate. 7. Restoring right relationships was an important aspect of Jesus’ ministry. Accurate. 8. Jesus refused to eat with Pharisees and those of status in society. Inaccurate. 9. Jesus recognised that the poor and vulnerable are less likely to accept the invitation to be part of God’s reign. Inaccurate. 10. Jesus saw the impossibility of rich people gaining eternal life. Inaccurate.
63 11. Whenever people care for those in need they care for Christ himself. Accurate. 12. People who fail to work for justice will experience eternal life as long as they pray to God. Inaccurate.
Something to Discuss Each of the following actions or teachings of Jesus show his concern for justice. Students are asked to choose three and explain the message about justice that they communicate.
Proclaiming the text of Isaiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus stands up in the synagogue at Nazareth and reads Isaiah 61:1-2 – the most radical social justice statement found in the Old Testament. He then makes the astonishing announcement: ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:21). In doing this Jesus is making clear that he is the promised Messiah who has a special sense of mission to poor and oppressed people. Throughout his ministry, Jesus will continue to fulfil Isaiah’s words by serving the cause of justice.
Presenting the Beatitudes In the Beatitudes, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus twice refers to justice. He tells those listening that God’s blessings are given to those who are on the side of right. Honour comes, not from the usual social sources, but to those who refuse to take advantage of others or who are unable to defend their own positions:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)
Teaching his disciples how to pray In the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples – “The Lord’s Prayer” or “Our Father”– Jesus told them to ask that God's kingdom on earth be the same as God's kingdom in heaven (Matthew 6:10). In heaven, there is no injustice. In the new earth, which Jesus often spoke about, there will also be no injustice.
Challenging social and religious structures based on exclusion and legalism Jesus attacked those social and religious structures which were based on exclusion and religious legalism. He made a point of associating with the unclean, unloved and discriminated people of his society. He consistently challenged the moral police – the Pharisees – for their hypocrisy and false piety. In doing so he was reaffirming the Old Testament vision of shalom – right relationships. The gospels show Jesus repeatedly reaching out to restore right relationships with those at the bottom of the social pyramid – poor people, women, Samaritans, lepers, children, prostitutes and tax collectors.
64 Directing people to see all others as their neighbours The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) shows up the failure of those in positions of status to provide care for a victim of crime. When a traveller on his way to Jericho is beaten, robbed and left for dead on the side of the road, two office-holders at the Temple – a priest and Levite – walk past him because they fear they will be “contaminated” if they come into contact with blood or touch a dead body. It is a despised Samaritan who treats the injured man with compassion. He stops, binds the man’s wounds, carries him to an inn and pays the bill. Jesus uses the story to lead his audience to the conclusion that we must regard all people as neighbours.
Reaching out to restore right relationships Jesus’ desire to restore right relationships is evident in his meeting with the corrupt tax collector named Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) who had defrauded others for years. In the course of their public conversation, Zacchaeus confesses to Jesus what he has done and promises to pay restitution four times over – the rate established by Old Testament tradition. Jesus' response is to welcome Zacchaeus back into the community and to act on his behalf in the face of a hostile crowd who cannot understand why Jesus would have anything to do with this criminal:
‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.’ (Luke 19:9)
Jesus is reminding them that Zacchaeus is their brother who, through the workings of justice, has been restored to them. He signals this reconciliation by staying with Zacchaeus as a guest in his house.
Eating with outcasts and insignificant people In Jesus’ world sharing a meal with someone was not a casual act, as it can be in our own society, but an action that indicated acceptance at a deeper level. One of Jesus’ most characteristic activities was open and inclusive table fellowship. By frequently dining with outcasts and those considered insignificant in society Jesus was not only challenging the social structures of his time but also signalling that there is a place for all people in the reign of God.
Teaching in parables that feature feasts and banquets A number of Jesus’ parables focus on banquets or feasts (Luke 14:15-24 and Matthew 22:1-14). These emphasise that it is often the poor and most vulnerable who readily respond to the invitation to attend the Lord’s feast – the wealthy are usually too preoccupied with their own business to come.
65 Questioning the importance of wealth and possessions While Jesus was also eager to accept into his company people who were well-off, he made it clear that all who wished to follow him, regardless of social position, needed to repent and change their lives. For this reason he invited the rich young man to sell all of his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (Matthew 19:16-22). Jesus makes it clear that God reaches out in love to all of us – rich, poor and in between – but that each person must make a choice either to accept or turn down the invitation to be part of God’s reign.
Describing the day of judgement at the end of time The parable of the day of judgement (Matthew 25:31-46) contrasts the reward coming to those who practise justice with the punishment dealt out to those who refuse to give to others what is their due. In this parable Jesus pictures the end of time when people from all nations are gathered before him as he sits on the throne of his glory. The parable makes clear that all those who do the work of justice – feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and those in prison – are in fact doing all these things to the Lord. For their reward, they will be welcomed into the reign of God. On the other hand, those who ignore the demands of justice and fail to attend to people’s basic needs are refusing to acknowledge the Lord. They will not experience eternal life.
Task Nine Jesus expressed special concern for the poor and oppressed in his actions, in his teachings, and in his association with people who were on the edges of society, including sinners.
a) Here students are asked to link the references for various passages of Scripture with the summaries of the incidents that the passages describe.
66 On the table below the description follows the Scripture passage it is linked with: Scripture Situations where Jesus expresses concern for the References poor and oppressed Mark 1:40-45 C. Jesus cures a leper – a social outcast – and is no longer able to go into a town openly. Matthew 19:16-22 E. Jesus tells a rich young man that eternal life will be his if he sells his possessions and gives the money to the poor. Matthew 23:23 A. Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees that they are hypocrites who have neglected justice, mercy and faith. Luke 5:29-32 F. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners, causing the scribes and Pharisees to complain. Luke 7:36-50 H. Jesus breaks a social taboo when he allows a woman regarded as a sinner to bathe his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. Luke 8:1-3 G. Jesus goes through cities and villages in the company of various women who provide for him and the Twelve out of their own resources. Luke 13:10-17 D. Jesus accuses his opponents of injustice after the leader of a synagogue becomes angry because Jesus cures a woman on the Sabbath. Luke 14:12-13 B. Jesus urges those who are well-off to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to their banquets.
b) For each of the above passages students are asked to list words or phrases which indicate how Jesus acted against injustice.
For example Mark 1:40-45 “moved with pity”, “stretched out his hand”, “touched him”, “I do choose. Be made clean”.
For each passage the words or phrases chosen will vary depending on which translation of the Bible is used.
c) Choose one of the above situations where Jesus expresses concern for the poor and oppressed that makes a strong impression on you. Explain why the incident has an impact on you.
Answers will vary from student to student.
67 Extension Activity Here students are asked to find and read other passages from the gospels where Jesus expresses concern for the poor and oppressed. It may be helpful to provide students with the list of references provided below.
Students may wish to work in a pair or group to role-play one of the passages.
Additional Resource: References to Justice in the New Testament The following OHT / photocopy master provides a list of justice-centred biblical passages from the New Testament that may be useful for class work, preparing prayers and liturgies, or as a resource for reflection and prayer.
68 This page may be photocopied: References to Justice in the New Testament (1)
References to Justice in the New Testament
Matthew 5:1-12 Jesus preaches the Beatitudes.
Matthew 5:13-16 You are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:38-48 You must love your enemies.
Matthew 6:1-4 Do not seek praise for your generosity.
Matthew 6:19-21 Your real treasure is in your heart.
Matthew 6:24-34 Seek first the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 11:2-6 The Messiah is recognised by acts of justice.
Matthew 25:31-46 What we do for our neighbours we do for Christ.
Mark 9:35; 10:42-45 To be first, become a servant for all.
Mark 10:17-31 The rich young man cannot give up his wealth.
Mark 12:41-44 The widow's offering is greater than that of the rich man.
Luke 1:46-55 Mary praises God, who exalts the poor and lowers the rich.
Luke 3:10-18 John the Baptist calls for sharing and honesty.
Luke 4:16-30 Jesus announces his mission of liberation.
Luke 14:7-14 Those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
69
This page may be photocopied:
References to Justice in the New Testament (2)
Luke 15:1-7 Jesus responds to those who are angry because he welcomes outcasts.
Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
Luke 19:1-9 Zacchaeus meets Jesus and is converted.
John 13:1-17 Jesus washes the feet of the disciples.
Acts 2:43-47; 4:32-35 The early Christian communities shared everything; no one was in need.
Acts 6:1-6 Deacons were appointed to serve.
Acts 10:34-35 God shows no partiality.
Romans 12:3-21 All are one in Christ; our behaviour should demonstrate this oneness.
Romans 14:17-19 The Kingdom of God consists of justice, peace, and joy.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 In the Christian community, if one suffers, all suffer; if one benefits, all benefit.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Love is the lifestyle of a Christian.
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Share with the needy; Christ became poor so we could be enriched.
2 Corinthians 9:1-15 Give with gladness.
Galatians 3:28 We are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens.
Galatians 6:9-10 Never grow weary of doing good.
70
This page may be photocopied:
References to Justice in the New Testament (3)
Philippians 2:1-11 Be a servant, like Christ.
Colossians 3:9-17 Clothe yourself in a new self, made in the image of God.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 The rich ought not be proud.
Hebrews 13:1-3 Welcome strangers and remember those who are in prison.
James 1:22-27 Be doers of the word, not just hearers.
James 2:14-17 Faith must be accompanied by actions.
James 5:1-6 Unjust riches cause misery.
1 Peter 4:7-11 Let your gifts serve others.
1 John 4:7-21 We cannot love God without loving our neighbour.
Revelation 21:1-6 In the new heaven and the new earth, death no longer has dominion.
71 PART FOUR: THE CHURCH’S TRADITION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
Achievement Objective 2
Students will be able to recognise the sources of the Church’s teaching on tika in Scripture and the on-going Catholic tradition.
Church Teachings
• The Church’s social doctrine is based on Scripture and the tradition of the Church. • The Church has always been concerned about social matters but Rerum Novarum marks the beginning of the Church’s systematic development of social teachings. • The Church’s rich heritage of social teachings has its origins in Scripture, especially the Gospels, and has been shaped by the writings of great theologians throughout the ages.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• List ways in which the early Church provided for those in need. • Explain why Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things was such an important milestone in this history of the Church. • Describe how the Church’s understanding of justice has developed in the time since Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things was first published. • Relate important developments in the Church’s social teaching to events in the world. • Identify and describe important Church statements on justice. • Give reasons why the Church’s social teaching has been regarded as its “best kept secret”.
Teacher Background
Justice in Christian History The early Christian communities were famous for their social services to people in need – the sick, the hungry, widows and orphans. They promoted justice in order to follow the example of Jesus and because of their belief that all people are made in the image and likeness of God.
After Christianity emerged as the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, the Church had new opportunities to work for social reform, and played a significant role in passing laws that protected widows and orphans, limited slavery, reduced abortions, defended children, and secured more humane treatment for prisoners of war and criminals.
72 Many early Church documents provide evidence of radical pacifism. Christians were forbidden to carry arms, and soldiers who desired baptism were required to resign from the army. This early pacifism was later overshadowed by the “just war” theory initially proposed by Saints Ambrose (339-97) and Augustine (354-430). This theory, although it began with the premise that Christian faith forbids war, then suggested situations where exceptions to this ruling might apply. Later, the just war theory was further developed by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-74).
During the medieval period the monasteries provided essential social services including hospitals for the sick, shelter for orphans and widows, food for the poor, ministry to prisoners, and hospitality to travellers. Their most effective and long-lasting impact on society was through education. The monasteries provided schools, books and libraries that formed the basis of the tradition of formal education in the Western world. They also contributed to the welfare of society through the development of agriculture.
The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century established factories which required large workforces. The Church gradually turned its attention to social justice issues such as the provision of fair wages and decent working conditions for workers who were often treated badly and forced to live in poor and unhealthy accommodation. Over time, the Church, by using the tools of analysis provided by the new social sciences, came to recognise the connections between politics and the conditions of everyday life. It became clearer that poverty and injustice did not just happen but were the consequence of various social and cultural structures. At the same time, the Church became conscious that the social responsibilities of Christian faith demanded more than personal honesty and private charity. Participation in political struggles to eliminate the conditions that cause people to be hungry, homeless, oppressed or victimised is required of those who take the Gospel seriously. The social responsibilities of Christians extend beyond treating symptoms to addressing the underlying causes of distress.
Developments in theology have supported this deepening social consciousness. The social implications of long-established Church teachings, such as that concerning the kingdom or reign of God are being explored. No longer is the reign of God understood to be referring solely to a place of reward for souls after death – heaven – but is now interpreted to include doing God’s will of shalom on earth as well. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity also has implications for social justice. Just as the inner life of God – the bond between Father, Son and Spirit – reflects right and loving relationship, so then must people who are made in God’s image and likeness live likewise. Also significant has been a deepening of understanding of sin and salvation.
For various reasons over recent centuries, Christians had come to emphasise the personal nature of sin – something between oneself and God. The Biblical wisdom that sin has a social dimension and hurts the life of the whole Christian community had tended to be neglected. Because of a deepening sense of justice, Christians are becoming more aware that personal sins have social consequences and that sinful social structures encourage personal
73 sins. For example, people’s individual greed gives rise to a consumerist culture, which in turn encourages people in their greed.
Turning away from sin includes a commitment to change one’s personal life but also the intention to resist sinful social structures. The salvation brought about by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection applies to the social as well as to the personal aspects of human existence. God’s work of salvation applies to the whole of public life.
Theologies of liberation arising from historical struggles for justice – against economic exploitation, gender, racial, and ethnic inequality etc. – have helped Christians recognise that both sin and salvation are social as well as personal matters. The Church’s official teachings have become increasingly insistent that God’s salvation must include social as well as personal liberation.
The Emergence of Catholic Social Teachings Christians have always recognised that the Gospel has social implications. However, Catholic social teaching as such did not exist until the end of the nineteenth century when Pope Leo XIII published his encyclical, Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things (1891). For the first time, the Catholic Church began to articulate in a consciously systematic manner a theology of social justice.
Since then there has been a steady stream of statements from the popes and the bishops of the world that have deepened and expanded the Church’s teachings on the social responsibilities of being Christian. Initially, Church statements on social justice were concerned with the rights and responsibilities of workers, but in response to the two world wars their emphasis shifted to the relations among nations. In the nineteen-sixties and nineteen-seventies, as the threat of nuclear war intensified, that issue became a focus. More recent concerns include responsibility for the environment, caution regarding globalisation and post-modernity, and the promotion of solidarity among all peoples.
While Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, and Pius XII all made important contributions to the development of the Church’s social teaching, it was not until Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council that clear links were established between the social ministry of the Church and its nature and mission.
Catholic social doctrine is a clearly discernible body of official teachings on the social order and its economic and political dimensions. Catholic social doctrine is not a blueprint for the reform of the world. It is rather a broad theological and philosophical framework of social analysis that is concerned with the dignity of the human person as created in the image of God, with human rights and duties which protect and enhance this dignity, and with the radically social nature of human existence. The focus of Catholic social doctrine is the relationship between individual persons, society and the state. Its development has occurred in three stages:
74 The first stage in the development of the Church’s social teaching occurred in response to the problems posed by the Industrial Revolution. The key texts are Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things (1891) and Pius Xl's Quadragesimo Anno – After Forty Years (1931). The main issues are the role of government in society and in the economy, the right of workers to organise themselves into unions and associations, the principle of a just wage, and the critique of both capitalism and socialism from a Catholic perspective.
The second stage in the development of Catholic social teaching emerged during the Second World War and continues into the present where it overlaps with a third stage. During this period Catholic social doctrine became more international in its scope. It confronted the growing material interdependence of the world and sought to provide a moral framework for the political, economic, and strategic issues facing the human community. The key texts are Pope Pius XII’s Pentecost Message of 1941 and Christmas Addresses of 1939-1957, John XXIII’s Mater et Magistra – Mother and Teacher (1961) and Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth (1963), Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio – The Progress of Peoples (1967), the Second Vatican Council's Gaudium et Spes – Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965), and the Third International Synod of Bishops' Iustitia in Mundo – Justice in the World (1971). The principal issues of this second stage are the political and juridical organisation of the international community, the demands of international social justice in determining the rules and relationships of international economic policy, and the moral issues regarding warfare in a nuclear age.
The third stage begins with Pope Paul VI's apostolic letter Octagesima Adveniens – The Eightieth Year (1971) and is continued with his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi – On Evangelisation in the Modern World (1975). Octagesima Adveniens – The Eightieth Year addresses new social questions, examining issues faced in an acute way by post-industrial societies that have been transformed by technology and its effects, especially in the area of communications and travel. It deals with the ways in which post- industrial and developing societies are related internationally. The document focuses on the forms of organisation which compete for primacy in society and on the intellectual currents which seek to legitimate other kinds of social and political orders.
This broader political approach is carried forward in Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptor Hominis – Redeemer of Humankind (1979), which speaks of human alienation from the products and effects of technology – environmental pollution and destruction, the arms race, the widening gap between rich and poor, increasingly sophisticated methods of torture and oppression, wasteful attitudes and practices, inflation, and modern methods of warfare. The encyclical emphasises that what is essential today is the right of citizens to share in the political life of the community in service of the common good, whether nationally or internationally, and in service of the human person, whose dignity in Christ is the foundation and linchpin of the whole social and political order. In this third stage the issue of human rights is of central concern and is the measure by which social justice can be tested in
75 the life of political bodies.
The Second Vatican Council, although still very much a part of stage two, prepared the way for the expansion of Catholic social doctrine to include the political dimension as well. Among the fundamental principles the Council stresses, especially in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, are the dignity of the human person created in the image of God (12), the dignity of the moral conscience (16), the value of freedom (17), the social nature of human existence and of our destiny (24), the interdependence of person and society (26), the need to promote the common good for the sake of human dignity (26), respect for persons (27), their fundamental equality as the basis of social justice (29), the value of all human activities because of the redemption (34), the rightful autonomy of temporal realities (36), and the missionary responsibility of the Church to attend to these values and principles (especially in 40-45). The same insistence on human freedom is sounded in the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom, a freedom that belongs not only to individuals but to groups (4), and that is always subject to the common good (7).
The social mission of the Church is expressed even more explicitly in the synodal document Justice in the World (1971):
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. (Introduction, 6)
Later the same document applies the principle to the Church itself, for “anyone who ventures to speak to people about justice must first be just in their eyes” (III, 2). The Church, which is the sacrament of Christ, is called to practise what it preaches about justice and rights.
Historical Notes on the Church’s Social Doctrine The following historical notes from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2004) published by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace provide a valuable overview of the development of the Church’s social teaching from Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things up to the present time.
88. In the nineteenth century, events of an economic nature produced a dramatic social, political and cultural impact. Events connected with the Industrial Revolution profoundly changed centuries-old societal structures, raising serious problems of justice and posing the first great social question – the labour question – prompted by the conflict between capital and labour. In this context, the Church felt the need to become involved and intervene in a new way: the res novae (“new things”) brought about by these events represented a challenge to her teaching and motivated her special pastoral concern for masses of people. A new discernment of the situation was needed, a discernment
76 capable of finding appropriate solutions to unfamiliar and unexplored problems.
89. In response to the first great social question, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the first social encyclical, Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things. This encyclical examines the condition of salaried workers, which was particularly distressing for industrial labourers who languished in inhumane misery. The labour question is dealt with according to its true dimensions. It is explored in all its social and political expressions so that a proper evaluation may be made in the light of the doctrinal principles founded on Revelation and on natural law and morality.
Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things lists errors that give rise to social ills, excludes socialism as a remedy and expounds with precision and in contemporary terms the Catholic doctrine on work, the right to property, the principle of collaboration instead of class struggle as the fundamental means for social change, the rights of the weak, the dignity of the poor and the obligations of the rich, the perfecting of justice through charity, on the right to form professional associations.
Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things became the document inspiring Christian activity in the social sphere and the point of reference for this activity. The encyclical's central theme is the just ordering of society, in view of which there is the obligation to identify criteria of judgment that will help to evaluate existing socio-political systems and to suggest lines of action for their appropriate transformation.
90. Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things dealt with the labour question using a methodology that would become a lasting paradigm for successive developments in the Church's social doctrine. The principles affirmed by Pope Leo XIII would be taken up again and studied more deeply in successive social encyclicals. The whole of the Church's social doctrine can be seen as an updating, a deeper analysis and an expansion of the original nucleus of principles presented in Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things. With this courageous and farsighted text, Pope Leo XIII gave the Church 'citizenship status' as it were, amid the changing realities of public life and made an incisive statement which became a permanent element of the Church's social teaching. He affirmed that serious social problems could be solved only by cooperation between all forces and added that, in regard to the Church, her cooperation will never be found lacking.
91. At the beginning of the 1930s, following the grave economic crisis of 1929, Pope Pius XI published the Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno – After Forty Years, commemorating the fortieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum. The Pope reread the past in the light of the economic and social situation in which the expansion of the influence of financial groups, both nationally and internationally, was added to the effects of
77 industrialisation. It was the post-war period, during which totalitarian regimes were being imposed in Europe even as the class struggle was becoming more bitter. The encyclical warns about the failure to respect the freedom to form associations and stresses the principles of solidarity and cooperation in order to overcome social contradictions. The relationships between capital and labour must be characterised by cooperation.
Quadragesimo Anno – After Forty Years confirms the principle that salaries should be proportional not only to the needs of the worker but also to those of the worker's family. The state, in its relations with the private sector, should apply the principle of subsidiarity, a principle that will become a permanent element of the Church's social doctrine. The encyclical rejects liberalism, understood as unlimited competition between economic forces, and reconfirms the value of private property, recalling its social function. In a society in need of being rebuilt from its economic foundations, a society which itself becomes completely the question to deal with, Pius XI felt the duty and the responsibility to promote a greater awareness, a more precise interpretation and an urgent application of the moral law governing human relations ... with the intent of overcoming the conflict between classes and arriving at a new social order based on justice and charity.
92. Pope Pius XI did not fail to raise his voice against the totalitarian regimes that were being imposed in Europe during his pontificate. Already on 29 June 1931 he had protested against the abuse of power by the totalitarian fascist regime in Italy with the encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno – We Have No Need. He published the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge – With Burning Concern, on the situation of the Catholic Church under the German Reich, on 14 March 1937. The text of Mit Brennender Sorge – With Burning Concern was read from the pulpit of every Catholic Church in Germany, after having been distributed in the greatest of secrecy. The Encyclical came out after years of abuse and violence, and it had been expressly requested from Pope Pius XI by the German Bishops after the Reich had implemented ever more coercive and repressive measures in 1936, particularly with regard to young people, who were required to enrol as members of the Hitler Youth Movement. The Pope spoke directly to priests, religious and lay faithful, giving them encouragement and calling them to resistance until such time that a true peace between Church and state would be restored. In 1938, with the spreading of anti-Semitism, Pope Pius XI affirmed: “Spiritually we are all Semites”.
With the encyclical Letter Divini Redemptoris – The Promise of a Redeemer, on atheistic communism and Christian social doctrine, Pope Pius XI offered a systematic criticism of communism, describing it as “intrinsically perverse”, and indicated that the principal means for correcting the evils perpetrated by it could be found in the renewal of Christian life, the practice of evangelical charity, the fulfilment of the duties of justice at both the interpersonal and social levels in relation to
78 the common good, and the institutionalisation of professional and interprofessional groups.
93. In the Christmas Radio Messages of Pope Pius XII, together with other important interventions in social matters, magisterial reflection on a new social order guided by morality and law, and focusing on justice and peace, become deeper. His pontificate covered the terrible years of the Second World War and the difficult years of reconstruction. He published no social encyclicals but in many different contexts he constantly showed his concern for the international order, which had been badly shaken. During the war and the post-war period, for many people of all continents and for millions of believers and non-believers, the social teaching of Pope Pius XII represented the voice of universal conscience. ... With his moral authority and prestige, Pope Pius XII brought the light of Christian wisdom to countless people of every category and social level.
One of the characteristics of Pope Pius XII's interventions is the importance he gave to the relationship between morality and law. He insisted on the notion of natural law as the soul of the system to be established on both the national and the international levels. Another important aspect of Pope Pius XII's teaching was his attention to the professional and business classes, called to work together in a special way for the attainment of the common good. Due to his sensitivity and intelligence in grasping the ‘signs of the times’, Pope Pius XII can be considered the immediate precursor of Vatican Council II and of the social teaching of the popes who followed him.
94. The 1960s bring promising prospects: recovery after the devastation of the war, the beginning of decolonisation, and the first timid signs of a thaw in the relations between the American and Soviet blocs. This is the context within which Blessed Pope John XXIII reads deeply into the ‘signs of the times’. The social question is becoming universal and involves all countries: together with the labour question and the Industrial Revolution, there come to the fore problems of agriculture, of developing regions, of increasing populations, and those concerning the need for global economic cooperation. Inequalities that in the past were experienced within nations are now becoming international and make the dramatic situation of the Third World ever more evident.
Blessed Pope John XXIII, in his encyclical Mater et Magistra – Mother and Teacher, aims at up-dating the already known documents, and at taking a further step forward in the process of involving the whole Christian community. The key words in the encyclical are community and socialisation: the Church is called in truth, justice and love to cooperate in building with all men and women an authentic communion. In this way economic growth will not be limited to satisfying people’s needs, but it will also promote their dignity.
79 95. With the encyclical Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth, Blessed Pope John XXIII brings to the forefront the problem of peace in an era marked by nuclear proliferation. Moreover, Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth contains one of the first in-depth reflections on rights on the part of the Church; it is the encyclical of peace and human dignity. It continues and completes the discussion presented in Mater et Magistra – Mother and Teacher, and, continuing in the direction indicated by Pope Leo XIII, it emphasises the importance of the cooperation of all men and women. It is the first time that a Church document is addressed also to “all people of good will”, who are called to a great task: to establish with truth, justice, love and freedom new methods of relationships in human society. Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth dwells on the public authority of the world community, called to tackle and solve problems of an economic, social, political or cultural character which are posed by the universal common good. On the tenth anniversary of Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth, Cardinal Maurice Roy, the President of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace, sent Pope Paul VI a letter accompanying a document with a series of reflections on the different possibilities afforded by the teaching contained in Pope John XXIII's encyclical for shedding light on the new problems connected with the promotion of peace.
96. The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes – The Joy and Hopes of the Second Vatican Council is a significant response of the Church to the expectations of the contemporary world. In this Constitution, in harmony with the ecclesiological renewal, a new concept of how to be a community of believers and people of God are reflected. It aroused new interest regarding the doctrine contained in the preceding documents on the witness and life of Christians, as authentic ways of making the presence of God in the world visible. Gaudium et Spes – The Joys and Hopes presents the face of a Church that cherishes a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history, that travels the same journey as all humankind and shares the same earthly lot with the world, but which at the same time is to be a leaven and, as it were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God.
Gaudium et Spes – The Joys and Hopes presents in a systematic manner the themes of culture, of economic and social life, of marriage and the family, of the political community, of peace and the community of peoples, in the light of a Christian anthropological outlook and of the Church's mission. Everything is considered from the starting point of the person and with a view to the person, the only creature that God willed for its own sake. Society, its structures and development must be oriented towards the progress of the human person. For the first time, the magisterium of the Church, at its highest level, speaks at great length about the different temporal aspects of Christian life: “It must be recognised that the attention given by the Constitution to social, psychological, political, economic, moral and religious changes has increasingly stimulated ... the Church's pastoral concern for
80 people’s problems and dialogue with the world”.
97. Another very important document of the Second Vatican Council in the corpus of the Church's social doctrine is the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae – The Dignity of the Human Person, in which the right to religious freedom is clearly proclaimed. The document presents the theme in two chapters. The first, of a general character, affirms that religious freedom is based on the dignity of the human person and that it must be sanctioned as a civil right in the legal order of society. The second chapter deals with the theme in the light of Revelation and clarifies its pastoral implications, pointing out that it is a right that concerns not only people as individuals but also the different communities of people.
98. “Development is the new name for peace”, Pope Paul VI solemnly proclaims in his encyclical Populorum Progressio – The Progress of Peoples, which may be considered a development of the chapter on economic and social life in Gaudium et Spes – The Joys and Hopes, even while it introduces some significant new elements. In particular, it presents the outlines of an integral development of the person and of a development in solidarity with all humanity: these two topics are to be considered the axes around which the encyclical is structured. In wishing to convince its receivers of the urgent need for action in solidarity, the Pope presents development as the transition from less humane conditions to those which are more humane and indicates its characteristics. This transition is not limited to merely economic or technological dimensions, but implies for each person the acquisition of culture, the respect of the dignity of others, the acknowledgment of the highest good, the recognition of God Himself, the author and end of these blessings. Development that benefits everyone responds to the demands of justice on a global scale that guarantees worldwide peace and makes it possible to achieve a complete humanism guided by spiritual values.
99. In this regard, in 1967, Pope Paul VI establishes the Pontifical Commission Iustitia et Pax – Justice and Peace, thus fulfilling the wishes of the Council Fathers who considered it most opportune that an organism of the universal Church be set up in order that both the justice and love of Christ toward the poor might be developed everywhere. The role of such an organism would be to stimulate the Catholic community to promote progress in needy regions and international social justice. By initiative of Pope Paul VI, beginning in 1968, the Church celebrates the first day of the year as the World Day of Peace. This same Pontiff started the tradition of writing annual Messages that deal with the theme chosen for each World Day of Peace. These Messages expand and enrich the corpus of the Church's social doctrine.
100. At the beginning of the 1970s, in a climate of turbulence and strong ideological controversy, Pope Paul VI returns to the social teaching of
81 Pope Leo XIII and updates it, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things, with his apostolic letter Octogesima Adveniens – The Eightieth Year. The Pope reflects on post-industrial society with all of its complex problems, noting the inadequacy of ideologies in responding to these challenges: urbanisation, the condition of young people, the condition of women, unemployment, discrimination, emigration, population growth, the influence of the means of social communications, the ecological problem.
101. Ninety years after Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things, Pope John Paul II devoted the encyclical Laborem Exercens – On Doing Work to work, the fundamental good of the human person, the primary element of economic activity and the key to the entire social question. Laborem Exercens – On Doing Work outlines a spirituality and ethic of work in the context of a profound theological and philosophical reflection. Work must not be understood only in the objective and material sense, but one must keep in mind its subjective dimension, insofar as it is always an expression of the person. Besides being a decisive paradigm for social life, work has all the dignity of being a context in which the person's natural and supernatural vocation must find fulfilment.
102. With the encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis – On Social Concern, Pope John Paul II commemorates the twentieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio – The Progress of Peoples and deals once more with the theme of development along two fundamental lines: on one hand, the dramatic situation of the modern world, under the aspect of the failed development of the Third World, and on the other, the meaning of, conditions and requirements for a development worthy of human persons. The encyclical presents differences between progress and development, and insists that true development cannot be limited to the multiplication of goods and service – to what one possesses – but must contribute to the fullness of the ‘being’ of the human person. In this way the moral nature of real development is meant to be shown clearly. Pope John Paul II, alluding to the motto of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, ‘opus iustitiae pax’ (peace is the fruit of justice), comments: “Today, one could say, with the same exactness and the same power of biblical inspiration (cf. Isaiah 32:17; James 3:18), ‘opus solidaritatis pax’ (peace is the fruit of solidarity)”.
103. On the hundredth anniversary of Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things, Pope John Paul II promulgates his third social encyclical, Centesimus Annus – The Hundredth Year, from which emerges the doctrinal continuity of a hundred years of the Church's social magisterium. Taking up anew one of the fundamental principles of the Christian view of social and political organisation, which had been the central theme of the previous encyclical, the Pope writes: “What we nowadays call the principle of solidarity... is frequently stated by Pope Leo XIII, who uses the term ‘friendship’ ... Pope Pius XI refers to it with
82 the equally meaningful term 'social charity'. Pope Paul VI, expanding the concept to cover the many modern aspects of the social question, speaks of a ‘civilisation of love’”. Pope John Paul II demonstrates how the Church's social teaching moves along the axis of reciprocity between God and humankind: recognising God in every person and every person in God is the condition of authentic human development. The articulate and in-depth analysis of the “new things”, and particularly of the great breakthrough of 1989 with the collapse of the Soviet system, shows appreciation for democracy and the free economy, in the context of an indispensable solidarity.
Making the Catholic Social Tradition Better Known That the tradition of Catholic social teaching has been described as “our best kept secret” is an indication that many Catholics are unaware of the social tradition and the principles upon which it is based. Pope John Paul II acknowledges this failure:
“It must be asked how many Christians really know and put into practice the principles of the Church’s social doctrine.” (On the Coming of the Third Millennium 36)
Limited training and formation in the social doctrine of the Church among priests, deacons, lay leaders, catechists, and teachers are partly responsible for this lack. Because it necessarily deals with matters of politics, economics, and social organisation, Catholic social teaching can be controversial. The unwillingness of many Catholics to engage in “difficult” issues, particularly ones that are complex and that might require people to change, is another reason why the social tradition is inadequately addressed. However, if we are to be true to the faith, Catholics must be committed to the Church’s social justice teachings which come directly from Jesus who announced and brought good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and release to prisoners.
The Catholic social tradition is a resource that we often fail to recognise. People today, particularly youth and young adults, want their faith to have relevance and meaning. There is clearly a need for leadership and faith to face the struggles that afflict so many. The Catholic social tradition can help fulfil this need by showing us that the Incarnation continues to occur daily in the lives of all believers, especially those people who are poor and marginalised. The Church will remain an important and relevant voice in any society as long as its social teachings are heard, understood and acted upon.
The publication, in 2004, of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church – “drawn up in order to give a concise but complete overview of the Church’s social teaching”4 – was a significant step in making the Church’s social teaching more accessible and better known by Catholics and all people of good will.
4 From the “Presentation” made by Cardinal Renato Martino, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, at the time of the Compendium’s launch on 2 April, 2004.
83 Links with the Student Text
Task Ten Here students are required to read the following passages from the New Testament which describe how the early Church cared for the poor and vulnerable:
Acts 6:1-6 Acts 11:27-30 Romans 15:25-27
Students are asked to read all the ways in which the first Christians provided for those among them who were in need.
Answers include:
• Appointing “seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom” to care for widows. • Providing food relief for the Church in Judaea in the face of a severe and universal famine. • Paul undertaking to travel to Jerusalem to take a generous contribution from Macedonia and Achaia to the Church’s poor there.
Something To Think About Here students are asked to recall from their study of Church history topics any people from the past who contributed to the Church’s tradition of justice. Students should also be able to say what these people actually did to advance justice.
Answers will vary from student to student, but the following significant people are just a few of those who have worked for justice and have figured in previous topics of Understanding Faith:
Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) One of Saint Vincent’s principles was to evangelise the rich and direct them to serve the poor. This was illustrated in his attempts to recruit wealthy women to serve among Paris’ poor. He founded the Congregation of the Mission, a community of priests dedicated to taking the Gospel to the rural poor of France.
Saint Louise de Marillac (1591-1660) In collaboration with Vincent de Paul, Saint Louise founded the Sisters of Charity, the first community of “unenclosed” women dedicated to the care of the sick and the poor.
Blessed Anne-Marie Javouhey (1779-1851) After initially entering the Sisters of Charity, Blessed Anne-Marie later founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny to serve the poor. In 1817 her sisters opened their first missionary outpost on the African island of Reunion. The most remarkable assignment of her life was the education of six hundred slaves in Guiana prior to their liberation. As each family was ready to be
84 freed, Anne-Marie Javouhey arranged for them to have money, some land, and a cottage.
Blessed Frederic Ozanam (1813-1853) After a challenge during a debate at the Sorbonne, the famous Parisian university, Frederic decided to back up his words with action. He began to visit the poor, providing them with fuel, food, and clothing out of his own resources. With seven other students he organised the first conference of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society which by 1837 had grown into a national movement of two thousand members.
Dorothy Day (1997-1980) Dorothy was initially a Marxist but became a Catholic in 1927. She was the cofounder in 1933 of the Catholic Worker movement, which espouses nonviolent action, and hospitality for the homeless, hungry and forsaken. The movement started with the Catholic Worker newspaper that she and Peter Maurin founded to stake out a neutral, pacifist position in the increasingly war- torn 1930s. It quickly spread throughout the world. There are a number of Catholic Worker houses in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Sister Helen Prejean Sister Helen of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille is famous for her counselling of inmates on death row in the Southern States of the USA and for accompanying them to their executions. She also works with the families of murderers and their victims. Sister Helen wrote about her experiences in Dead Man Walking (1993) which was made into a major motion picture. She continues to educate the public about the evils of the death penalty by lecturing and writing. A second book The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions was published in 2005.
Something to Discuss • Here students are asked to explain why Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things is such an important milestone in the history of the Church.
Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things is regarded as the beginning of the Church’s tradition of social teachings. It is the first papal document devoted to a social justice issue – the problems facing industrial workers. In it Pope Leo XIII rejected socialism as a solution to workers’ problems and stated that co-operation rather than class struggle would change society for the better.
• Here students are asked to identify some of the ways in which the Church’s understanding of justice has developed in the time since Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things was first published.
Since the publication of Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things, there has been a steady stream of statements from popes and bishops of the world that have expanded and deepened the Church’s teachings on the social responsibilities of being Christian. Justice is now seen as being much more
85 than charity or welfare. Christians must move beyond treating symptoms to addressing the underlying causes of social distress.
Using the tools provided by the social sciences, the Church has been better able to understand the connections between politics and the conditions of everyday life. It sees more clearly that poverty and injustice do not just happen but are the result of various social and cultural structures. The Church strongly urges all people to take the Gospel seriously and work together to get rid of the conditions that cause hunger, homelessness, oppression or victimisation.
Something to Research Here students are asked to study a timeline, which shows the relationship between events in the world and the development of the Church’s social teaching in the century after Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things appeared. They should choose one event / issue mentioned on the timeline that attracted the Church’s concern and find out more about it, using the standard tools of research, including the internet, in their investigation. Answers will vary from student to student.
Task Eleven Here students are asked to name the Church statements on justice that various descriptions apply to. All the information they need is on the previous pages. The answers are as follows:
1. Published by Pope John XXIII, this was the first papal document to deal with the issue of nuclear weapons and call for their removal. Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth. 2. Pope Pius XI issued this statement at a time when the world was entering the Great Depression and democracies were under threat in Europe. Quadragesimo Anno – After Forty Years. 3. Ninety years after Pope Leo XIII addressed the issue of work, Pope John Paul II returned to the same theme in this statement. Laborem Exercens – On Doing Work. 4. In this statement the bishops of the Second Vatican Council addressed the need for the Church to re-examine its relationship with the modern world. Gaudium et Spes – The Joys and Hopes. 5. This statement, written at the time communism was collapsing in Eastern Europe, commemorated the centenary of Rerum Novarum. Centesimus Annus – The Hundredth Year. 6. At a time when many people were turning away from religion, this encyclical of Pope Paul VI urged all Christians to take responsibility for spreading the Gospel. Evangelii Nuntiandi – Evangelisation in the Modern World. 7. The World Synod of Bishops issued this statement which has a strong focus on “liberation”. Iustia et Pax – Justice in the World. 8. The fact that millions of people worldwide are living in poverty leads John XXIII to address the problems faced by Third World countries in this document. Mater et Magistra – Mother and Teacher.
86 9. In this, his first encyclical, Pope John Paul II states that justice develops when the dignity of the human person is respected. Redemptor Hominis – The Redeemer of Humankind. 10. This was the first teaching by a pope to deal directly with a social justice issue – the rights and conditions of workers. Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things. 11. This encyclical by Pope Paul VI focused on international development and which he linked closely to peace. Populorum Progressio – The Progress of Peoples. 12. This looked at new social issues arising from urbanisation and was issued eighty years after Rerum Novarum. Octogesima Adveniens – The Eightieth Year.
Task Twelve Here students are asked to choose one of the Church documents summarised in the student text that deals with a social justice issue that they think is especially significant. Students should:
a) Explain why the issue is an important one. b) Decide on one idea presented in the summary that they think is particularly significant and give the reasons why. c) List additional ideas that they would want the document to include and / or concerns that they would want it to cover.
This activity could be done individually, or students could work together in pairs.
Answers will vary considerably, depending on which document students choose to focus on.
Extension Activity Here students are asked to search the internet for further information about the Church document that they have just written about. They should:
a) List five things that they learn about the document. b) Jot down a brief quote from the document and explain in their own words what it means.
Many of the documents can be found on the Vatican website: http://www.vatican.va Answers will vary from student to student.
87 Something to Discuss • Here students are asked to consider why the Church’s social teaching is called its “best kept secret”.
Despite the many statements on issues of justice and peace by various popes and bishops, many Catholic’s remain unaware of the Church’s teaching on topics such as the environment, war, politics, business, the family, workers’ rights, private property, genetic engineering, and globalisation. This has led some to claim that the Church’s social teaching is its “best kept secret”.
• Here students are asked to indicate how the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church seeks to raise awareness of the Church’s social teaching.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, published by the Vatican in 2004, is an attempt to giver wider publicity to what the Church teaches on social issues. It sets out to give “a concise but complete overview of the Church’s social teaching”.
Supplementary Resources for this Section of the Topic The following pages focus on four important documents in the Church’s tradition of social justice teachings:
Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things (1891) Mater at Magistra – Mother and Teacher (1961) Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth (1963) Gaudium et Spes – The Joys and Hopes (1965)
The social issues that each document deals with and the Church’s response to them are outlined on the tables that follow.
The pages can be photocopied to make OHTs or handouts for students.
88 This page may be photocopied: Issues and Responses in Church Teachings (1)
Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things (Pope Leo XIII, 1891)
Theme: The conditions of labour
Issues Responses
1. Too few people to control 1. Fix the limits of private production. possession.
2. Concentrated wealth promotes 2. Recall that just ownership of greed. money is distinct from just use:
3. People are destitute. • challenge the rich to give to the poor; 4. Inhuman working conditions • demand that the state serve exist. the common good.
5. Socialism rejects private 3. Call the Church to unite the rich property. and the poor.
6. Socialism favours class 4. Promote trade associations and warfare. just wages.
5. Recognise that private property is a right and stabilises society.
6. Encourage equitable relations between capital and labour.
89 This page may be photocopied: Issues and Responses in Church Teachings (2)
Mater et Magistra – Mother and Teacher (Pope John XXIII, 1961)
Theme: Christianity and social progress; the unequal distribution of the world’s wealth and resources
Issues Responses
1. Great masses of workers 1. Affirm profit-sharing policies receive too small a return for for employees. their labour. 2. Foster the value of the 2. Large sums of money are individual and make Christian devoted to armaments. social doctrine an integral part of Christian life. 3. Farmers are unjustly placed in an inferior economic and social 3. Encourage effective status. safeguards against monopolies. 4. Many have no concern for the just ordering of goods. 4. Private property holders should exercise social 5. Prosperous and poor nations responsibility. grow more divergent. 5. Aid less developed countries without thought of domination.
90 This page may be photocopied: Issues and Responses in Church Teachings (3)
Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth (Pope John XXIII, 1963)
Theme: Peace, poverty and human rights are issues that call for committed action by Christians
Issues Responses
1. Nuclear war is a constant fear. 1. Establish peace on mutual trust. 2. Armaments increase continually. 2. Agree on disarmament with effective controls. 3. Present governments are inadequate to promote the 3. Set up a worldwide authority universal common good. based on subsidiarity.
4. Nations pursue their own 4. Review allocation of resources; development at the expense monitor the policies of of oppressing other countries. multinational corporations.
5. The exile of political refugees is 5. Work for public policies that a growing problem. facilitate the relocation of refugees. 6. Civilisation lacks the influence of faith. 6. Integrate faith and charity into one’s personal life. 7. Racism influences public policy. 7. Urge the recognition of the principle that all nations are by nature equal in dignity.
91 This page may be photocopied: Issues and Responses in Church Teachings (4)
Gaudium et Spes – The Joys and Hopes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Vatican II, 1965)
Theme: Christians’ responsibility for the world and human conditions
Issues Responses
1. Hunger, poverty and illiteracy 1. Work for political and economic torment most of the world’s decisions consistent with citizens and foster disputes. human dignity.
2. There are vast economic 2. Urge the State to distribute inequalities. goods fairly.
3. Nuclear war remains a threat. 3. End the arms race by disarmament accompanied by 4. Interdependence among the adequate and workable world’s peoples is growing. safeguards.
5. Lack of true Christianity 4. Establish an international contributes to atheism. community that includes subsidiarity.
5. Challenge Christians to take their temporal duties seriously, acting with justice and love.
92 PART FIVE: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
Achievement Objective 3
Students will be able to identify and explore key principles and concepts – including human dignity, freedom and responsibility – underlying the Church’s teaching on particular issues of social justice.
Church Teachings
Key Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
• The principle of the mana of the human person is the basis of all that the Church teaches about social justice. • Other key principles of Catholic social teaching include the common good, subsidiarity, participation, and solidarity.
The Common Good
• The principle of the common good stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. • The common good refers to the sum total of social conditions which allow people, individually or in groups, to develop and fulfil their potential. • A society that seeks to serve its individual members must seek to serve the common good. • The common good is served when persons and their fundamental rights are respected and promoted. • All members of a society must co-operate and contribute to the common good. • The common good is the responsibility of the state as well as of individuals.
The Universal Destination of Goods
• The principle of the common good requires that the world’s material resources be shared fairly among all. • The right to private property is not absolute and is secondary to the fact that the earth’s resources are intended for the good of all.
The Preferential Option for the Poor
• Social responsibility requires the exercise of a preferential option for the poor and the marginalised when decisions are made about the ownership and use of goods.
93 Subsidiarity
• The principle of subsidiarity – that nothing should be done at a higher level which can be done as well, or better, at a lower level – protects initiative, freedom and responsibility, and strengthens the social fabric. • At times, the state needs to intervene to ensure that justice is done and to protect the common good.
Participation
• Each person has a right and duty to participate in the public life of society. • Participation in community life is one of the pillars of democracy.
Solidarity
• Individuals and societies are interdependent and must recognise the ties that unite them and ensure that they treat each other as neighbours.
Forms of Justice
• There are various forms of justice – commutative, distributive, legal, and social. • Commutative justice regulates exchanges between persons and between institutions in accordance with a strict respect for their rights – it requires safeguarding property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. • Legal justice concerns what the citizen owes in fairness to the community. • Distributive justice regulates what the community owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs. • Social justice provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation – it is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Identify and reflect on key themes and principles of social justice. • Define and give examples of the different types / categories of justice (commutative, distributive, legal and social).
94 Teacher Background
Principles of Social Teaching The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church identifies certain principles which are at the centre of Catholic social teaching:
The permanent principles of the Church's social doctrine constitute the very heart of Catholic social teaching. These are the principles of: the dignity of the human person, which is the foundation of all the other principles and content of the Church's social doctrine; the common good; subsidiarity; and solidarity. (CSDC 160)
First among these principles is the dignity of the human person, which forms the basis of the whole of the Church’s social doctrine. Other key principles are the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.
The following summary of twelve primary themes in Catholic social teaching,5 while giving priority to the above principles, expands and develops them.
Twelve Primary Themes from Catholic Social Teaching
1. Relatedness of the Religious and Social Dimensions of Life The "social" – the human construction of the world – is not "secular" in the sense of being outside of God's plan, but is intimately involved with the dynamic of the Reign of God. Therefore faith and justice are necessarily linked together.
2. Dignity of the Human Person Made in the image of God, all human persons are sacred. Every person possesses an inalienable dignity regardless of gender, race, class, or other human categorizations. Human dignity can be recognized and protected only in community with others. One of the most fundamental questions to ask about social development is: What is happening to people?
3. Option for the Poor A preferential love should be shown to poor people, whose needs and rights are given special attention in God's eyes. "Poor" is understood to refer to the economically disadvantaged who, as a consequence of their status, suffer oppression and powerlessness.
4. Political and Economic Rights All human persons enjoy inalienable rights, which are religious / political / legal [e.g. worship / food, shelter, work, education]. These are realized in community. Essential for the promotion of justice and solidarity, these rights are to be respected and protected by all the institutions of society.
5 Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret. 4th revised and expanded edition by Edward P.Deberri et al, Orbis Books, 2003.
95 5. Link of Love and Justice Love of neighbour demands justice; charity must manifest itself in actions and structures which respect human dignity, protect human rights, and facilitate human development. To promote justice is to transform structures which block love.
6. Promotion of the Common Good The common good is the sum total of all those conditions of social living – economic, political, and cultural – which make it possible for women and men to readily and fully achieve the perfection of their humanity. Individual rights are always experienced within the context of promotion of the common good.
7. Subsidiarity Responsibilities and decisions should be attended to as close as possible to the level of individual initiative in local communities and institutions. Mediating structures of families, neighbourhoods, community groups, small businesses, and local governments should be participated in and promoted. But larger government structures do have a role when greater social coordination and regulation are necessary for the common good.
8. Political Participation Democratic participation in decision-making is the best way to respect the dignity and liberty of people. The government is the instrument by which people cooperate together in order to achieve the common good. The international common good requires participation in international organizations.
9. Economic Justice The economy is for the people and the resources of the earth are to be shared. Labour takes precedence over both capital and technology in the production process. Just wages and the rights of workers to organize are to be respected.
10.The Dignity of Creation and Ecological Responsibility Creation is also the image of God and is thus inherently sacred. People are part of the community of creation and must respect, use carefully, and share the resources of the earth. Our work makes us co-creators in the continuing development of the universe.
11.Global Solidarity We belong to one human family and as such have mutual obligations to promote the rights and development of all people across the world, irrespective of national boundaries. In particular, the rich nations have responsibilities toward the poor nations and the structures of the international order must reflect justice.
12.Promotion of Peace Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right relationship among humans, among nations and between humans and the earth community.
96 Progressive disarmament must take place if the future is to be secure. In order to promote peace and the conditions of peace, an effective international authority is necessary.
Other Aspects of Social Justice
Traditionally, the Church has spoken of justice as having four dimensions – it is commutative, distributive, legal and social.
a) Commutative justice requires individuals and private groups within society to be honest and fair in their relationships with one another. It condemns stealing, cheating, and lying. It requires employers to pay employees a just wage and to provide them with decent working conditions. It asks that employees work to the best of their abilities. Failure to fulfil commutative justice requires restitution. Whatever was unfairly taken must be restored, wherever possible, to its rightful owner.
b) Distributive justice requires society to make sure that its social resources, wealth and power are fairly distributed. All members of society must have the resources to meet their human needs, to enjoy their rights, and to fulfil their responsibilities. Distributive justice requires a fair allocation of burdens and responsibilities according to people’s needs and wants. Income tax arises out of distributive justice – taking in proportion to people’s ability to pay and distributing in proportion to people’s need to receive. Sometimes the term contributive justice is used. This refers to the understanding that individuals and groups within a society must contribute towards its common good. A just and fair system of taxation ensures that everyone contributes to the society according to their ability to pay. Through contributions collected by taxes, resources can be used for the good of all.
c) Legal justice requires individuals and social institutions to obey the various laws and regulations that those authorities that govern them on behalf of society put in place. Citizens fulfil the requirements of legal justice by obeying the various laws and regulations passed and enforced by local and central government. In a society that is fundamentally just the law will seek to protect the dignity and rights of individuals and advance the common good. Legal systems that disregard peoples’ rights or which fail in their responsibility to promote the welfare of society as a whole are essentially unjust.
d) Social justice requires a society to create and protect structures that advance the dignity of all people and allow each member of the society to participate in its public life. Social justice condemns every kind of discrimination – on the grounds of gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation. It rejects every structure that exploits or excludes any group’s full participation in society. More positively, social justice requires that society organise itself to welcome the participation of all according to their needs and talents.
97 Although the distinctions between commutative, distributive, legal and social justice can be helpful, Church documents often group all four under the general term of “social justice” because all justice relates to life in society.
The four kinds of justice are attempts to express the demands of Christian love (agape). All have to do with rights and duties.
Links with the Student Text
Something to Think About This task requires students to read through the list of key justice themes / principles and reflect on them by answering the following questions:
a) Which do you find easiest to understand or appreciate? b) Which do you find hardest to understand or accept? c) Which is most followed by people today? d) Which is most ignored by people today? e) Which do you think you best express through your own words and actions? f) Which do you think you need to pay more attention to? g) Which needs to be emphasised more in the following situations:
• Among your friends? • In your family? • At school? • In your neighbourhood, town or city? • In New Zealand? • Throughout the world?
This activity could be done as an individual written exercise or as a sharing exercise in pairs or small groups.
If done in a pair or group the teacher could use the photocopy master on the following page to make cue cards for students to use.
In such a situation the cards should be face down in the middle of a circle. Each student takes turns picking up a card and sharing their response to it with the group.
Extension Activity Here students are asked to focus on one or more of the principles of justice that they think is / are especially important. Over the course of a week students should find news items and current affairs programmes or articles that deal with situations where their chosen principle(s) is / are either respected or disregarded.
Students could either write a brief report or speech defending this principle of justice or present their ideas about it in a poster or other form that combines text and visuals.
98 Task Thirteen Students should: a) Briefly explain in their own words the difference between commutative, distributive, legal and social justice. b) List as many examples as they can of the different types of justice (commutative, distributive, legal and social).
Answers will vary from student to student.
99 Card Activity: Key Justice Principles and Themes
Which key justice principle / theme Which key justice principle / theme do you find easiest to understand do you find hardest to understand or appreciate? or appreciate?
Which key justice principle / theme Which key justice principle / theme is most followed by people today? is most ignored by people today?
Which key justice principle / theme Which key justice principle / theme do you think you best express do you think you need to pay more through your own words and attention to? actions?
Which key justice principle / theme Which key justice principle / theme needs to be emphasised more needs to be emphasised more among your friends? within your family?
Which key justice principle / theme Which key justice principle / theme needs to be emphasised more in needs to be emphasised more at your neighbourhood, town or city? school?
Which key justice principle / theme Which key justice principle / theme needs to be emphasised more in needs to be emphasised more Aotearoa New Zealand? throughout the world?
100 PART SIX: HUMAN DIGNITY, FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY
Achievement Objective 3
Students will be able to identify and explore key principles and concepts – including human dignity, freedom and responsibility – underlying the Church’s teaching on particular issues of social justice.
Church Teachings
Human Dignity
• Human beings, created in God’s image to be in relationship with Te Atua, possess the dignity of persons. • Humans are social beings who develop their potential through their relationships with other people, who themselves are reflections of God. • He tangata must show respect and responsibility in their relationship with the earth and its creatures because these have value and reflect God’s goodness. • Each human being is unique and unrepeatable. • Just societies respect and have as their goal the dignity of the human person.
Freedom and Responsibility
• Every human being has the right to be recognised as free and responsible. • Freedom enables people to seek Te Atua and accept responsibility for their lives. • Freedom is a gift that needs to be nurtured. • Freedom is not achieved in self-sufficiency but through the bonds that link people to one another. • Freedom is respected when every member of society is able to seek the truth, profess their religious, cultural and political ideas, choose their state of life and line of work, and take their own economic, social and political initiatives.
Work
• Hehu teaches that we should work but not be enslaved by it. • By means of work, men and women govern the world with and under Te Atua, accomplishing good things for themselves and others. • Work is a fundamental right and must be made available to all people capable of engaging in it. • Rest from work is a right – it enables people to rest, and to develop their cultural, social and religious life.
101
• The organisation of work must take into account the gifts and needs of women as well as men. • The rights of workers are based on their dignity as persons. • Workers have a right to a fair wage. • The Church recognises the legitimacy of striking when other solutions to disputes cannot be found. • Relations within the world of work should be characterised by co- operation. • Workers have a right to form unions or associations to protect their interests. • Changes in production, such as the globalisation of finance, trade and labour, must not violate human dignity or freedom. • Society and the state must work together to protect workers from unemployment. • Those who are unemployed have a right to be supported financially.
Race
• All people are made in God’s image and likeness and are equal in regard to dignity. • The mana of every person before God is the foundation of their equality before all people, regardless of race, nation, sex, origin, culture, or class. • For Christians, racial and cultural differences must not be causes of division. • All forms of racism or racial discrimination are immoral, going against Christ’s message that every person is a neighbour. • In Aotearoa New Zealand we are challenged to recognise past and present injustices against Māori and to work towards reconciliation based on tika.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Demonstrate the relationship between human dignity, freedom and responsibility. • Identify and reflect on key Church teachings about work and race.
102 Teacher Background
Human Dignity Tika is not first and foremost about what we do, even though what we do is very important. Most fundamentally justice is about who we are in our relationships with God, self, others and the wider creation.
In the Book of Genesis, Te Atua shows us our true identity – who we really are:
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness . . . .”
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them . . . . And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. (Genesis 1:26-31)
Men and women are created in God’s image and our human identity is a reflection of the divine. As such we are given the freedom to choose. Unlike other creatures, we possess a consciousness that enables us to consider our options and decide what to do. We are not completely bound by instinct, genetic heritage or previous human learning. We have the power to act on freely chosen decisions, to shape ourselves and the world around us. In addition to the gifts of freedom and power, we human beings take on responsibility and are accountable for our choices.
At the heart of justice is our human response to God’s great gifts of life and aroha. By exercising our God-given freedom, power and responsibility well we are able to live justly – in “right relationship” – with God and creation. In this way we are able to realise our true human identity and live happily here on earth, and in even greater happiness with Te Atua forever.
When we live in “right relationship”, we become people in whom the image of God can be seen more and more clearly, people able to enjoy eternal life.
Growth into “right relationship” comes about through the proper use of freedom. The dos and don’ts of the moral law are boundaries that enable us to exercise freedom in such a way that we develop our true potential. By freely choosing what is good and just we become the kind of people who can experience Te Atua more completely.
The fundamental challenge of the moral life is not only to give to God and others what is due to them, but to make ourselves a gift to them. Justice, like other aspects of the moral life, goes hand in hand with experiencing God.
103 Freedom and Responsibility Freedom is at the heart of being human. It is at the core of our experience and is the source of our willing and acting. Freedom is who we are, at our most personal. Yet it is very difficult to grasp, describe and define.
Today, there is a tendency for people to simply equate freedom with “choice”. A deeper understanding of freedom – and one that better reflects the Catholic commitment to the dignity of the human person – is the notion that freedom is intimately bound to our natural human inclination to happiness. Genuine human freedom is a gift given by God in whose image we are made. It is intrinsic to our human dignity. It enables us to seek that which is true and good. Through freedom we can find meaning and grow in self-awareness into the fullness of life – but only if we use freedom responsibly and direct it towards the purpose for which it was intended.
Ultimately, freedom directs us towards God, the source of our existence and meaning. It is a yes or no to the infinite possibility of meaning, to God.
There are three dimensions to freedom:
• Freedom allows us to determine our relationship with Te Atua. • Freedom empowers us to act within the world and to co-operate with others. • Freedom enables us to discover our true identity.
The authentic exercise of freedom reveals the true good of the person and leads to genuine happiness.
It is, however, only in freedom that people can turn themselves towards what is good. The people of our time prize freedom very highly and strive eagerly for it. In this they are right. Yet they often cherish it improperly, as if it gave them leave to do anything they like, even when it is evil. But genuine freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of God in humanity. For God willed that men and women should be left free to make their own decisions so that they might of their own accord seek their creator and freely attain their full and blessed perfection by cleaving to God. Their dignity therefore requires them to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by their own blind impulses or by external constraint. People gain such dignity when, freeing themselves of all slavery to the passions, they press forward towards their goal by freely choosing what is good, and, by their diligence and skill, effectively secure for themselves the means suited to this end. Since human freedom has been weakened by sin, it is only by the help of God's grace that people can properly orientate their actions towards God. Before the judgement seat of God everybody will have to give an account of their life, according as they have done either good or evil. (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World 17)
104 Sin, according to this understanding, is an abuse of freedom, a slavish habit that weakens our capacity to love others and to love God. It is a dead-end which stops us being all we can be and prevents us being truly happy. The choice of evil weakens genuine freedom.
On Human Work The Church has long addressed the issue of the dignity of work and workers. The 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things by Pope Leo XIII challenged Catholics to focus on the worker within the context of the workforce. It addressed issues such as just wages and issues affecting the various social classes. A hundred years later, Pope John Paul II revisited the same issues in Centesimus Annus – The Hundredth Year.
The greatest single contribution to the Church’s teaching on human work, however, is Pope John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens – On Doing Work (1981), which he wrote on the occasion of the ninetieth anniversary of Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum – Concerning New Things. It is the most developed of the Church’s teaching on human work.
John Paul II's primary text for grounding a theology of work is the book of Genesis, from which he draws two fundamental doctrines. The first is the doctrine that all persons are created in the image of God. Because God is our Creator, and persons are created in the image of God, persons are to live out that image by working with creation:
“The word of God's revelation is profoundly marked by the fundamental truth that human persons, created in the image of God, share by their work in the activity of the creator, and that, within the limits of their own human capabilities, in a sense continue to develop that activity and perfect it as they advance further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation.” (Laborem Exercens – On Doing Work 25)
Work, therefore, is participation in the activity of Te Atua.
The call to work with God in creation leads to the second doctrine underpinning the theology of work: God's charge to humanity to “subdue the earth”. Because God is active in creation, humanity, created in the image of God, should be so as well. It is precisely through the activity of subduing the earth that humanity realises and fulfils its true nature as being in the image of God. As Pope John Paul says:
“The human person is the image of God partly through the mandate received from the creator to subdue, to dominate, the earth. In carrying out this mandate, the human person, every human being, reflects the very action of the creator of the universe.” (4)
The force of these two doctrines is to place the human person at the centre of work. The primary purpose of work is to serve as a means for humanity to realise its true nature. The human person, made in the image of God is a
105 subjective being capable of acting in a planned and rational way, capable of deciding about himself or herself and with a tendency to self-realisation. As a person, the human being is therefore the subject of work. As a person he or she works, he or she performs various actions belonging to the work process. Independently of their objective content, these actions must all serve to realise the worker’s humanity, to fulfil their calling to be a person by reason of their very humanity.
Flowing from this is the understanding that labour has priority over capital. In highlighting this priority, John Paul II is not criticising market economies as such, but rather the tendency in some market economies for capital – the external means of objective production – to take precedence over the human work that makes production, and even the accumulation of capital, possible.
According to Pope John Paul, human labour created the means of production in the first place. This makes human labour the “primary efficient cause” of production, while capital “remains a mere instrument or instrumental cause”. Therefore, human labour should have priority in the Catholic understanding of the nature of work. Capital is only “a collection of things” that results from human labour.
These perspectives have concrete implications for the economic aspects of life. The first is a view of the relationship between the owners of capital and labour that does not place them in opposition. If capital is dependent on prior labour and continues to be so dependent, then the relationship between the two is more inter-dependent than either traditional capitalism or socialism allow.
The second implication is that recognition of this inter-dependence leads to specific proposals for embodying it in the workplace. Pope John Paul recommends joint labour-management ownership of the means of production, worker-management sharing in the profits of business, and shareholding by labour. Behind these recommendations is an understanding of the nature of private property that rejects both socialist and capitalist extremes. Unlike socialism, persons have a right to private property. In contrast to capitalism, the right to private property is not absolute, but subordinate to the right of all persons to the use of the things of creation.
If private ownership is not meeting this more comprehensive criterion, then state involvement and even ownership is allowable in certain cases. State- directed compensation for unemployment is an example of such redirection of private property for the common good. The preference, however, is for meeting problems of distribution through co-ordination of intermediate, non- governmental institutions if possible.
Ultimately, the person, created in the image of God, participates not only in God's creative activity, but also in God's work of salvation through their own work. This becomes most evident when one takes into account the fact of human toil, which “marks the way of human life on earth and constitutes an announcement of death”.
106 Pope John Paul II places the theological significance of work in the context of the Christ’s death and Resurrection. Through toil, persons participate in the redemptive activity of the Cross. “The Christian finds in human work a small part of the cross of Christ and accepts it in the same spirit of redemption in which Christ accepted his cross for us” (27).
Race and Racism The first Vatican document to deal solely with racism – discrimination against persons on the basis of their racial or ethnic origin – is the Pontifical Justice and Peace Commission's 1988 statement, The Church and Racism: Toward a More Fraternal Society. This document defines racism as “contempt for a race characterised by its ethnic origin, colour, or language”.
The first section of The Church and Racism traces the history of racism. Although racism is rooted in the reality of human sin, its rise is due primarily to colonialism from the sixteenth century forward. It was not until the eighteenth century that a clear ideological basis for racism developed. While the Catholic Church often made statements condemning racial prejudice, at times missionaries even gave it encouragement on the basis of false interpretations of Scripture.
The Church and Racism cites several forms of contemporary racism. Institutional racism encodes the practice in a country's constitution and systems of government, excluding persons from participation in the political order. In other instances, there may be participation on a limited basis. Elsewhere, customary practices, not encoded in law, exclude persons of minority races. Finally, “spontaneous racism” often erupts, particularly in places where there is a high rate of immigration.
Church teaching counters racism with its emphasis on the dignity of the human person and the unity of the human family. The image of God doctrine backs both of these emphases. Because persons are created in the image of God, they have an inalienable dignity. Since all persons are so created, there is a unity to the human family. Such dignity and unity forbid discrimination on the basis of race. According to the Catholic Church's moral teaching, racism is a sin.
107 Links with the Student Text
Something to Think About • Here students are asked to suggest, on the basis of Genesis 1:26-27 and Jeremiah 1:4-5, where the source of human dignity is found.
All human dignity comes from Te Atua in whose image and likeness all people are made.
• Here students are asked what the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40-45 suggest about our use of human freedom.
The words imply that we are to use our human freedom to minister to Christ who is present in those in need – the hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned etc. If we don’t we will be judged harshly.
Task Fourteen Here students are asked to draw a mind map showing the relationship between human dignity, freedom and responsibility.
It may be useful to brainstorm these three key themes with students in preparation for this activity.
The mind maps will vary from student to student.
An Alternative Activity to Task Fourteen Another way to familiarise students with the Church’s teachings on human dignity, freedom and responsibility would be to have them work in small groups. Each group is given the task of summarising, in no more than twelve words, one of the passages on human dignity, freedom and responsibility from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. These summaries could be collated, displayed and referred to throughout the topic.
Something to Think About Here students are invited to suggest why is it so important to understand the Church’s teaching about human dignity, freedom and responsibility in order to appreciate its position on other justice issues.
All of the Church’s social teachings are based on its understanding of the human person as a being created in the image and likeness of God. Freedom and responsibility enable human beings to seek God and to live in right relationship with God and the rest of creation. All other aspects of social teaching are founded on these truths.
Task Fifteen Here students are asked to read ten statements about employment and unemployment. They should:
a) Choose the two views they most agree with and explain why. b) Choose the two they least agree with and give reasons for their choice.
108 c) Choose the two statements that best reflect Catholic teaching. Identify the aspect(s) of Catholic teaching contained in them.
The three statements that best reflect Catholic teaching are
• D. Keeping people in jobs is more important than bigger profits.
• I. It is important that people have jobs that they enjoy and which are genuinely productive.
• J. Society must protect the rights of unemployed people and give them a fair benefit.
Each of these statements promotes the dignity of the human person and gives workers priority over productivity and capital.
An Alternative Activity to Task Fifteen Another way to familiarise students with the Church’s teachings on human work would be to organise them into small groups. Each group is given the task of writing a quiz of between ten and fifteen questions on the Church’s teachings on work. Students should use the passages on work from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and Some Concerns About Employment as a resource. When groups have completed their quizzes they should use them to test one another’s knowledge.
Task Sixteen Here students are asked to:
a) Explain the basis for the Church’s teaching that racism and racial discrimination are morally unacceptable.
All people are created in God’s image and likeness and are equal in dignity regardless of race, nation, sex, origin, culture, or class.
b) Explain how Jesus Christ opposed racism and healed its divisions.
Jesus’ message was that every person is a neighbour. The love Jesus showed, especially through his death on the cross, broke down all barriers that divide people. For Christians, racial and cultural differences must no longer be causes of division.
c) State what rights the bishops of Aotearoa affirmed in 1990, the hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, in the light of Church tradition and teaching.
The bishops affirmed that the right of the first occupants to land, and to social and political organisation which would allow them to preserve their cultural identity, must be guaranteed.
109 An Alternative Activity to Task Sixteen Another way to familiarise students with the Church’s teachings on race would be for them to compose a set of guidelines that suggests ways in which people could put into practice key aspects of the Church’s teachings on race. Students should use the passages on race from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and He Tau Whakamaharatanga Mo Aotearoa - Nui Tireni (A Commemoration Year for Aotearoa - New Zealand) as a resource. They could do this activity in pairs or small groups.
110 PART SEVEN: PEACE – MORE THAN THE ABSENCE OF WAR
Achievement Objective 4
Students will be able to develop an understanding of the Church’s teachings on peace and war.
Church Teachings
Peace
• All creation aspires to peace. • Peace originates in the primary “right relationship” which exists between every person and Te Atua. • Peace is the fullness of life and God’s blessing. • The Old Testament promise of peace is fulfilled in Hehu Karaiti. • Working for peace is essential to the message of the Gospel. • Peace is the consequence of tika – when persons and their dignity are threatened peace cannot exist. • Peace is also the fruit of aroha.
War
• War is a scourge and never an appropriate way to resolve conflict. • War is a defeat for humanity. • It is urgent that solutions to war be sought and the injustices that cause it eliminated.
Terrorism
• Terrorism, which has no regard for any of the rules of international humanitarian law, is one of the most brutal and traumatic forms of violence today. • The elimination of terrorism requires the creation of conditions that will prevent it developing. • Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms because it strikes at the heart of human dignity in its use of the human person as a means to an end. • Actions against terrorists and the way in which they are treated must show regard for human rights and follow the rule of law. • It is blasphemous to carry out acts of terrorism in God’s name. • To define as “martyrs” those who die while carrying out terrorist attacks is a serious distortion. • Religions have an obligation to work together to remove the causes of terrorism and promote friendship among peoples.
111 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Explain different understandings of peace. • Identify important Church teachings about peace and war. • Present a response to terrorism in the light of Church teachings. • Recognise in the Eucharist a source and sign of peace. • Show ways in which peace can be established and developed.
Teacher Background
The Catholic Understanding of Peace In the Catholic tradition, peace is not merely the absence of overt conflict, but the result of right relationships with Te Atua and neighbour, which express themselves in a state of ordered tranquillity.
In the Old Testament the term for peace is shalom (Hebrew), which is best understood as the spiritual and material well-being of individuals and the community as a whole that results from fidelity to the Covenant with God. The Covenant, and peace itself, are seen initially as a gift from God. The close link between peace and the covenantal relationship with God is evident in Isaiah 54:10:
“… my covenant of peace shall not be removed …”
The gift of the Covenant is to the community as a whole, and extends to right relationships with the neighbours. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ becomes the means of this peace. He offers peace (John 14:27) and, ultimately, is this peace (Eph 2:14):
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
In the work of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), peace is tranquillity both within and between persons. Within the individual, it is the harmony of the desires when the soul is directed by charity to its true good, that is, God. Full peace is not attainable in this lifetime, but a partial peace is possible when the will and the intellect control and guide the desires. Charity – the outward expression of love – prompts peace to extend beyond individual persons when it directs them to love their neighbours as themselves. This leads the person to desire to fulfil the neighbour's will as if it were their own. Justice, motivated by charity, regulates the external relations between persons and thus describes the order of peace.
Catholic social teaching since Pope Leo XIII continues to understand peace as the fruit of a right relationship grounded in justice and directed by love. Because justice concerns the external expression of love, the social teaching often makes an explicit link between justice and peace. Pope Pius XII's (d.
112 1958) motto was Opus iustitiae pax (Latin “Peace is the work of justice”). Pope John XXIII (d.1963) picks up this concern for the relationship between peace and justice, particularly in Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth (1963), where a social order based on truth, justice, charity, and freedom is the source of peace. Pope Paul VI (d.1978) argues in Populorum Progressio – The Progress of Peoples (1967) that economic inequality leads to violence and that a just economic development of poorer peoples is “the new name for peace”. Pope John Paul II sums up the idea of right relationship with neighbour under the term “solidarity” and writes, "Opus solidaritatis pax" (“Peace is the work of solidarity”).
The Eucharist and Peace The risen Christ gave peace as his first gift to his followers (see John 20:21). The followers of Christ must seek to make the peace which Jesus gives us visible in our lives and in our world. In doing so, we become peacemakers and may come to be called children of God.
The Eucharist is the ultimate expression of peace. In the Eucharist we worship the God of non-violence, encounter the non-violent Jesus, and become people of non-violence. Jesus gives his body and blood, and asks that we give ours in peace to one another as well.
As the Body of Christ, strengthened by the Eucharist, we are called to go out into the world as apostles and prophets of peace – we take a stand against terrorism, war, economic injustice, poverty, racism, sexism and other injustices. We embody the Gospel, and may even risk persecution and arrest like Jesus, as we speak out against injustice and announce the coming of God’s reign of peace.
The Eucharist not only makes the life of peace possible, it makes peace within and among us here and now. In a culture that knows so little true peace, this is one of Jesus’ greatest gifts.
The Challenge of Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth was issued by Pope John XXIII in 1963, just months after the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. In this encyclical, Pope John XXIII offered a fundamental framework for building a global peace built on truth, justice, solidarity, and liberty – a framework which the Church has continued to develop in the decades since.
Suprisingly, Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth does not focus on the ethics of nuclear weapons. Rather, it sets out a moral vision of a just and peaceful political order at both the national and international levels. Pope John projected a vision that moved beyond the existing Cold War disorder to a political order in service to the common good based on respect for the rights and duties of every person as well as every state, and called for an active solidarity among people and nations. More than three decades of papal messages for the World Day of Peace have elaborated in great detail on the vision of peace originally described in Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth.
113 Though written in a very different time from ours, Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth retains a power and wisdom for us today. At the time, its vision of a world freed from the threat of global annihilation and the Cold War seemed utopian to many. Today, the terror of global nuclear war has receded, yet we are still gripped by terror – the possible use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist groups or aggressive regimes. The risk of global annihilation may seem remote, but still excessive nuclear arsenals, their continued spread, and proposals to further develop and use them underscore the continuing need for a global nuclear ban.
Cold War structures of sin may be gone, but we still must face the challenge posed by Pope John XXIII of building an international order based on the four pillars of truth, justice, solidarity and liberty. Communism and apartheid have collapsed, some dictatorial and authoritarian regimes have given way to freedom and democracy, and civil wars in several countries have ended. Nevertheless, global terrorist networks have demonstrated a capacity to inflict unimaginable horrors. Nations are embroiled in civil and external conflicts, and the chaos of failed states and fratricidal conflicts continue to take a terrible toll. Nations today are increasingly interconnected through the process of globalisation, but there is still the moral scandal of a world divided between zones of prosperity and stability and zones of deprivation and conflict.
In the face of new realities, we are called upon to shape a more just and peaceful world. The following questions are worth considering:
• How can we pursue the “peace on earth,” based on “truth, justice, solidarity and liberty” as envisioned by Blessed Pope John XXIII, in a world marked by deep divisions, systemic injustice and violence, and underdeveloped international institutions? • How can we do more to develop the theology, spirituality and practice of peace? • How can we reject the profane use of religion to justify violence and terrorism and instead, working with other churches and religions, reinforce the role of faith as a force for liberation and peace around the world? • What more can be done to develop the tools of non-violent conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peace building so that we can fulfil our obligation to work for the avoidance of war? • Will nations pursue unilateral approaches to a troubled and sometimes threatening world, or will they engage constructively with other nations in building up the United Nations and other elements of a strong international order envisioned in Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth? • How can nations act together to protect the lives of the innocent, stop genocide and curb fundamental human rights abuses? • How will the world respond to global terrorist networks with the intent and capacity to attack innocent people and unleash massive destruction? • Will new doctrines of preventive use of military force undermine serious efforts to limit the occasions when force is necessary and justified?
114 • How can we respond both to threats of terror and the roots of terror – denial of human rights and dignity, desperate poverty, hopelessness and hatred? • How can we pursue genuine nuclear disarmament, not merely as an ideal but as a moral imperative and a policy goal?
Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth challenges us to make peacemaking a permanent commitment, an integral part of our Christian witness. We need to recover, renew and recommit to the challenge of peace, for much work remains to be done.
We are all called to be peacemakers. We must reflect on ways in which we can be sentinels of peace through our families, our schools, our parishes, and our work places.
Links with the Student Text
Task Seventeen a) Here students are asked to explain what the Hebrew concept of shalom and the understanding of peace expressed in the Māori proverb have in common.
The Hebrew concept of shalom and the Māori proverb both see peace as a positive state of wholeness or completeness. Peace involves right relationships and is built on qualities such as whakapono (faith), tika, pono (integrity), forgiveness and aroha.
b) Here students are asked to explain how the Roman understanding of peace is different.
Roman society was geared for war, which was seen as an acceptable way of achieving peace. Essentially, the Romans saw peace in negative terms – as the absence of war.
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to consider which understanding of peace is more commonly held by individuals and nations today. They should be able to give reasons for their point of view.
Answers will vary from student to student, but the evidence suggests that many nations pursue policies that reflect a “Roman” understanding of peace.
115 Task Eighteen Here students are asked to read and reflect on a number of statements about peace. They are then required to respond to the following:
a) Which statement best expresses for you what shalom is about? b) Which statement best suggests that peace is more than the absence of war? c) Write a statement of your own about peace.
Answers will vary from student to student.
Task Nineteen Here students have the option of either:
a) Making a list of eight or ten Church teachings about peace. Or b) Completing some Church teachings about peace by linking the start of fifteen statements with their correct ending.
The answers appear below:
Column One Column Two 1. The foundation of peace is H. the right relationship between people and God. 2. God is L. not present where there is violence. 3. The bible presents peace as A. the fullness of life. 4. Peace is much more than E. the absence of war. 5. Peace is the blessing C. given to God’s people.
6. Jesus fulfils K. the Old Testament promises about peace. 7. Working for peace cannot D. be separated from the Gospel. 8. Peace is threatened I. when people are not given what is due to them. 9. The protection of human rights is N. necessary to build a peaceful society. 10. War is always B. a defeat for humanity. 11. Another name for peace is O. development. 12. It is never appropriate to use war M. to resolve problems. 13. By removing injustice, poverty and J. the underlying causes of conflict are also exploitation removed. 14. Peace results only from G. love. 15. There is a collective responsibility for F. avoiding war and promoting development.
116 Something to Think About Here students are asked to reflect on the following questions:
• Which of the Church’s teachings on peace do you think are the most important? Why? • Which are the easiest and the hardest to understand? • Which are the most challenging to follow?
Answers will vary from student to student.
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to suggest ways in which Aotearoa New Zealand’s anti-nuclear position reflects the Church’s teachings on peace.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance:
• Shows respect for God’s creation • Reflects a commitment to work for peace • Indicates a willingness to seek alternative solutions to war in a climate where more and more countries have the potential to deploy nuclear weapons and other means of mass destruction
Task Twenty Here students are asked to refer to the Church’s teachings about terrorism to guide them in a response to the following headlines:
Terrorist Methods Now Strategies of War
Terrorist Martyr Kills in God’s Name
Terrorist Fights for Justice
End Conditions that Create Terrorism
Religions’ Role in Struggle against Terrorism
No Trial for Suspected Terrorist
N.B. Each headline relates to a particular aspect of the Church’s teaching on terrorism and terrorists.
Students may respond in the form of a poem, a prayer, a letter, or a diary entry. They may illustrate it if they wish.
117 Something to Discuss Here students are asked to consider how our participation in the celebration of the Mass:
a) Helps us become people of peace. b) Makes us responsible for taking Christ’s peace to the world.
These are searching questions but the following points are relevant:
• We become people of peace by participating at Mass because we join ourselves with Christ the source of peace, especially when we receive Holy Communion. We share Christ’s peace with each other at the sign of peace. • Having received Christ’s peace, we express our thanks by sharing it with others when we leave the church at the end of Mass and return to our ordinary lives.
Task Twenty-One This task asks students to produce a poster of their own, combining text and illustrations, which suggests ways in which peace can be established and developed. Students should use the poster provided as a model.
Alternatively, some students may wish to present their ideas about peace in another form, such as a PowerPoint presentation.
118 PART EIGHT: NO MORE WAR!
Achievement Objective 4
Students will be able to develop an understanding of the Church’s teachings on peace and war.
Church Teachings
The Just War
• All governments and people are obliged to work to avoid war, but have the right to lawful self-defence if all peace efforts fail. • The just war theory sets criteria which determine when it is morally allowable to engage in war and how such a war can be waged in a morally acceptable manner. • In today’s world, where modern weaponry gives us the potential for mass destruction, it is increasingly difficult to define a war as “just”.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Explain the origins and purpose of the just war theory. • Apply the just war theory to a particular context. • Identify features of the Catholic tradition of non-violence. • Reflect on the links between peace, justice and forgiveness.
Teacher Background
Two Catholic Responses to War In the event of an outbreak of war, Catholic teaching recognises two legitimate responses. The first is the just war tradition, which holds that for the sake of justice it is sometimes legitimate to use the force of arms. The second is pacifism, which holds that it is never legitimate to take human life. Both pacifist and just war traditions seek peace, but they diverge on the question of the appropriate means.
The Just War Theory Following the official recognition of Christianity by the Emperor Constantine in the early years of the fourth century AD, the Church gradually abandoned the strong pacifist stance it had adopted during the first three centuries of its existence. Christians became increasingly involved in the Emperor’s wars but without a doctrine on peace and war to guide them.
The just-war theory, first articulated by Saints Ambrose and Augustine, was an attempt to determine the conditions under which it was acceptable for Christians to engage in warfare. Further clarifications and refinements were added to it by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century, by Francisco
119 de Vitoria in the sixteenth century and by Francisco Suarez in the seventeenth century.
Just-war theory seeks to establish criteria governing both when and how war is to be conducted.
Criteria for a Just War The first set of criteria determine the conditions that must exist prior to entering a war:
a) Just Cause: War must be waged only in response to a grave, public evil, as, for example, the massive violation of the fundamental rights of the entire population of a region or country.
b) Legitimate Authority: War must serve public, not private, purposes, and the question of whether any particular war serves that purpose can be decided only by the highest public authority.
c) Right Intention: The war must be directed to just goals and not allowed to exceed these.
d) Probability of Success: Arms are not to be used in a futile cause or in a case where disproportionate means are required to achieve success.
e) Proportionality: The good to be achieved must outweigh the overall destruction expected from the use of force.
f) Last Resort: The war must be a last resort after all peaceful alternatives have been seriously tried and exhausted.
The second set of criteria concern the conditions that must be fulfilled while war is being waged.
a) Immunity of non-combatants: Innocents or non-combatants must be immune from intended, direct attack and care must be taken to avoid and minimise indirect harm to civilians.
b) Proportionality: In the course of hostilities, all possible efforts must be made to attain military objectives with the minimum force needed and to avoid disproportionate collateral damage to civilian life and property. The Second Vatican Council explicitly condemned the use of weapons of mass destruction (such as nuclear bombs) on cities.
c) Right Intention: Even in the midst of conflict, the aim of political and military leaders must be to establish peace with justice. Acts of vengeance and indiscriminate violence, whether by individuals, military units or governments are forbidden.
The basic presupposition of the just war theory is that human conflict cannot always be resolved by peaceful means, and that, because of human sin, wars
120 are inevitable. The just war theory recognises that human beings are weak and will resort to violence.
In the past theologians have argued that the benefits of the just war theory lie in its ability to limit the impact of violence on individuals and nations. They have reasoned that the just war theory serves the triple function of condemning war as evil, limiting the evils war entails, and humanising the conduct of war as much as possible.
More recently serious questions have been raised about the morality of the just war theory and its viability has been thrown into doubt:
• Does the just-war theory ever in practice function as a restraining and humanising force in the conduct of war? • Has any war in practice ever fulfilled the conditions laid down in the just-war theory? • Has the just-war theory moved the world closer towards lasting peace and justice? • Can any war where there is a likelihood – or even a possibility – that weapons of mass destruction might be deployed be defined as just?
The just-war theory is essentially an effort to remove from war those characteristics that make it morally repulsive – murder, greed, desire for power, deceit, and hatred. But when this is done there is no longer war!
It is significant that the Church has never employed the just war theory to judge the morality of a war once it had finished. Given the current availability and destructive potential of nuclear arms and other weapons, it is highly unlikely that the just-war doctrine is either helpful or relevant. In any case, the Second Vatican Council, following the lead of Pope John XXIII in Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth, called for “a completely fresh appraisal of war” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 80).
The Teaching of the Second Vatican Council The Second Vatican Council offers a new perspective towards peace – one that moves away from the just war theory and begins a return to the gospel of love and peace.
The Second Vatican Council was concerned with establishing lasting peace among the community of nations. Peace, the Council tells us, “is more than the absence of war… It is the fruit of that right ordering of things with which the divine founder has invested human society and which must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for an ever more perfect reign of justice” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 78). This peace which is the fruit of justice and love is not some distant and unrealisable ideal, but an achievable goal for which we must constantly strive.
The Gospel message, the Council insists, is directly relevant to this struggle for peace:
121 “Peace on earth, which flows from love of one’s neighbour, symbolises and has its origin in the peace of Christ which proceeds from God the Father. Christ, the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men and women to God by the cross, and, restoring the unity of all in one people and one body, he abolished hatred in his flesh” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 78).
The Council urges Christians to speak the truth in love and to “join with all peace-loving people in pleading for peace and trying to achieve it” (78). The Council then goes on to express its “admiration for all who forgo the use of violence to vindicate their rights and have recourse to those other means of defence which are available to weaker parties” (78). The way of non-violence is being advocated as the Church’s preferred option for resisting unjust oppression.
In line with its option for non-violent resistance, the Council calls for “the complete outlawing of war by international agreement” (82). In the strongest possible terms it condemns the arms race as “one of the greatest curses on the human race" and argues that "new approaches, based on reformed attitudes, will have to be made in order to remove this stumbling block, to free the earth from its pressing anxieties, and give back to the world a genuine peace” (81).
The Second Vatican Council also endorses “the condemnations of total warfare issued by recent Popes (Pius XII, John XXIII, and Paul IV)” and declares that “Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and humanity, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation” (80).
Despite all its condemnations of war and the arms industry which feeds it, the Council does not entirely abandon the just-war theory. However, it gives it a reduced and conditional status:
“Certainly war has not been rooted out of human affairs. As long as the danger of war remains and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defence, once all peaceful efforts have failed. State leaders and all who share the burdens of public administration have the duty to defend the interests of their people and to conduct such grave matters with a deep sense of responsibility” (79).
The right of nations to defend themselves against an unjust aggressor (one of the fundamental principles of the just-war doctrine) is here clearly affirmed but not absolutely for all time. The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World envisages that even this right could become obsolete with the emergence of an “international authority with the necessary competence and power” to resolve the conflict by means other than war.
122 The Teaching of Pope John Paul II Prior to September 11, 2001 The teaching of Pope John Paul II gives greater emphasis to non-violent alternatives to war and recommends the path of non-violent resistance to grave injustice and oppression for states and international bodies as well as for individuals.
Pope John Paul II’s approach to the questions of war and peace is certainly influenced by the Second Vatican Council but also by the events which led to the ending of the Cold War and the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. Reflecting on these events in his encyclical letter, Centesimus Annus – The Hundredth Year (199l), John Paul writes:
“It seemed that the European order resulting from the Second World War and sanctioned by the Yalta Agreements could only be overturned by another war. Instead, it has been overcome by the non-violent commitment of people who, while always refusing to yield to the force of power, succeeded time after time in finding effective ways of bearing witness to the truth. This disarmed the adversary, since violence always needs to justify itself through deceit, and to appear, however falsely, to be defending a right or responding to a threat posed by others” (23).
For John Paul II, the events of 1989 highlight the direct relevance of the Gospel ethic to the conduct of international affairs and the search for universal peace:
“The events of 1989 are an example of the success of willingness to negotiate and of the Gospel spirit in the face of an adversary determined not to be bound by moral principles. These events are a warning to those who, in the name of political realism, wish to banish law and morality from the political arena. Undoubtedly, the struggle which led to the changes of 1989 called for clarity, moderation, suffering and sacrifice. In a certain sense, it was a struggle born of prayer, and it would have been unthinkable without immense trust in God, the Lord of history, who carries the human heart in his hands. It is by uniting one’s own sufferings for the sake of truth and freedom to the sufferings of Christ on the Cross that one is able to accomplish the miracle of peace and is in a position to discern the often narrow path between the cowardice which gives in to evil and the violence which, under the illusion of fighting evil, only makes it worse” (25).
Here the pope is not only praising and recommending the path of non-violent resistance in the conduct of international affairs, he is also issuing a rebuff to the political and even Christian realists who would regard the use of force as a necessary means for the attainment and maintenance of justice in the realm of international politics. He reveals his growing suspicion of even legitimate uses of force when he writes of “the violence, which under the illusion of fighting evil, only makes it worse” (25).
123 The generally anti-war tenor of Centesimus Annus – The Hundreth Year is even more evident in the following passage which was to be repeated many times in later papal statements:
“Never again war! No, never again war, which destroys the lives of innocent people, teaches how to kill, throws into upheaval even the lives of those who do the killing and leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred, thus making it all the more difficult to find a solution to the very problems which provoked the war” (52).
For John Paul, the injustices which give rise to wars can be addressed and resolved and this is by an international solidarity in the promotion of justice and human development.
“Just as there is a collective responsibility for avoiding war, so too there is a collective responsibility for promoting development. Just as within individual societies it is possible and right to organise a solid economy which will direct the functioning of the market to the common good, so too there is a similar need for adequate interventions on the international level. For this to happen, a great effort must be made to enhance mutual understanding and knowledge, and to increase the sensitivity of consciences. This is the culture which is hoped for, one which fosters trust in the human potential of the poor, and consequently in their ability to improve their condition through work or to make a positive contribution to economic prosperity. But to accomplish this, the poor – be they individuals or nations – need to be provided with realistic opportunities. Creating such conditions calls for a concerted worldwide effort to promote development, an effort which also involves sacrificing the positions of income and of power enjoyed by the more developed economies” (52).
In response to the conflict in the Balkans, John Paul II again appealed to the principle of solidarity – we are all our brothers and sisters’ keepers – and took the lead in calling for humanitarian intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo to protect the lives and rights of the innocent.
His attitude to the Bosnian and Kosovan situation has led to a refocusing of what constitutes a just war from the Catholic point of view. Force may still be legitimately employed, but only to prevent, check and punish genocide, ethnic cleansing and similar crimes where the entire population of an area is at risk.
Church Teaching Post 11th September, 2001 The dreadful 11th September terrorist attack on the United States forcefully represents the evil face of global terrorism, blind to any consideration other than sheer destructive impact.
The question of how to respond to such an horrific crime has resurrected the just-war debate, especially in the United States. Some sought to use the just- war tradition to give moral backing to the US-led military campaign against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq by accentuating and
124 giving priority to some principles of the just war theory (just cause, right intention, legitimate authority) while ignoring other more awkward principles (non-combatant immunity, proportionality, probability of success). Others employed the same theory to underline the immorality of the war against the Taliban and the invasion of Iraq.
In his 2002 World Day of Peace statement, Pope John Paul, drawing directly from the example and teaching of Christ, emphasises forgiveness. Reflecting on the horrific events of 11th September and relating these to his personal experience of Nazi and Communist totalitarianism, the Pope states:
“I have often paused to reflect on the persistent question: how do we restore the moral and social order subjected to such horrific violence? My reasoned conviction, confirmed in turn by biblical revelation, is that the shattered order cannot be fully restored except by a response that combines justice with forgiveness. The pillars of true peace are justice and that form of love which is forgiveness.”
The Pope was aware that by choosing to emphasise the inseparability of justice and forgiveness at a time when many people were seething with righteous anger he was presenting a serious challenge to Christians.
“But in the present circumstances, how can we speak of justice and forgiveness as the source and condition of peace? We can and we must, no matter how difficult this may be; a difficulty which often comes from thinking that justice and forgiveness are irreconcilable. But forgiveness is the opposite of resentment and revenge, not of justice.”
He goes on to explain why peace requires forgiveness as well as justice:
“True peace therefore is the fruit of justice, that moral virtue and legal guarantee which ensures full respect for rights and responsibilities, and the just distribution of benefits and burdens. But because human justice is always fragile and imperfect, subject as it is to the limitations and egoism of individuals and groups, it must include and, as it were, be completed by the forgiveness which heals and rebuilds troubled human relations from their foundations. This is true in circumstances great and small, at the personal level or on a wider, even international scale.”
The Pope’s message affirms the necessity of forgiveness not only in our personal relations, but also in our wider social and political relationships. There can be no separation of the personal and socio-political spheres of human life. True, forgiveness begins with the individual person. It must “inhabit people’s hearts” before it can become a social reality.
While forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil, individuals are essentially social beings who express themselves within a pattern of relationships in ways both good and bad:
125 “Consequently, society too is absolutely in need of forgiveness. Families, groups, societies, states and the international community itself need forgiveness in order to renew ties that have been sundered, go beyond sterile situations of mutual condemnation and overcome the temptation to discriminate against others without appeal. The ability to forgive lies at the very basis of the idea of a future society marked by justice and solidarity.”
John Paul speaks of his hope for the emergence of a “politics of forgiveness”, the realisation of which will depend on the extent to which an ethics and a culture of forgiveness can be created. In this regard, the religions of the world have a particular and urgent responsibility to unite, not only “in publicly condemning terrorism and in denying terrorists any form of religious or moral legitimacy” but especially in “teaching forgiveness” and pursuing “the path of forgiveness” (13). The logic of forgiveness may not be “easily understood or easily accepted” (10) for it has its source and criterion in God. Nevertheless, its significance is amenable to human reasoning, especially when we reflect on the costly consequences of the failure to forgive. In contrast to the way of violence which “opts for an apparent short-term gain”, the way of forgiveness is “the high road,” which “may seem in some way to diminish us, but in fact… leads us to a fuller and richer humanity, more radiant with the splendour of the Creator” (10).
Conclusion Beginning with the Second Vatican Council’s call for a “completely fresh appraisal of war”, the teaching of Pope John Paul II, both prior to and after September 11, has consistently favoured the application of explicitly Christian principles of non-violence, international solidarity, humanitarian intervention, and forgiveness to the resolution of conflict situations.
Without directly repudiating the just war tradition, it is clear that this tradition is no longer at the core of the Church’s approach to the resolution of conflict and the promotion of justice and peace. To the contrary, Pope John Paul II’s strong endorsement of non-violent methods of resisting public evil and his appeal for forgiveness challenge Catholics to rethink the just war tradition and work towards a new framework for peace.
This new approach moves beyond both the radical but non-involved pacifism of the Early Church and the just war tradition. Fuelled by the conviction that Christians, along with all men and women of good will, have a duty to resist grave public evil, it appears likely that the Church will continue to support, but even more strongly, already existing international forums and strategies for the protection of innocent victims of unjust aggression. It will also explore new and creative ways of applying the principles of non-violent resistance and forgiveness to the resolution of conflict situations and the pursuit of peace.
126 Links with the Student Text
Task Twenty-Two Here students are asked to respond to the following questions:
a) Under what circumstances, according to Catholic teaching, is it acceptable for a state to use the force of arms?
In the case where a country has been attacked it has the right and the duty to defend itself even using the force of arms.
b) What is the just war theory?
The just war theory sets out criteria for deciding whether or not it is morally permissible to engage in war. It also sets out criteria for how a war can be waged in a moral way.
c) How did the just-war theory come to develop?
The just-war theory was first developed by Saints Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo in response to the increasing numbers of Christians who were caught up in wars following the official recognition of Christianity’s status within the Empire in the fourth century.
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to work in a pair or small group.
They should choose a war – past or present – that they are familiar with and use the above criteria to decide:
a) Whether the reasons for entering the war were / are just. b) Whether the war was / is fought in a just manner.
Students should be able to give reasons for their decision.
NB. There is plenty of heated discussion on the internet as to whether the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the wake of the 11th September terrorist attacks in the United States fit the criteria for a just war. Students could be directed to visit web sites where this issue is being debated.
Web sites and their addresses constantly change. However, by entering “just war” into a search engine such as Google students will be directed to appropriate sites.
Task Twenty-Three Here students are invited to consider how Pope John Paul II’s vision of peace is similar to that of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Both Pope John Paul II and Francis of Assisi share a vision of peace which emphasises the need to counter hatred with love, violence with forgiveness –
127 the decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to repay evil with evil.
Something to Think About Here students are asked to consider why it is so difficult to bring about true and lasting peace.
There are many possible responses to this question, but in the present context it is important for teachers to encourage students to make the connection between justice, forgiveness and peace.
It is very difficult to establish lasting peace in situations where many injustices still need to be addressed. While forgiveness is a true pillar of peace, most of us find it very difficult to forgive those who have wronged us.
128 PART NINE: SEE, THINK, JUDGE, ACT – A METHOD FOR ACTION
Achievement Objective 5
Students will be able to identify ways in which people can build justice and peace.
Church Teachings
The Challenge to Build Justice and Peace
• Made new by God’s aroha, people are able to transform relationships and social structures, and so bring justice and peace where they do not presently exist. • Christians must interpret today’s reality and seek appropriate paths of action.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Apply the See-Think-Judge-Act method to a particular social justice issue / situation that concerns them.
Teacher Background
Leading People to Action Jesus challenged people to see, judge, and act. Matthew describes a question posed to Jesus, and an answer given. Jesus tells John the Baptist to draw his own conclusion about Jesus from what he sees and hears:
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.’ (Matthew 11:2-5)
The three-part methodology known as See-Judge-Act was popularised by a young Belgian priest, Joseph Cardijn, in the first half of the twentieth century. It was adapted from a method of inquiry developed by some of the religious and social activists of his time, and widely used by the Christian Family Movement, Young Christian Workers, Young Christian Students and others.
Cardijn was a major figure in the development of lay movements in the Catholic Church in the twentieth century. His great contribution was the Young Christian Workers movement. Cardijn saw that the workers would find
129 their faith relevant if it related more to their struggle for justice in their working lives. Thus, he developed the simple methodology of reflection on experience in the light of faith, to bring about effective action for change so that the Gospel could be an effective tool of personal and social transformation.
The basic explanation is simple enough.
1. Observe the world around you. 2. Judge what you see in the light of Gospel values. 3. Act to make your world a better place.
The most challenging part of the process is not motivating people to take action, but helping them to “observe” clearly.
Cardijn was not one to separate physical health from spiritual health – his concern was the whole person. He firmly believed that human beings are created in the image of God to live in dignity. However, his experience among Christian factory workers taught Cardijn that in society most people lived in de-humanising situations that undermined their dignity. Cardijn responded by promoting organised people's movements. He taught them to use the method of See-Judge-Act to change this contradiction.
Cardijn would tell young workers to go into the factory and see what they could see. Don't come back and tell me, “The factory is dangerous”. Come back and tell me what you see.
So a worker came back after truly “seeing” the factory conditions, and said, “A machine guard is missing from a set of gears.” Another came back and said, “There is oil leaking onto the floor where I have to walk”.
Cardijn and the young workers then had an objective basis for coming to the judgment, “The factory is dangerous.” The clear and simple observations had made possible a conclusion that was unarguable. The workers had more than just an accurate and justified conclusion that the factory was dangerous – they had a clear understanding of the action that could be taken to improve their working environment. The encouragement to action came from the process itself.
The simple methodology of reflection on experience which Cardijn applied became popular. In the light of faith, people could act effectively to transform themselves and society. Known sometimes as the reflection and action method, it was adopted by Pope John XXIII in his social encyclical Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth.
130 Links with the Student Text
Task Twenty-Four This task, which will take some time for students to complete, asks them to apply the See-Think-Judge-Act to a particular context of their own choice. It is best done in pairs or small groups.
Encourage students to focus on concrete situations where they think particular injustices exist.
a) In groups, students should read and discuss the See-Think-Judge-Act approach outlined in this section of the topic until they are sure that they understand what is involved in each of the four phases. b) Students then choose a situation / issue where they think particular injustices exist. The situation / issue may be local, national or international. c) Students apply the See-Think-Judge-Act process to their chosen situation / issue. This may take some time and involve some research. The teacher may allow some class time for this. d) When the group has finished working through the four phases of the process they should write up a report.
In their report students should note such things as:
• The situation / issue they chose • Their reasons for choosing it • The information they found out about the issue • The sources and methods they used for phase two (Think) • What they discovered in phase three (Judge) and what sources they used • What they learned from this activity.
The OHT master on the following page may assist teachers in their explanation of the See-Think-Judge-Act method.
The lists of justice-related Scripture references which were provided earlier in this topic may also be of use to students, as will the passages from various Church documents on different aspects of social justice that are printed in the student text.
131 OHT Master: See-Think-Judge-Act
Step One: SEE Explore and probe an experience or situation to discover its positive and negative values:
• What exactly is happening? • What is this doing to people? (the consequences) • Why is this happening? (the causes)
Step Two: THINK Express and clarify your ideas. Learn by listening to others and sharing your understandings with them:
• What do you think about all this?
Step Three: JUDGE Reflect on the issues in the light of Scripture, Catholic teachings, the experience of the Church, and your own prayer:
• What do you think should be happening? • What does your faith say?
Step Four: ACT Action can take many forms. It may be a personal or group action:
• What exactly is it that you want to change? (long-term goal) • What action are you going to take now? (short-term goal) • Who can you involve in your action?
132 PART TEN: ACTING JUSTLY, BUILDING PEACE
Achievement Objective 5
Students will be able to identify ways in which people can build justice and peace.
Church Teachings
The Challenge to Build Justice and Peace
• There are many situations of great injustice, poverty and need where Christians can bring God’s aroha. • Christian love requires the denunciation of social and cultural evils and the commitment to projects that are directed towards the true good of humanity.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section of the topic students will:
• Reflect on ways they can work for justice and peace in their own lives.
Teacher Background
The Challenge to Build Justice and Peace The Sunday liturgy sends us forth to renew the earth and build up God's reign of justice and peace.
One of the great challenges for Christians is as old as our faith. How do we connect worship on Sunday to work on Monday? How is the gospel proclaimed not only in church, but also in the everyday lives of Christian people? How can we best carry the values of our faith into family life, our places of work and recreation?
Catholics have a social mission in the world. Every believer is required to serve “the least of these”, to “hunger and thirst for justice”, to be a “peacemaker”. We are called by God to protect human life, to promote human dignity, to defend the poor and to seek the common good. This social mission of the Church belongs to all of us. It is an essential part of what it is to be a believer.
This social mission is advanced in many ways – by the prophetic teaching of the popes and bishops, and by many structures of love and justice within our community of faith. But many of the most common and important forms of Christian witness are often neither very visible nor highly structured – parents trying to raise children with concern for others, the service and creativity of workers who do their best and reach out to those in need, the struggle of
133 business owners trying to reconcile the needs of employees and customers, and the hard choices of public officials who seek to protect the weak and pursue the common good. The Church's social mission is advanced by teachers and scientists, by family farmers and bankers, by salespersons and entertainers.
Working for justice in everyday life is not easy. People encounter complex and difficult challenges as they try to live their faith in the world.
Making a Better World Catholicism does not call us to abandon the world, but to help shape it. This does not mean leaving worldly tasks and responsibilities, but transforming them by being instruments of God's grace and creative power in all the events of daily life.
• We begin at home. Our families are the starting point and the centre of a vocation for justice. How we treat our parents, spouses and children is a reflection of our commitment to Christ's love and justice. We demonstrate our commitment to the gospel by how we spend our time and money, and whether our family life includes an ethic of charity, service and action for justice. • Workplace justice. Workers are called to pursue justice. In the Catholic tradition, work is not a burden. Work is a way of supporting our family, realising our dignity, promoting the common good and participating in God's creation. Decisions made at work can make important contributions to an ethic of justice. Catholics have the often difficult responsibility of choosing between competing values in the workplace. This is a measure of holiness. Associations that enable workers, owners or managers to pursue justice often make the witness of the individual more effective. • Business decisions. Owners, managers and investors face important opportunities to seek justice and pursue peace. Ethical responsibility is not just avoiding evil, but doing right, especially for the weak and vulnerable. Decisions about the use of capital have moral implications: Are they creating and preserving quality jobs at living wages? Are they building up community through the goods and services they provide? While economic returns are important, they should not take precedence over the rights of workers or protection of the environment. • Buying decisions. As consumers, Catholics can promote social justice or injustice. In a relatively affluent culture that suggests that what we have defines who we are, we can live more simply. When we purchase goods and services, we can choose to support companies that defend human life, treat workers fairly, protect creation and respect other basic moral values at home and abroad. We can also make conscious efforts to consume less. • Stewardship. People who use their skills and expertise for the common good, the service of others and the protection of creation are good stewards of the gifts they have been given. When we work with honesty, serve those in need, work for justice and contribute to charity,
134 we use our talents to show our love – and God's love – for our brothers and sisters. • Political choices. As citizens of a democracy, Catholics have special responsibilities to protect human life and dignity and to stand with those who are poor and vulnerable. We are also called to welcome the stranger, to combat discrimination, to pursue peace and to promote the common good. Catholic social teaching calls us to practise civic virtues and offers us principles to shape participation in public life. The voices of lay Catholics are needed to shape a society with greater respect for human life, economic and environmental justice, cultural diversity and global solidarity.
Some Steps on the Way to Justice and Peace
• Pray for justice and peace. When you pray, reflect on how you have succeeded – and failed – to serve the poor and to work for justice and peace in your daily life. Pray especially for people who are vulnerable. Choose each day to recall a specific group, a region of the world, or those adversely affected by a recent event, such as a flood, fire, war or natural disaster. Include this group in your personal prayer, during prayers at meals and other times of family sharing. • Learn more about social teaching. Catholic social teaching is a rich resource. Periodically read about some aspect of Catholic social teaching in religious publications and on the internet. Be up-to-date on such justice issues as racism, international debt, euthanasia, physician- assisted suicide, abortion, sex and media violence. • Reach across the boundaries. Build bridges across boundaries of religion, race, ethnicity, gender and disabling condition. In your parish, neighbourhood, school, civic group and workplace, make a special effort to respect and to include those who are different from you. If you are in a decision-making position affecting others, examine whether you treat those who are different fairly. • Live justly. The most important opportunities to work for justice and peace do not come through special programmes, but in the choices we make and the way we treat others every day. Seize opportunities to promote justice and peace at home, through your financial decisions, in your parish, at school, at work and in community activities. • Serve the poor. Volunteer regularly in your parish, with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society or with other organisations that serve the poor and vulnerable, defend life, care for the earth and work for peace. Help clean up a river or collect food at work for those in need. • Give generously. The Church's collections for the poor offer opportunities to share what we have. You can work for greater justice and peace at home and around the world by supporting Caritas and other Catholic agencies. To educate children, let them help decide which charities the family will support and how each family member can contribute to the family's donation to a charity. • Support policies that promote human dignity. Join a pro-life group or another peace and justice group. Lobby your elected representatives on issues of life, justice and peace.
135 • Encourage others. We can strengthen our participation in building God's Kingdom, not only by renewing our commitment to charity, justice and peace but also by encouraging others to do so.
Some Practical Suggestions About Doing Justice It is easy for people – especially young adults – to become overwhelmed by the injustices that surround them and their lack of success in dealing with them. The challenge to live justly can only be faced if a person has a strong spirituality to sustain them.
1. Ask Te Atua for the grace of justice
Living justly requires faith in God. Asking Te Wairua Tapu for the grace to live justly helps us recognise that justice is ultimately God’s work – but work that cannot be done without our own best efforts.
2. Invest time and energy in a favourite social cause
It is impossible for one person to change the whole world, but by choosing one worthy social cause that appeals to us, and that we have the time, energy and talent for, we can help make a difference.
3. Sharpen your conscience
A commitment to social justice is only genuine when it is reflected in a person’s own way of life. An individual’s commitment to world peace must be underscored by their commitment to peace among family and friends.
4. Re-define success and see every effort as worthwhile.
Problems such as world hunger are complex and cannot be solved overnight. Yet the smallest efforts to challenge this injustice are worthwhile and everyone can do something to help. In the end, any success belongs to God:
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:7)
5. Avoid elitism and dwelling on guilt
Christians must avoid giving the impression that they know better or are better than other people when it comes to justice. Trying to make others feel guilty is not an effective way of creating a lasting commitment to social justice. A healthy guilt encourages people to repent of their wrong-doing, change their ways and the world. An unhealthy guilt causes people to feel helpless and hopeless.
136 Links with the Student Text
Something to Discuss Here students are asked to consider how far they are prepared to go in the service of a just cause,
Responses will vary, but raise the point that some people, such as Archbishop Romero, have been willing to die for what is right.
Something to Think About Here students are asked to consider the following questions in regard to the suggestions for building justice and peace that are listed below:
• What steps do they already take to build justice and peace in their daily lives? • What on the list do they most agree with? • What on the list do they least agree with? • What do they think they do well already? • What do they feel they need to put more effort into? • Is there anything they would like to add to the list of suggestions?
WAYS TO BUILD JUSTICE AND PEACE
• PRAY regularly for justice and peace.
• LEARN more about Catholic social teaching and its call to protect human life. Stand with the poor and care for creation.
• REACH OUT across boundaries of religion, race, ethnicity, gender and disabling conditions.
• LIVE JUSTLY in your family, school, workplace, and social life.
• SERVE those who are poor and vulnerable, sharing more of your time and talents.
• GIVE more generously to those in need at home and overseas
• SUPPORT government policies that protect human life, promote human dignity, preserve God's creation and build peace.
• ENCOURAGE others to work for greater charity, justice and peace.
Task Twenty-Five For each day of the coming week students are asked to jot down one specific thing they will do to build up justice and peace.
Answers will vary but it may be beneficial to share them in groups.
137 GLOSSARY OF GENERAL TERMS
The entries in this glossary are for words italicised in the text, and other useful definitions.
The references in the margin, eg. N2766 are to paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
There is a separate glossary of Māori terms.
Amos Amos was the first of the classical prophets. He was prophesying in the years around 750 BC. Amos was a shepherd from the village of Tekoa in the southern Kingdom of Judah before he was called to prophesy in the northern Kingdom of Israel. His message stresses God’s judgement on those who put their trust in military might or indulge in pious worship while ignoring the fate of the poor. Amos’ prophecies are recorded in the Book of the Bible named after him.
Armed Forces (N. 2310) Citizens of a legitimate authority have an obligation to participate in the national defence either as sworn members of the armed forces or in some other way that does not involve the bearing of arms.
Beatitudes (N. 1716-1724 ) Stemming from the Latin word beatus, meaning blessed, Beatitude (singular) means a state of great happiness or blessedness. In Christian terms this is related to the attainment of the eternal vision of God. Beatitude is also a technical term for a literary form found in the Old and New Testaments. This is a declaration of blessedness on the grounds of some virtue or good fortune. The formula begins ‘Blessed is - - -’ (eg Psalm 65:4). The most famous of these are the beatitudes of Jesus found in Matthew 5:3ff and Luke 6:20ff. Matthew records nine (or eight) beatitudes and Luke four. Jesus’ beatitudes are paradoxical in that they proclaim blessedness for those who are not, in worldly terms, considered fortunate; the poor, the hungry, those who mourn, etc. The beatitudes form the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and are at the heart of his teaching. They express the attitudes and actions required of Christian disciples.
Capitalism (N. 2425) An economic system marked by private ownership of the means of production and a for-profit free market for goods and services. The Church does not see the capitalist system as unlawful, but it condemns its abuses, such as unbridled materialism and the absolute control of the market place over human labour.
138 Caritas Caritas is the Latin word for love. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is an agency of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It carries on the work for justice and human development established over 25 years ago by Catholic Overseas Aid. Caritas exists to promote a direct Catholic response to the needs of people in the Third World. In this work New Zealanders link into a world-wide network of local Caritas agencies, supporting the efforts of communities in over 155 countries.
Conscience (N. 1776-1802) Conscience is the innate ability of a person to judge what is right and what is wrong. It helps a person choose to do something because it is good or to avoid doing evil. It may also bring a person to realise that they have already done wrong and so lead the person to repentance and conversion of life. Conscience is the core of a person, their truest self. Conscience needs to be formed through prayer and reflection on the word of God, by listening carefully to the teaching of the Church, and through the example and advice of responsible people. Formation of conscience needs to continue throughout the whole of life. When the Church teaches that a person is seriously obliged to act according to their conscience, it assumes an informed conscience which is always open to ongoing conversion. This is a demanding process of growth, but without it a person remains morally immature.
Covenant (N. 56-67, N 1962-64) A solemn agreement often involving the taking of an oath by the parties concerned. In the Old Testament there are a number of instances of God making a covenant with people, e.g. Noah (Gen.9) and Abraham (Gen.17). The most important was the Sinai Covenant. This defined the people of Israel by their relationship with God. Led by Moses the people promised, ’All that the Lord has said we will do‘ (Ex.19:8). In return God promised, ’I will be your God and you shall be my people‘ (Lev.26:12). God remained ever-faithful to the Covenant even though the Israelites had to be continually called back to it by the Prophets. The New Covenant, inaugurated by Jesus (see Luke 22:20) does not revoke the Old Covenant, but fulfils it.
Defence, Legitimate (N. 2263) The lawful protection of one’s right to life or that of one’s family or of the state. Someone who defends a life is not guilty of murder even if the aggressor is dealt a death blow.
Encyclical A formal pastoral letter written by or under the authority of the pope and addressed to the universal Church. Sometimes such a letter may also be addressed to all persons of goodwill. An encyclical has become the usual means for exercising the pope's ordinary teaching authority.
Exodus Israel’s departure from Egypt, probably around 1200 BC. Moses, commissioned by God, leads the Israelites from slavery after ten plagues have devastated Egypt. After the Passover, they crossed the Reed (Red) Sea
139 and journeyed into the wilderness. Exodus is also the name given to the Greek translation of the second book of the Old Testament which describes this central event in Jewish history.
Ezekiel One of the great prophets of the Old Testament, Ezekiel lived at the time of the Exile (587-538 BC). He was one of those deported to Babylon. Ezekiel was called to sustain the hope of Israel. He looks forward to a future when God has purified Israel of her sins and she becomes a holy nation.
Freedom, Human (N. 1731-1748) According to the teachings of the Church, the human person, made in the image and likeness of God, is not subject to determinism but possesses true moral freedom of choice: that is, the human person, when acting in a truly human way, is able to choose or not choose a certain course of action or is able to choose freely between two alternative courses of action. The importance of human freedom is emphasized in Vatican II: “Only in freedom can people turn themselves towards what is good…That which is genuine freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of God in humanity… People’s dignity requires them to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by their own blind impulses or by external constraint”. (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World 17)
Isaiah Isaiah of Jerusalem is one of the greatest of the Old Testament Prophets. He lived around 760-700 B.C. at a time when Israel and Judah were under threat of invasion from the Kingdom of Assyria. Isaiah called on the Kings and people of Judah to trust in Yahweh. He condemned human pride and social injustice and, while warning of the consequences of lack of faith in God, he also held up hope of a bright future for those who trust in ‘the Holy One of Israel’. The Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament contains 66 Chapters. Scholars believe that only Books 1-39 are the work of Isaiah. Chapters 40-55 they believe to be the work of a later prophet (called Deutero or Second Isaiah) who lived 150 years later during the Exile in Babylon. Chapters 56-66 are the work of yet another author called Trito or Third Isaiah. Thus the passage from Chapter 49 about God carving Israel’s name on the palms of his hands is part of the Second Song of the Servant of Yahweh from Second Isaiah’s Book of Consolation.
Justice (N. 1807, 2411) One of the principal (cardinal) moral virtues; in the strictest sense it is the virtue by which one person gives to another that which is their due, or the virtue which urges one to give to others what is theirs by right (commutative justice). Justice is not only required between persons but also between individual persons and the community (legal justice) and likewise between the leaders of the community and the community itself (distributive justice).
140 Liberator (N. 654, 1741) A liberator is one who frees another from danger and/or oppression. In the Old Testament especially in the Exodus event, God’s saving acts on behalf of the people were seen to liberate them from a life of slavery and enable them to enter into a relationship with God as the Covenanted People, Israel. Jesus is called ‘Liberator’ because during his ministry he freed people from the oppression of illness, and from many afflictions, and forgave their sins. Most of all, by his life, death and resurrection, he frees people from the power and oppression of sin and makes it possible for them to share with him in the very life of God.
Mercy (N.1829, 2447) Mercy is essentially an attribute of God and therefore an essential aspect of the way we live Christian Charity. It is an active compassion towards someone in unfortunate circumstances. In Christian tradition acts to show mercy are classed as corporal (bodily) or spiritual works of mercy. Mercy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Micah Like Amos, Micah came from a country town in Judah. He prophesied in Judah towards the end of the eighth century BC. Micah warned the people that they should turn from their unjust ways if they wished to avoid the fate of their neighbours to the North whose city had been destroyed by the Assyrians. Micah calls on them to abandon idolatry and empty religious observances and return to the life God expects of them - to live justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with God.
Natural Law (N. 1954-1960) The law inherent in the very nature of rational creatures whereby they rightly order their basic conduct with respect to God, others, and themselves. Saint Paul speaks of the law … “written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15). Saint Thomas Aquinas defines the natural law as “the participation of the rational creature in the eternal law of God” and argues that all men and women, through the light of reason, are able to arrive at a basic moral code, embracing at least the principle that good must be done and evil avoided.
Peace (N. 2304-2305) A term used among Catholic Christians in several senses, among them: (1) right relationship between God and human beings, a fruit of fidelity to the Covenant, a result of reconciliation; (2) right relationships between and among individuals and communities. Christ is the Prince of Peace (see Isaiah 9:5) and came to bring peace (Luke 2:14) and reconciliation (see Ephesians 2:14- 17). True peace can be achieved only by extending the reign of Christ to all human relationships.
141 Peace, Sign of The sign of peace used at Mass today to symbolise renewal in Christ was originally a kiss. The form of this gesture in the Mass is left to the local Episcopal conferences.
Racism (N. 1934-1935) A theory that holds that some human beings are inherently superior and others inferior because of race. From the viewpoint of Catholic moral teaching, as expressed by the American bishops: “Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental dignity of those called to be children of the same Father …. It is the sin that makes racial characteristics the determining factor for the exercise of human rights” (Brothers and Sisters to Us, 9).
Rights, Human (N. 1930) According to Catholic social teaching, each human person is endowed by God with certain fundamental and inalienable rights; perhaps the most complete expression and explanation of these rights is contained in Pope John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris – Peace on Earth, especially in sections 14 to 27; among the more important listed are the right to life, to bodily integrity, to the means necessary for the development of life, to security in sickness or old age, to respect for one’s person and good reputation, to a share in the benefits of one’s culture, to the free exercise of religion, to freedom of choice in regard to one’s state in life, to safe working conditions, to the ownership of private property, to freedom of assembly and association, to freedom of movement (emigration and immigration), to an active part in public affairs, and to just juridical protection.
Social Doctrine of the Church (N. 2419-2425) The Church’s social teaching is a body of doctrine, on economic and social matters, articulated by the Church as it encounters events in the course of history. The Church makes moral judgement about these matters when the salvations and rights of the person demand it.
Social Justice (N. 2426-2436) A part of the cardinal virtue of justice; according to Catholic social teaching, it is that aspect of justice which urges the individual member of a social group to seek the common good of the whole group rather than just his or her own individual good; it presumes, in the explanation of Pope Pius XII, “a social conscience that calls individuals to their social duties, urges them to take into account in all their activities their membership in a community, to be preoccupied with the welfare of their neighbours and with the common good of society.” Social justice strives to bring authentic moral values to the organisation of society and to the social institutions (educational, political, economic) by which society functions.
142 Subsidiarity (N. 1883-1885) An article of Catholic social teaching first proclaimed by Pope Pius XI in 1931. This principle cuts both ways, Firstly, that a larger institution should not interfere with a smaller institution. Secondly, larger institutions have an obligation to support smaller ones.
Terrorism (N. 2297) A system that aims at spreading fear among people in order to discourage certain ideas or activities. The methods of terrorism may include threats, spying, police states, kidnapping, torture, random acts of violence, and so forth.
Tradition The word comes from the Latin and means to pass on from generation to generation. It can apply either to the content of what is handed on, or to the process of handing on. In the Church, Tradition (with a capital T) refers to the living transmission of the Gospel from the Apostles through their successors to each generation. Tradition is closely bound to Sacred Scripture as they flow from the same divine source. The writing of the New Testament in the early years of the Church demonstrates the process of living tradition. Within the great Tradition are numerous traditions (with a small t). These are the ways of expressing the faith (e.g. styles of worship) which, while they may be important in various times and places, are not essential, and should not be confused with Tradition.
Unions (N. 2430) Catholic social teaching has long defined the right of workers to form associations to protect their vital interests, while at the same time insisting that unions should pursue their goals only in morally acceptable ways. A recent authoritative statement of these principles is to be found in Laborem Exercens –On Doing Work, especially in section 20. After discussing various rights of workers within the context of basic human rights, Pope John Paul II points out: “All these rights, together with the need for workers to secure them, give rise to yet another right: the right of association, that is, to form associations for the purpose of defending the vital interests of those employed in the various professions. These associations are called labour or trade unions ….” These unions should always strive “to secure the just rights of workers within the framework of the common good of the whole of society ….”
Virtue (N. 1803-1841) An enduring quality of character or intellect, by which a person is enabled to live a praiseworthy life according to reason and faith. A virtuous person is one who freely practises the good. Four of the human virtues - prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance - are called cardinal virtues because they play a pivotal role, with all the other virtues grouped around them. The human or moral virtues are rooted in the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.
143 War, Just (N. 2309) A war that might be considered morally right. Saint Augustine (354-430) came to be considered the author of the just war theory. He understood war to be a lesser evil when compared with the raw cruelty of some barbarian hordes for whom might could be right. By the twentieth century the conditions justifying a war were established as follows: (1) the war must be defensive and a response to unjust aggression; (2) there must be a realistic chance of success to justify all the wartime sacrifices; (3) there must be some proportion between the moral and physical costs of the hostilities and the peace and better social order sought after; (4) only military targets, not unarmed civilians, can be the targets of military strikes; (5) force may never be used as a means in itself or to brutalise the social order and the military personnel. Since some of these conditions can hardly be met in a nuclear war, that kind of war is ruled out by most moralists, but the problem of nuclear deterrence is still debated.
Work (N. 2427-2428) Catholic social teaching emphasises that human work or labour, whether of a physical or mental nature, is of great importance to human dignity and to Christian spirituality. This teaching was expressed clearly in the encyclical of Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens – On Doing Work: “Work is not only good in the sense that it is useful or something to enjoy; it is also good as being something worthy, that is to say, something that corresponds to human dignity, that expresses this dignity and increases it. If one wishes to define more clearly the ethical meaning of work, it is this truth that one must particularly keep in mind. Work is a good thing for people – a good thing for their humanity – because through work men and women not only transform nature, adapting it to their own needs, but they also achieve fulfilment as human beings and indeed, in a sense, becomes “more human” (9). Work can also be a means of sanctification and a way of bringing the spirit of Christ to one’s ordinary activities.
144 GLOSSARY OF MĀORI TERMS
This glossary gives explanation of Māori terms which are italicised in the text.
Pronunciation – correct pronunciation of Māori comes only with practice in listening to and speaking the language. The English phonetic equivalents provided under each Māori word are intended to give help, for teachers who need it, in providing reasonably accurate examples for students. If in doubt please seek assistance from someone practised in correct pronunciation of Te Reo Māori.
´ indicates stressed syllable
Aroha (úh-raw-huh) In general, means love and/or compassion. Note that the word is used in two senses:
1. A joyful relationship involving the expression of goodwill and the doing of good, empathy.
2. Sympathy, compassion towards those who are unhappy or suffering.
Atua (úh-too-uh) The Māori word Atua has been used to describe God in the Christian sense since missionary times. Before the coming of Christianity, Māori used the word atua to describe many kinds of spiritual beings (in the way we now use the word “spirit”) and also unusual events. Only the priestly and aristocratic classes of Māori society (ariki, rangatira and tohunga) had access to knowledge of the Supreme Being, Io, also known as Io-matua, Io-matua-i-te- kore, Io-te-wananga, etc. It seems that many, but not all, tribes had this belief in Io before missionary times. Māori use several words to refer to God in the Christian sense:
Te Atua – God, the Supreme Being
Ihowa – Jehovah
Te Ariki – Lord, more correctly used of Jesus
Te Matua – the father (literally, parent)
Io – a term used for God in some, but not all Māori circles. (Te Atua is acceptable in all circles).
Hapū (huh-póo) A sub-tribe – a collective of related families all with a common ancestor. The hapū, rather than the iwi, is the operational unit of Māori society.
He Tangata (heh túh-nguh-tuh) Human beings, humankind.
145 Hehu Karaiti (héh-hoo kuh-rúh-ee-tee) Jesus Christ.
Iwi (íh-wee) A tribe, a collective of hapū, all with a common ancestor. Can also mean a race of people, as in te iwi Māori (the Māori people), te iwi Pākehā (Pākehā people), etc. Negotiations with government are usually carried out at iwi level.
Mana (múh-nuh) Spiritual power and authority. Its sources are both divine and human, namely, God, one’s ancestors and one’s achievements in life. Mana comes to people in three ways: Mana tangata, from people, mana whenua, from the land, and mana atua, from the spiritual powers.
Please note: when mana refers to Mana of God it is written as Mana.
Manaaki (muh-náh-kee) Show kindness or hospitality.
Mauri (múh-oo-ree) The life force or principle of all creation.
Pono (páw-naw) Integrity.
Rongopai (ráw-ngaw-puh-ee) Gospel or Good News. Ngā Rongopai (plural). Te Rongopai (singular).
Tangata Whenua (túh-nguh-tuh féh-noo-uh) Indigenous people of the land, or their descendants. Local people, home people, people of a marae are usually spoken of as hunga kāinga, iwi kāinga or tangata kāinga, not tangata whenua.
Tapu (túh-poo) This word is used in three senses:
1) restrictions or prohibitions which safeguard the dignity and survival of people and things
2) the value, dignity, or worth of someone or something, eg the holiness of God, human dignity, the value of the environment
3) the intrinsic being or essence of someone or something, eg tapu i Te Atua is the intrinsic being of God, the divine nature.
Please note: when tapu refers to the Tapu of God it is written as Tapu.
Tautoko (túh-oo-taw-kaw) To support.
146 Te Aranga (teh úh-ruh-nguh) The Resurrection.
Te Rangatiratanga (teh ruh-nguh-tée-ruh-tuh-nguh) The Kingdom or Reign of God.
Te Wairua Tapu (teh wúh-ee-roo-uh túh-poo) The Holy Spirit.
Tika (tée-kuh) Justice.
Tūpuna (tóo-poo-nuh) Ancestors. Some areas use the term tīpuna.
Whakapapa (fúh-kuh-puh-puh) Genealogy or family tree.
Whakapono (fúh-kuh-paw-naw) Faith.
Whānau (fáh-nuh-oo) Extended Family.
147 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FIRST EDITION (1992)
This booklet was part of a series prepared by the members of a Writing Party:
Anna Heffernan (Auckland) Lorraine Campbell sm (Auckland) Steve Jorgensen (Hamilton) Mary Lynch (Palmerston North) Gary Finlay (Wellington) Mervyn Duffy sm (Wellington) Sharon Alexander (Wellington) Karaitiana Kingi sm (Christchurch) Richard Walsh cfc (Dunedin)
SYLLABUS CO-ORDINATORS Gary Finlay (NCRS, Wellington) AND EDITORS: Elizabeth M Russell sjc (NCRS, Auckland)
THEOLOGICAL CONSULTORS: † John Mackey DD Paul Williamson sm, S.T.D., M.A. (Hons)
PROOF READERS: Margaret R Bearsley (NCRS, Auckland) Ann Hodge (NCRS, Auckland)
TYPESETTER: Mary Wright (NCRS, Auckland)
PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: Catherine Stanaway rndm (NCRS, Auckland)
SECOND EDITION (2004)
CO-ORDINATOR/EDITOR: Charles Shaw
THEOLOGICAL/LITURGICAL CONSULTORS: Mons Vincent Hunt Rev Anthony Harrison
CONTACT FOR MAORI CONSULTATION: Rev Bernard Dennehy
NCRS: Gary Finlay, Director Joan Parker rndm, Editing Nuala Dunne, Secretary
148 Titles of the Topics in Year 12 12A Religions of the World 12B Justice and Peace 12C The Church's Story -- The Modern Age 12D Loss, Death, Grief and Dying 12E Biblical Studies 1 12F Christian Morality and Moral Development 12G Christian Art, Architecture and Music 12H Commitment and Ministry
STRANDS Human Experience 12A, 12G Scripture and Tradition 12E Church History 12C Theology 12F Sacrament and Worship 12D, 12H Social Justice 12B RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMME
FOR CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
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12B
TEACHER GUIDE
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