#Catholic Social Teaching

[disgruntledexplainer]

I love how Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum can pretty much be summed up as "Yes, socialism is awful (here are quite a few paragraphs detailing exactly why), but MAYBE if you started TREATING YOUR WORKERS RIGHT, people would STOP TRYING TO IMPLEMENT IT".

[thyateira]

La Virgen de la Leche, Victoria Inglés (2019).

The Son of God had to be born in a stable because his own had no room for him. “He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11). And there, amid the gloom of a city that had no room or place for the stranger from afar, amid the darkness of a bustling city which in this case seemed to want to build itself up by turning its back on others… it was precisely there that the revolutionary spark of God’s love was kindled.

In this Child, God invites us to be messengers of hope. He invites us to become sentinels for all those bowed down by the despair born of encountering so many closed doors. In this child, God makes us agents of his hospitality.

Christmas Homily, Pope Francis (2017).

[intrinsicallydisordered]

A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented.

— Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (no. 14)

[ffcrazy15]

Amazing. Amazing how quickly it went from "We just want people to come here legally! Just follow the rules! We're fine with legal immigrants!" to "Just because a Democrat-run government lets them come here legally, that doesn't make them not illegals."

But that's what legality is! It's the government! Making laws! The government makes the laws! That's what makes things legal!

Those people are in Springfield on the basis of being granted Temporary Protected Status—a designation created by Congress in 1990. But does that matter to you? No. You'll redefine the word "illegal" to mean any brown person you don't like, won't you?

Because it was never about if they were here "legally," was it. These people are here legally. And you still hate them. Because you were told to, and that was all the permission you needed. It was always about you getting an opportunity to feel self-righteous and proud and like a big warrior fighting for a cause. To hell with the innocent people you might crush under your boot, right? They're here "illegally." And if they're not, who cares? They may as well be.

You brood of vipers. You pit of snakes.

[apesoformythoughts]

“Con ese tonito orate y baladrón que lo caracteriza, Milei ha afirmado durante su visita reciente a España que «la idea de la justicia social es de resentidos, envidiosos, algo aberrante, porque implica un trato desigual ante la ley, porque implica violencia, porque para hacer una política redistributiva se lo tienen que robar a otro». Son afirmaciones repugnantes que, al parecer, triunfan entre la derechita valiente. Pero la justicia social es un instrumento necesario para alcanzar el bien común, que es el fin y la razón de ser de la política verdadera.

Y el bien común—que no debe confundirse, por supuesto, con el bien de la mayoría, ni con el «interés general»—exige la conservación de la armonía social: exige la búsqueda constante del bien de los demás como si fuese el bien propio. Por ello, como señala Pio XI en su encíclica ‘Quadragesimo Anno’, es «necesario que la partición de los bienes creados se revoque y se ajuste a las normas del bien común o de la justicia social, pues cualquier persona sensata ve cuán gravísimo trastorno acarrea consigo esta enorme diferencia actual entre unos pocos cargados de fabulosas riquezas y la incontable multitud de los necesitados». Y, por supuesto, cuando se dan circunstancias de injusticia, el Estado tiene la obligación de intervenir allá donde el principio de subsidiariedad no alcance, para asegurar una justa distribución de los recursos que atienda a los méritos y necesidades de cada uno, incluido la recaudación de impuestos, que debe regirse por los criterios de solidaridad, racionalidad y equidad, así como por el rigor e integridad en la administración y en el destino de los mismos (algo que, desde luego, en regímenes políticos inicuos como el que padecemos no está garantizado).

Naturalmente, la justicia social no justifica el intervencionismo enfermo del Estado, que disminuye la iniciativa creadora y, aunque pueda parecer favorable a la masa, es a la postre contrario al bien común, por condenar a la ruina a las generaciones venideras. La justicia social deja de serlo cuando pretende extender la igualdad en aquello que los hombres son naturalmente desiguales; pues, además de desanimar la iniciativa privada, produce una mentalidad mezquina y perezosa entre sus beneficiarios. La justicia social, a la postre, sólo la pueden llevar a cabo gobernantes que dan ejemplo de justicia en todas sus actuaciones; pues de lo contrario se llega a esa situación propia de nuestro inicuo régimen político, en donde todos reclaman justicia sin que nadie tenga la obligación de ser justo (exactamente la situación que favorece a los demagogos).

Nada favorece tanto el ascenso de los demagogos, sin embargo, como estas machadas aberrantes de la derechita valiente. «Estamos incomodando a los rojitos de todo el mundo», ha aseverado petulantemente Milei; no, pobre bocazas, lo que estáis haciendo es fabricarlos en serie, lo mismo que a resentidos y envidiosos, con vuestras machadas”.

— Juan Manuel de Prada: "El aberrante Milei"

[locustheologicus]

The USCCB and CLINIC’s Statement of Pastoral Concern

The USCCB and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. has put forward a statement in light of the shift in immigration policy expected with the new administration. The press release coincided with the video statement that Bishop Seitz of El Paso put forward above. In the video above Bishop Seitz suggest that the immigration and abortion issue share many similarities: in both cases, the people who fear them and advocate against their basic human rights, fear them and refuse to encounter them. The act of solidarity, the authentic encounter with these individuals, is an act that allows us to be open to them and breaks down the argument against their basic human rights.

We who work with the immigrant communities know that many of these families are leaving difficult situations in their South American, North African and Eastern European nations in order to find stability, security, and opportunities for their families. The people we serve are not for the most part criminals but the few criminals that do surface are being highlighted by those who are advocating for a massive deportation. We know that a new policy is emerging which plans to criminalize all recent immigrants. The USCCB recognizes that these policies of discrimination and deportation will affect many who are looking to contribute to our American experience.

With this statement the US Bishops are making a stance on how they will advocate and respond to this issue when the new administration begins.

Together, we must speak out on behalf of the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” and ask our government to provide fair and humane treatment for our beloved immigrant brothers and sisters. It is our hope, and our prayer, that all of us can work together to support a meaningful reform of our current immigration system.

The first principle of our Catholic social teaching is the dignity of the human person. In recognizing this principle, and the social teachings found in the Gospel, the US Bishops make their brief but I would suggest bold, if not quite so prophetic, a statement.

The heart of the statement is the orientation of solidarity they make at the beginning. “We stand in firm solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters who live and labor in these United States.” As I said, this is a brief statement and it does not make a prophetic declaration as such but I still consider it a bold statement by placing us in direct solidarity with the immigrant community. I see it as an initial statement from which diocesan policies and initiatives will flow from.

The conversations to see how we can express solidarity to this community have begun but we will have to wait to January 20th to see how the policies will be enected. Our Brooklyn Bishop Emeritus, Nicholas DiMarzio, is analyzing the situation right now and suggest that we do the same.

The campaign promises of our new president, including massive deportation of undocumented migrants, the end of the deferred action for minors brought to this country as children, and many other restrictive policies are soon to follow. The untold human suffering is yet to be seen... If we hope to walk with migrants, we need to understand the present situation. If we wish to assist them, we need to better influence public opinion, especially the opinion of our elected leaders, to enact sensible reforms that reflect our national needs and conscience.

This is the time for us to reflect on the Gospel message and to explore ways to see what the experience actually is (dropping the media and pundit sensationalism to the side) by encountering this community and working with those who have come to know them. May of us see a humanitarean crisis brewing before us but our faith does teach us that the ressurection follows the cross and hope exists in the midst of crisis. Perhaps we can take this opportunity to be a community of hope with those who will face discrimination and deportation.

[tonreihe]

Rowan Williams, “Creating an Ideal: Solidarity and Catholic Social Thought,” the first of the 2024 Bampton Lectures

[a-really-big-cat]

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

a. Importance of the family for the person

212. The family has central importance in reference to the person. It is in this cradle of life and love that people are born and grow; when a child is conceived, society receives the gift of a new person who is called “from the innermost depths of self to communion with others and to the giving of self to others”[465]. It is in the family, therefore, that the mutual giving of self on the part of man and woman united in marriage creates an environment of life in which children “develop their potentialities, become aware of their dignity and prepare to face their unique and individual destiny”[466].

In the climate of natural affection which unites the members of a family unit, persons are recognized and learn responsibility in the wholeness of their personhood. “The first and fundamental structure for ‘human ecology' is the family, in which man receives his first formative ideas about truth and goodness, and learns what it means to love and to be loved, and thus what it actually means to be a person”[467]. The obligations of its members, in fact, are not limited by the terms of a contract but derive from the very essence of the family, founded on the irrevocable marriage covenant and given structure in the relationships that arise within it following the generation or adoption of children.

b. Importance of the family for society

213. The family, the natural community in which human social nature is experienced, makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the good of society. The family unit, in fact, is born from the communion of persons. “‘Communion' has to do with the personal relationship between the ‘I' and the ‘thou'. ‘Community' on the other hand transcends this framework and moves towards a ‘society', a ‘we'. The family, as a community of persons, is thus the first human ‘society'“[468].

A society built on a family scale is the best guarantee against drifting off course into individualism or collectivism, because within the family the person is always at the centre of attention as an end and never as a means. It is patently clear that the good of persons and the proper functioning of society are closely connected “with the healthy state of conjugal and family life”[469]. Without families that are strong in their communion and stable in their commitment peoples grow weak. In the family, moral values are taught starting from the very first years of life, the spiritual heritage of the religious community and the cultural legacy of the nation are transmitted. In the family one learns social responsibility and solidarity[470].

214. The priority of the family over society and over the State must be affirmed. The family in fact, at least in its procreative function, is the condition itself for their existence. With regard to other functions that benefit each of its members, it proceeds in importance and value the functions that society and the State are called to perform[471]. The family possesses inviolable rights and finds its legitimization in human nature and not in being recognized by the State. The family, then, does not exist for society or the State, but society and the State exist for the family.

Every social model that intends to serve the good of man must not overlook the centrality and social responsibility of the family. In their relationship to the family, society and the State are seriously obligated to observe the principle of subsidiarity. In virtue of this principle, public authorities may not take away from the family tasks which it can accomplish well by itself or in free association with other families; on the other hand, these same authorities have the duty to sustain the family, ensuring that it has all the assistance that it needs to fulfil properly its responsibilities[472].

[politicalmamaduck]

do you supported wga strike ?

Dear Anonymous,

Yes! I believe that all people have the right to: fair wages and benefits, decent and safe working conditions, join a union or other associations, and dignity at work.

I am grateful for all those workers who came before us and fought for all of those things.

I fully support unions and strikes and think that we should have more of both in the US.

[spiritualdirections]

"What you cannot do is speak prophetically by arguing for the lesser of two evils."

--Ed Condon, The Pillar

[rivage-seulm]

American Politics Realigning? Walz and Vance Might Be More Similar Than You Think

Something important and promising might well be happening in American politics. At the popular level, working class folks are expressing their deep discontent with a system run by octogenarians who serve their donors rather than the American taxpayer. The latter has come to realize that Democrats and Republicans have formed a kind of Uni-party beholden to the rich and powerful rather than to…

[copela4692]

Fratelli Tutti - Dialogue and Friendship in Society

In order to mark the 30th anniversary of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation, Pope Francis requested that CAPP members and friends read, study, and promote his encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship. In response to this request, CAPP-Canada organized a series of monthly Fratelli Tutti Study Sessions, running from September 2023 to April 16, led by Dr.…

[ffcrazy15]

Just saw someone say they’re tired of Catholic Social Teaching being used as a cover for “liberal norms.”

Predictably, they blocked me when I pointed out that five minutes earlier they’d unironically reblogged a post calling a famous biracial actress a “Neanderthal.”

Stay classy, racist Tumblr radtrads. Stay classy.

[locustheologicus]

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A post shared by TheConsciousKreativ (@creativesigmaperspectives)

“You have to keep reading beyond the hashtag.”

This is the point that Malaysian comedian Ronny Chieng presents in the above skit. Since the 1970’s the postwar promise of America did not reach fulfillment and in that sense the theory the ideal to “make America great again” can be seen as a legitimate rallying cry. But the powers that be who have promoted this rallying cry that connected with so many Americans have brainwashed them into a world of simple answers and tag lines.

Ronnie, in his comedic fashion, briefly offers a deeper social analysis that outlines the great social truth as to why America is in effect not doing well and then encourages the MAGA community to consider removing itself from this world of simplistic answers that connect us with our darker self-interested natures and to be open to a deeper analysis and reflection on what our social reality is. As he says, “you have a point but you don’t have the vocabulary to describe your reality, because you didn’t read enough, there is a book behind the word, you have to keep going.”

The fact that the traditional liberal arts education that was part of our academic system along with our ability to do critical analysis and research is no longer valued and being undermined is a sad testament to this reality. With social media now allowing misinformation to be readily promoted we are in further danger of living in a dystopian reality where fear, division, and discrimination become acceptable social norms in our pursuit of cultural security.

We Catholics have a tool to help us in promoting social analysis and theological reflection. Some call it “See, Judge, Act” although I prefer to name it the “Pastoral Circle” after Peter Henriot. This process contributes to our ability to take the principles of our faith and to consider social issues from a deeper analysis and reflection on those issues from this tradition. The process is very straightforward.

For us Christian/Catholics we know that Christ promoted an uncomfortable truth that countered the simplistic social narrative of empire. Today, we face a similar reality and like the early Christians we should not merely accept the social narrative of the dominant culture but openly reflect on what our faith calls us to do in the world we live in. Those of us who are Catholics should avail ourselves to reading our Catholic social tradition and reflect on what this tells us about the issues we face.

In the jubilee of 2025 I invite Catholics and other Christians to not be afraid of complicated answers to difficult social questions. To not seek solace in emotionally driven tag lines and hashtags but to be open to the process of theological reflection and social analysis. If you are looking for a resource on this may I suggest my recently released book “The Field Hospital Church” which not only describes the process but offers narratives for engaging in this process.

[many-sparrows]

I love you social justice oriented Christians. I love you Gary (my pastor) who presided over gay weddings before they were legally binding and before the church had come to a decision on it. I love you Conrad (old pastor I work with) for getting arrested for protesting the Iraq war and performing a lesbian wedding the minute it became legal for a couple who'd been together for decades. I love you Dr Donald Hertz for your sermons on Acts 20:27 and your life spent living out that verse and for causing trouble when you were still a student assigned to a segregated church in Birmingham and for spontaneously joining a grape boycott picket line outside of a Safeway in Berkeley because that verse says we cannot shrink away from our duty to each other. I love you Martin Luther's common chest. I love you Charles de Foucauld. I love you Oscar Romero. I love you Dorothy Day. I love you for giving me a legacy to carry on.