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Catholic Social Teaching and Poverty

Catholic Social Teaching and Poverty. The Competence to See and the Courage to Act. Hopefully, reactions…. What from last class stuck out to you? What was your reaction to it? How do we respond? What is the solution to this?. Justice. What is your definition of justice?.

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Catholic Social Teaching and Poverty

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  1. Catholic Social Teaching andPoverty The Competence to See and the Courage to Act

  2. Hopefully, reactions… • What from last class stuck out to you? • What was your reaction to it? • How do we respond? What is the solution to this?

  3. Justice • What is your definition of justice?

  4. Justice and the Church • The Church teaches that Justice is rooted in Scripture • Is 1:15 “Make Justice your aim.” • Micah 6:8 “You have been told, O man, what is good and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” • LK 10:34 Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”

  5. Justice is… • Not about straight correlations • About making things RIGHT • We need to correct our relationship with: • God • Each other • Creation

  6. Catholic Social Tradition • Brings together all people, place, events, and movements following the call of the Scriptures • The lived experience of this call • Dorothy Day

  7. Catholic Social Thought • Reflection on what it means to live JUST lives • Patristic and Classical • Aquinas • Augustine • Ongoing Theological Inquiry • Liberation Theology • Eco-theology

  8. Catholic Social Teaching • Official teachings of the Magisterium • Papal Encyclicals • RerumNovarum – Caritas in Veritate • Bishops Conferences

  9. Social Teaching of the Church • Offers Wisdom about building a just society • Able to offer an unchanging light to the new problems that we are confronted with

  10. Social Dimension of the Scriptures • The Scriptures make social demands on us • Matthew 25 • Prophets • The Law is for Love

  11. Pacem en Terris • Encyclical Letter of John XXIII • Four Major Sections: • Individual and Humankind • Individual and State • States and the Rights and Duties of Individuals • Community amongst States • This encyclical outlines a clear social teaching of the Church founded on Justice and Equality

  12. Basic Human Rights • “Man has a right to live.” • “Right to bodily integrity.” • “Right to be looked after in ill-health.” • Pacem en Terris (11) • Right to worship God according to one’s conscience (14)

  13. Economic Rights • We have a right to exercise personal initiative in the work we do (18). • Wages are determined with the precepts of justice (20). • Right to own private property is a social obligation (22). • We have to meet these criteria if we are to live in a just society

  14. Rights vs. Duties • The existence of rights are necessarily tied to duties • We have an obligation to protect our rights, and the rights of others • Rights can only function when exercises them with duty

  15. Values and Principles • Dignity of the Human Person • Community and the Common Good • Rights and Responsibilities • Option for the Poor • Dignity of Work • Solidarity • Care for Creation

  16. Principles • These are the basis for all of CST • These principles will never change, though may be applicable in any situation • Everything in CST is centered on the Dignity of the Human Person

  17. Human Dignity • Foundation of CST • Humans are created in the Image of God • All human life, from conception to natural death is sacred. • Gen 1:26 Then God said: “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.” • Eph 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

  18. Community and the Common Good • Humans are social beings • Perfect model is God’s Trinitarian (Relational) Nature • We realize our own humanity in relationship with others • Lv 19:9-15 “These things you shall leave for the poor and alien. I, the LORD, am your God. • Jn 13:34 “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

  19. Rights and Responsibilities • “With great power comes great responsibility” • We must fulfill basic rights for human dignity to be recognized • Rights are not the ends we seek; we have to ensure that others can exercise theirs as well • Am 5:21-24 “Then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream” • Mt 23:11 “The greatest among you must be your servant”

  20. Option for the Poor • Every person, regardless of status is welcome in Christ • We stand with the poor and afflicted because only from there can we appeal as Jesus did for the conversion and deliverance of all. • Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 13 • Ps 41:1-3 “Happy those concerned with the poor and the lowly” • Lk 4:16-30 “It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow”

  21. Dignity of Work • Our human vocation is to participate in the creative work of God • This necessarily means that we are made to work; work is a good thing • Work must be dignifying • Every person has a right to fair, meaningful, decent work that respects their dignity

  22. Solidarity • As humans, we are connected to all other human beings • There is a global dimension to loving our neighbor • We come not just as servants, but as their neighbors, to be with them and of them. • Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 13 • Is 32:16 “Right will dwell in the desert and justice abide in the orchard” • Mt 25:31-46 “Amen, I say to you, what you did for the one of these least ones, you did for me”

  23. Care for God’s Creation • All creation is a gift from God • We are not masters of creation; we are the stewards of creation • Responsible to protect it • Gen 2:15 “The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate it and care for it” • Mt 6:25 “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing”

  24. Economics • Every economic decision has a moral consequence • Caritas in Veritate • We can tell a lot about people based on their economic choices

  25. What can we tell about this person?

  26. How CST effects our lives • Our choices reflect what we believe in • If we believe in Christ, we must act like it • We are not taking sides against “sinful enemies” • Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 13 • As Christians, we are to serve: • The Oppressed • Relieving their suffering • The Oppressor • Conversion of heart

  27. Experience of CST • CST is not just our mind, or heart, or soul isolated from one another • It is all three integrated • Ought to be a transformative experience • Andre House Experience

  28. Holy Cross Spirituality “The mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.” - Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C. “For the Kingdom to come in this world, disciples must have the competence to see, and the courage to act.” -Constitution 2: Mission

  29. Break into Small Groups

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