by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Wednesday, February 20 is the fifth World Day of Social Justice. At its sixty-second session, in November 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed February 20 as World Day of Social Justice. The day was observed for the first time in 2009.
For us Catholics, the work for social justice is an integral part of the mission of the Church:
“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appears 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” (World Synod of Bishops, 1971).
The words of Pope Paul VI in his 1972 Peace Message are worth noting: “…why do we waste time in giving peace any other foundation than justice? Peace resounds as an invitation to practise justice: ‘Justice will bring about Peace’ (cf Is 32:17). We repeat this today in a more incisive and dynamic formula: ‘If you want Peace, work for Justice’”.
During this Year of Faith, we are asked to reflect on what our Catechism teaches us e.g.
“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. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1928, 1929)…Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man.”
And as we strive to promote justice in T&T/the world, remember that: “A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person…the social order and its development must invariably work to the benefit of the human person, since the order of things is to be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around…Respect for human dignity can in no way be separated from obedience to this principle. It is necessary to consider every neighbour without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity”[247]. “Every political, economic, social, scientific and cultural programme must be inspired by the awareness of the primacy of each human being over society” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 132).
During this period of Lent, as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, let us reflect on the ways in which we are acting on the biblical mandate given to us in Luke 4:18-19:
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 liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Our work to promote justice requires us also to embrace a concern for environmental justice. Our Catechism (#373) tells us: “In God’s plan man and woman have the vocation of ‘subduing’ the earth as stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator ‘who loves everything that exists,’ to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to them.”
As the US Bishops state in their Pastoral Statement (1991) “Renewing the Earth”: “The web of life is one. Our mistreatment of the natural world diminishes our own dignity and sacredness, not only because we are destroying resources that future generations of humans need, but because we are engaging in actions that contradict what it means to be human. Our tradition calls us to protect the life and dignity of the human person, and it is increasingly clear that this task cannot be separated from the care and defense of all of creation.”
I try to use this column to share with you nuggets of wisdom from the teachings of our Church. Many of the documents to which I refer are long and I know you may not have had an opportunity to read them. CCSJ believes that it is our duty to share this wisdom with you as part of our education programme. Copies of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church are available for sale –TT $140 each – at CCSJ’s Office.
Let us all pray and act for justice in our world.
