Christian Vision of the Church in the Society

UNIT III. The Development of the

Social Teaching of the Church
and Its Key Principles
BIBLICAL ROOTS OF THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
The BIBLE is the foundation
of a Judeo-Christian vision
of life... [Bible] discloses
the kind of God… [a God
who is] interested in the
world, in human history,
and in the manner in which
humans live in community.
(Donahue, 2005)

TheBIBLE
is a source of
CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
 JUSTICE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
TWO HEBREW TERMS: sedeq and mishpat

sedaqah – often translated as

righteousness (sedeq = justice)

Righteousness in the biblical sense, goes

beyond personal rectitude of following rules,
laws and commands. It has social character.

Fidelity to the covenant:

“the biblical idea of justice can be described as
fidelity to the demands of a relationship.”
(Donahue)
 JUSTICE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
TWO HEBREW TERMS: sedeq and mishpat

mishpat (or mispat) – v – to judge

Characterized not simply as the judgment

of God and his capability to punish and
reward individuals but again it has a social
dimension, i.e., God’s governance that
places order in the society.
• Punishment with the intention to
restore good relationship
• Origin of ‘restorative justice’
 JUSTICE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
TWO HEBREW TERMS: sedeq and mishpat

The Old Testament concepts of justice

as both mishpat and sedaqah, that
are understood primarily within the
context of Yahweh’s governance and
one’s relationship both with Yahweh
and his fellow human beings in the
community, allows us to appreciate
more the New Testament emphasis
on the link between justice and
charity.
Old Testament

COVENANTAL
Law RELATIONSHIP
Prophets
Wisdom
Social Justice in Torah
▪The narrative of the experience of
liberation in the book of Exodus.
▪The book of Exodus is the story of God
rescuing the children of Israel from Egypt
and forging a special relationship with
them.
▪Exodus is the second book of the
Pentateuch (the five books of Moses),
and it’s where we find the stories of the
Ten Plagues, the first Passover, the
parting of the Red Sea, and the Ten
Commandments.
Social Justice in Prophets
▪The Prophets always reminded the people of their
need to be faithful to the Covenant.
▪They condemned and denounced idolatry and
injustice… as infidelity to the Covenant.
▪The welfare of the poor and powerless served as the
best index of fidelity and justice.
▪The prophets also announced God’s faithfulness and
His reign of peace and justice… not only for Israel but
for all peoples.
Social Justice in Prophets
▪For I desire steadfast love and
not sacrifice, the knowledge of
God, rather than burnt offerings.
(Hos. 6:6)
▪He has shown you, O man, what
is good; and what does the Lord
require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to
walk humbly with your God.
(Mic. 6:8)
Social Justice in Prophets
▪Jeremiah had to deal with the
unfaithfulness to God of
virtually all of the people.
▪They still, on the whole, came
to the temple, offered
sacrifices and called on the
name of the Lord, but failed
to acknowledge God in the
way they lived the rest of their
lives.
Social Justice in Prophets
▪Wash yourselves; make
yourselves clean; remove
the evil of your doings from
before my eyes; cease to do
evil, learn to do good; seek
justice, correct oppression;
defend the fatherless,
plead for the widow.” (Isa.
1:16-17)
Social Justice in Wisdom

▪Careful attention and sensitivity to nature and

experience allowed the wise to comprehend the
basic principles of a good and moral life in the world.
▪To secure the order and stability of ordinary life… in
all practical ways.
▪Different from Torah and the Prophets, yet deeply
connected with them. “Fear God, and keep his
commandments.” (Eccles. 12:13)
▪Stories of Job, Ruth, etc.
 CHRIST’S ACTIVE ROLE IN THE SOCIETY

Christ as a TEACHER
Christ’s teaching gives emphasis on
‘persons’ over the law, and on the
virtues of justice and charity over the
legal code. (Luke 10:25-37)

Christ preaches the KINGDOM OF

GOD
- Calls people for metanoia
(conversion of heart)
- Conversion which is non-violent
- Hopeful preparation for its
realization in the future.
 Social Justice in the Gospels

▪Jesus’ Proclamation of the Reign of God

▪Call to Repentance (turn away from sin)
▪Call to Faith (believe in God and Providence)
▪Call to Discipleship (follow the way of Jesus)
▪The Beatitudes and the Law of Love
▪Call to the Mission (proclaim the Gospel and
make all Jesus’ disciples)he Reign of God)
Shifts in Moral Vision of Jesus

▪From external law to internal demand

▪From minimum to maximum demand (perfection in
Charity) Mt 5:17-20
▪From letters of the law to the law of love
▪From being negative to being positive
▪From (isolated) act to (total) person
▪From the center to the margins
 CHRIST’S ACTIVE ROLE IN THE SOCIETY

Christ as a LIBERATOR
• Christ heals and liberates people both from
physical and spiritual illness.
• Christ’s liberation is also at the same time a
restoration (personal and communal).
 THE EARLY CHRISTIAN’S ABILITY TO INSTRUCT ONE
ANOTHER ON THE SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT
The early Christian community has endeavored to follow the
examples of Christ.
- Duty to give (Act 2:44-45; 20:35; Tim 6:17-19)
It is not right for one to live in luxury while others live in want.
(Clement of Alexandria)

DEPOSITS OF PIETY according to Tertullian is used in feeding the needy,

in burying them, in support of youths and maidens destitute of means
and deprived of their parents, in the care of the aged, and the relief of
the shipwrecked.

- Endeavor to establish unity and solidarity

(Gal 3:28; Col 3:11)
Social Justice from the Acts of the Apostle
Life in the Christian Community.
The community of believers was of
one heart and mind, and no one
claimed that any of his possessions
was his own, but they had everything
in common. With great power the
apostles bore witness to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
great favor was accorded them all.
Social Justice from the Acts of the Apostle
There was no needy person
among them, for those who
owned property or houses
would sell them, bring the
proceeds of the sale, and put
them at the feet of the
apostles, and they were
distributed to each according
to need.
Acts 4:32-35
 Social Justice from the Epistle of Paul
Philemon
I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,
whom I have begotten while in my
chains, who once was unprofitable to you,
but now is profitable to you and to me. I
am sending him back. You therefore
receive him, that is, my own heart, whom
I wished to keep with me, that on your
behalf he might minister to me in my
chains for the gospel.
(Phil 1:8-13)
 Social Justice from the Epistle of Paul

▪The particular moral obligation

being asked here was the
restoration and right treatment
of Onesimus, the runaway slave.
▪Paul was asking Philemon to lay
aside his "legal rights" to punish
Onesimus and instead to treat
him well.
 Social Justice from the Epistle of Paul
▪The Scriptures are quite clear that we
must not go to court against each
other before unbelievers (See 1 Cor
6:1-8) because of the disgrace this
causes.
▪Paul wants Philemon to build
Christian community through the
exercise of true Christian grace,
restoration and forgiveness - not to
destroy it through punitive legal
action.
 The Social Teachings of St. Augustine
▪The Neo-Platonic and
Manichean Influences
▪Civitas Dei (The City of God):
the Earthly City and the
Heavenly City - Christianity and
citizenship, bishops and civil
authority, judicial authority,
and war and peace.
 The Augustinian Worldview
▪ The state is a divinely ordained punishment
for fallen man, with its armies, its power to
command, coerce, punish, and even put to
death, as well as its institutions such as
slavery and private property.
▪ The state simultaneously serves the divine
purposes of chastening the wicked and
refining the righteous.
▪ Also simultaneously, the state constitutes a
sort of remedy for the effects of the Fall.
 The Two Cities - St. Augustine
▪ Two Cities - Even though those elected for
salvation and those elected for damnation are
thoroughly intermingled, the distinction arising
from their respective destinies gives rise to two
classes of persons - the city of God and the
earthly city.
▪ Citizens of the “earthly city” are distinguished by
their lust for material goods and for domination
over others. On the other hand, citizens of the
City of God are “pilgrims and foreigners” who
(because God, the object of their love) are very
much out of place in a world.
 THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE CONTINUING CATHOLIC
SOCIAL TEACHING TRADITION
Even with the institutionalization of the Church within the Roman
Empire, she remained to be an active agent for social justice.

St. Thomas Aquinas on:

1. Distribution of Wealth – requires JUSTICE
which is a “habit whereby man renders to
each one his due by a constant and
perpetual will.”
2. Just War – (three requirements)
a. Legitimate Authority
b. Just Cause
c. Right Intention
 THE EMERGING IDEOLOGIES OF THE MODERN TIME

DARK Ages (Medieval Period) VS Age of EnLIGHTenment

• Two things are easily identified with the age of
enlightenment: use of reason (as opposed to faith) and
the autonomy (as opposed to obedience).
• The Church during the Middle Ages
according to enlightenment
thinkers values faith and obedience
which are instruments of ignorance
and oppression.
THE EMERGING IDEOLOGIES OF THE MODERN TIME
Enlightenment period brought about changes in the society
including the Industrial Revolution and the two ideologies of
Capitalism and Socialism.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
- Roughly 1760 to 1850
- Started parochially in England
- Introduction of New technology
- Rise of factories and salaried workers
- Mass production leads to surplus
- Surplus that results to profit
- Emergence of market
- Gave birth to capitalism
 THE EMERGING IDEOLOGIES OF THE MODERN TIME
The Birth of Capitalism and the Critique of Socialism
• Capitalists aimed towards profit.
• Markets are constructed for the interest of those who have the
capital, who makes use of the same capital in order to
generate more income or more profit, and thereby further
enlarging the initial capitals.

TWO VALUES PROMOTED BY CAPITALISM

1. Social Mobility – capability to rise from one social status to a
better one depending on the effort one exerts.
2. Self-Direction – one’s own future is one’s own responsibility.

✓ It also highlights the principle of PRIVATE PROPERTY.

 THE EMERGING IDEOLOGIES OF THE MODERN TIME
The Birth of Capitalism and the Critique of Socialism

However, there were those who were not convinced with the
capitalist ideology. An alternative ideology has flourished,
SOCIALISM, and it has several objections against the capitalist
ideology:
1. The capitalist principles of self-direction and social mobility
are myths and are only true for the rich and able members of
the community.
2. Capitalism ignores, tolerates and even perpetuates unjust
situations of resource- distribution: unequal distribution of
goods, and the gap between rich and poor.
3. Capitalism endorses the pathology of isolated existence.
 THE EMERGING IDEOLOGIES OF THE MODERN TIME
The Birth of Capitalism and the Critique of Socialism

SOCIALISM PROMOTES TWO

ALTERNATIVE PRINCIPLES…
1. COMMON OWNERSHIP to
replace and abolish the concept
of private property.
2. Personal freedom must be
replaced by government control
that seeks for the
implementation of the
COMMON GOOD.
Unit III Lesson B: PRINCIPLES
OF THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF
THE CHURCH
 1. HUMAN
DIGNITY

• The human person is at the

center of our talk about
social, political and economic
progress.
• In his original vocation, man,
placed at the center of God’s
creation, is ordered towards
serving the whole of creation
instead of abusing them.
1. The Human Person with
Dignity and Rights
▪ Priority of labor over capital. Persons are more
important than things. Material goods are not the
sole reason for the economic community, for the
dignity of persons is primary, and work must serve
this dignity.
 2. COMMON GOOD

It is the “sum total of social

conditions which allow people
either as groups or as individuals
to reach their fulfillment more
fully and more easily”
(GS, 26 and CSDC, 164)

It is the Church’s response to both the

extremes of any form of totalitarianism
and of a kind of individualism.
 2. Common Good

▪A commitment to the common good

rejects the individualist bias of modern
secular society which privileges individual
rights at the expense of the good of the
community.
▪Distributive justice - of principal concern,
to the common good is just distribution.
The purpose of the economy is to serve
the common good (rather than the
maximization of profit.)
 3. UNIVERSAL
DESTINATION
OF GOODS

This principle:
• Calls to facilitate the conditions
necessary for integral human
development
• Reminds us of our responsibility
to look after the decency of life
of other people and the
provision of their basic needs
• Reminds us of the legitimacy of
our private properties but only
as a means
 4. SUBSIDIARITY

• The Superior order must adopts

attitudes of HELP (support,
promotion, development) with
respect to lower-order societies.

• This is the Church’s alternative

to imperialism, totalitarianism,
and managerialism.
 4. Principle of Subsidiarity
▪ “The principle of subsidiarity
protects people from abuses by
higher-level social authority and
calls on these same authorities to
help individuals and intermediate
groups to fulfill their duties.”
▪ “This principle is imperative because
every person, family, and
intermediate group has something
original to offer to the community.”
(Compendium # 187)
 4. Principle of Subsidiarity

▪ Whenever possible decisions

should be made at local levels
rather than by higher bodies,
thus giving primacy to
individual initiative.
▪ Intermediate associations
(families, local communities,
unions, societies, etc.) should
be free to perform operations
proper to themselves without
interference from the state.
 5. Participation

▪The characteristic implication of subsidiarity is participation -

of which the citizen, either as an individual or in association
with others, whether directly or through representation,
contributes to the cultural, economic, political and social life
of the civil community to which he belongs.
▪“Participation is a duty to be fulfilled consciously by all, with
responsibility and with a view to the common good.” GS 75
5. Participation
Right to participation
▪All people have a right to
participate in the economic life of
a society. This includes the right to
work, given that the work is
essential to human dignity.
▪Work is not merely an economic
function but also an activity that
influences the psychological and
spiritual character of the person.
 6. SOLIDARITY
• Firm and persevering
determination to commit
oneself to the common good,
not a mere feeling of vague
compassion of shallow distress
(CSDC, 193)

• Church’s response to growing

culture of apathy and
indifference.
 6. Solidarity

“Solidarity highlights in a
particular way the intrinsic social
nature of the human person, the
equality of all in dignity and rights
and the common path of
individuals and peoples towards
an even more committed unity.”
CSDC 192
 7. Preferential Option
for The Poor
“The principle of the universal
destination of goods requires
that the poor, the marginalized
and in all cases those whose
living conditions interfere with
their proper growth should be
the focus of particular concern.
To this end, the preferential
option for the poor should be
reaffirmed in all its force.”
(CSDC 182)
 7. Preferential Option
For The Poor

Both individuals and civil societies

have obligations to those most
vulnerable. Not everyone has an
equal start in economic life, and
hence blame for poverty does not
lie exclusively with the individual.
Regardless of the cause of
poverty, the poor have equal
dignity with all others.
7. Preferential Option
for the Poor

Being for the

poor/marginalized, the Church
recognizes them as people with
human dignity as belonging to
the people of God and have
rights to the common good.
7. Preferential Option
for the Poor

Being with the

poor/marginalized, the
Church decentralizes its hold
to power and acknowledges
the full and active
participation and the
contribution of the
marginalized to the life and
mission of the Church.
7. Preferential Option
for the Poor

Becoming Church of the

poor/marginalized, the
Church makes a definitive
preferential option for the
poor struggling with them
in solidarity for global
justice, love and peace.
 Society

Individual Individual
Commutative (Contractual)
C. FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF
SOCIAL LIFE
Spirituality of the Catholic
Social Teaching

TRUTH FREEDOM

LOVE JUSTICE
 1. TRUTH

We are called to
proclaim the
message of Christ
within a culture of
openness and
dialogue that
Part of our Christian remains faithful
vocation is to speak the to the demands of
truth even during those justice and truth.
moments when being
truthful is inconvenient
and difficult.
2. FREEDOM
• Freedom is the highest sign in man of his being
made in the divine image and consequently, is a
sign of the sublime dignity of every human
person. CSDC, 199

• Christian freedom is aware

of its limitations and
responsibility.

• Its expression is limited by

the moral order.
3-4. JUSTICE AND LOVE

• Christian justice is
transformational and
liberative.
• Justice has to lead to the
CONVERSION of both the
victim and the
oppressor; but
CONVERSION is best
guaranteed by the act of
love.
3-4. JUSTICE AND LOVE

Following the social teachings of the

Church, we can affirm the following:

1. It is true that the world is not a

perfect place.
2. The Human Person is by nature good,
and such goodness could never be
totally corrupted.
3. There is the invitation to continuously
attempt to build a CIVILIZATION of
love and make our world a better
place to live in.
 Principles of the Catholic
Social Tradition

Private Property Common Good

Subsidiarity THE HUMAN

PERSON Participation
WITH DIGNITY
Universal Destination AND RIGHTS Preferential Option
of Goods of the Poor

Truth Love Justice Freedom