By Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
On February 20 the world marked World Day of Social Justice. In 2009 the 192-member UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to observe this day annually. The UN invited Member States “to devote the Day to promoting activities at the national level in support of the objectives and goals of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen.”
Governments meeting at that summit pledged “to make poverty eradication, the goal of full employment and the fostering of social integration overriding objectives of development.”
According to a UN statement, in designating the World Day of Social Justice, the UN Assembly “recognises the need to consolidate further the efforts of the international community in poverty eradication and in promoting full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all.”
Social exclusion, which is multidimensional and includes poverty and unemployment, remains a challenge for a world that claims it is concerned to promote social justice. If you wish to reflect on the reason why we are not making progress in addressing these social ills effectively, read Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message: “The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ” (cf. Rm 3: 21-22){See page 8}.
Lent is a time of reflection, penitence and renewal through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Let us reflect on the Pope’s Lenten message which pinpoints some of the reasons why humanity is failing to promote authentic human development, which, as he stated in his encyclical, “Charity in Truth”, means the development of all dimensions of a person and of every person.
The Holy Father wants people to reflect on what justice really means for human beings. He blames “indifference” as the main reason why there are hundreds of millions of deaths in the world from lack of food, water and medicine. He says: “Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine.”
We cannot say that we are Catholics and have a relationship with God unless we also have a relationship with our neighbour and with all of creation. As we prepare for Easter, let us ask for God’s grace to remove from our lives obstacles such as indifference, selfishness, greed, and individualism which prevent us from acting justly and building right relationships.
The Pope reminds us that, “Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots. Its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil.”
In his message he reflects on the meaning of the word “justice” which in common usage, as he says, “implies ‘to render to every man his due’ …In reality…this classical definition does not specify what ‘due’ is to be rendered to each person.”
He also points out that “ ‘distributive’ justice does not render to the human being the totality of his ‘due’ …What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law.” He warns us against adopting a secular approach to achieving justice:
“Just as man needs bread, so does man have even more need of God…The Christian Good News responds positively to man’s thirst for justice…the Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.
The Pope says that “humility” will help us to respond positively to the needs of our neighbour: “…humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from ‘what is mine,’ to give me gratuitously ‘what is His.’ This happens especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Thanks to Christ’s action, we may enter into the ‘greatest’ justice, which is that of love (cf Rm 13: 8-10), the justice that recognises itself in every case more a debtor than a creditor, because it has received more than could ever have been expected.”
Lord, we know that the justice of the Cross is greater than earthly justice. Help us to draw closer to you during Lent and to refocus our priorities. Strengthen us to be true witnesses to you in the world.
