by Mike James
It has often been said that the Social Justice Teaching has been the best kept secret of the Roman Catholic Church. In the words of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) “Far too many Catholics are not familiar with the basic content of Catholic social teaching. More fundamentally, many Catholics do not adequately understand that the social teaching of the Church is an essential part of Catholic faith. This poses a serious challenge for all Catholics, since it weakens our capacity to be a Church that is true to the demands of the Gospel. We need to do more to share the social mission and message of our Church.”
A book by that very name Catholic Social Teaching: Our best kept secret, published by the US Catholic Center of Concern and the Maryknoll Order in 1985 has sold tens of thousands of copies and gone through nine editions. It gives an overview of the scores of Catholic Church documents over the years, including several papal encyclicals (an encyclical is solemn papal letter, meant to inform the whole Church on some particular matter of importance to which all Catholics are called to accept and practise) on Social Justice.
In one of the key documents of the Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, the Bishops and Pope declare (Article 30):
“It is imperative that no one, out of indifference to the course of events or because of inertia, would indulge in a merely individualistic morality. The best way to fulfil one’s obligations of justice and love is to contribute to the common good according to one’s means and the needs of others, and also to promote and help public and private organisations devoted to bettering the conditions of life.”
The 1971 Synod of Bishops in Rome meeting under the theme Justice in the World stated clearly (Art 6):
“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.”
Quoting this passage in their own landmark 1971 Pastoral Letter “Justice and Peace in a New Caribbean” the bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference added (Arts 5 & 6):
“These are strong and clear words. They mean that we cannot separate action for justice or liberation from oppression from proclaiming the Word of God. The expression of our religious faith must go hand in hand with our active promotion of justice. It follows immediately from this that the work of the Church cannot be confined to the sacristy or the sanctuary. On the contrary it is the Church’s vocation to be present in the heart of the world by proclaiming the Good News to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, and joy to the afflicted (Luke 4:16-22). Christ clearly proclaimed that this was his own mission. It must therefore also be the mission of the Church He founded.”
On June 29 2009, Pope Benedict dedicated an entire 50-page, 30,000-word encyclical “Charity in Truth” to the Church’s Social Teaching stating clearly at very beginning in Articles 1 & 2:
“Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love — caritas — is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace…. In Christ, charity in truth becomes the Face of his Person, a vocation for us to love our brothers and sisters in the truth of his plan. Indeed, he himself is the Truth (cf Jn 14:6).
Charity is at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine. Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity which, according to the teaching of Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire Law (cf Mt 22:36- 40). It gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbour; it is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones).”
Our actions, not only or words, for peace and justice, for love and service of each other are at the very heart of the witness and message of Jesus. Jesus himself warned in absolutely clear terms “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me…I tell you, whenever you refuse to help one of these least important ones you, you refused to help me. These then will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (e.g. Matthew 25:40).
Five whole consecutive chapters of St Matthew’s Gospel (21-26) give myriad examples of the witness and message of Jesus’ “Social Gospel”. The Church has constantly taught and witnessed to the message over the generations. The popes, Ecumenical Councils, Synods, pastoral letters are all consistent in spelling out its principles and practise.
So there should be no doubt on how we are to love one another in society following the clear example of how Christ loved and served. Jesus himself said, “If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:35).
Why then is it still claimed that the Church’s social teaching is its best kept secret? Why does the Vatican Council warn about “indulging in merely individualistic morality?” Is there still some doubt about what are the critical signs by which the world will know we are Christians? Is the Church’s social teaching still a secret from me? And if so, why? Perhaps something to reflect on this coming week.
