Bishop defends social justice against critics

September 08, 2010

A Connecticut bishop has defended the concept of social justice against critics who “have been telling Catholics to eliminate the term ‘social justice’ from any organization that speaks on Catholic social justice or has this expression as part of its title.” Auxiliary Bishop Peter Rosazza of Hartford is likely referring to comments made earlier this year by radio and television host Glenn Beck, a Catholic who converted to Mormonism.

“Social justice is an integral part of official Catholic teaching,” Bishop Rosazza writes, adding:

[I]t is wrong to confuse socialism with Catholic social teaching. Pope John Paul II, no friend of socialism or of unfettered capitalism for that matter, wrote in 1991: "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 labor and ownership. The development of the doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests to the permanent value of the Church's teaching at the same time as it attests to the true meaning of her Tradition, always living and active" (Centesimus Annus, 3). This text is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2421.

Catholic social-justice teaching is based on two fundamental principles: the dignity of every human being and our solidarity with each other. These principles must be kept together. Too much emphasis on dignity can lead to individualism and a morbid sense of the self; and too much emphasis on solidarity can lead to collectivism at the expense of individuals and their rights.

Ultimately our social-justice teaching, ever since St. Thomas Aquinas, who died in 1274, integrated Aristotle's concept of the common good into his writings. We are inspired through the teaching of Sacred Scripture, in particular the Prophets who demanded in God's name that the society, not just individuals, take care of the poor, the sick and the foreigner. Jesus by his teachings and actions was imbued by the prophetic tradition.

 

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Further information:

• A Catholic view of social justice (Waterbury Republican American)
• Christians Rip Glenn Beck Over 'Social Justice' Slam (ABC)