Sunday, February 20, 2011

Social Justice- "Catholic Themes" (Part 2)

Rights and Responsibilities:
-          Human dignity and a healthy community can only be achieved if human rights are protected and responsibilities are assigned and met. Everyone has a right to life and a right to objects required for human decency ex. Food, shelter, employment, health care, education. Contributing to the availability of these rights is everyone’s responsibility.

Role of Government:
-          The state has a positive moral function; the government is a representative of a community’s opinion and helps promote human dignity, protect human rights and build common good. People have a right and responsibility to participate in political institutions.

Questions:
1.       Every human’s fundamental right is to have a life, and a right to objects required for human decency.
2.       The role of the government in maintaining human rights is to promote human dignity, protect rights and build common good.
3.       We (the community) are responsible for assisting the government in achieving its goals.
Economic Justice:
-          The economy serves people. All workers have a right to work, have decent and fair wages, and to safe working conditions. They also have a right to organise unions, economic initiative, and private property.  However, it is not right to amass excessive wealth when other lacks the basic necessities of life.

Stewardship of God’s Creation:
-          The goods of earth were created by God, and they were intended to be valued by everyone. We have a responsibility to care for goods as stewards not mere consumers. How we treat the environment is a measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for God.
Questions:
1.       The rights of the worker are to have a decent wage, work in a safe environment, organise unions, own private property and have economic independence.
2.       A union is the act of joining together- a community or alliance.
3.       People’s economic limitations should be not to amass wealth when others are in need and lack bare essentials.
4.       God’s gift are intended for us (everyone)
5.       A social mortgage is the conditions in which humanity uses the goods and services created by God.
A steward is someone who values the gifts God has provided us.
A trustee is an organisation or person which manages possessions and goods of another for their benefit.

6.       One measure of our stewardship is how we treat the environment.
Promotion of Peace and Disarmament:
-          Catholic teaching promotes peace as a positive, action-orientated concept. In Catholicism, there is a close relationship between peace and justice. Peace is dependent upon right order among humans.
Participation:
-          Everyone has a right to be involved in the economic, political and cultural life of society. It is a demand of justice and of human dignity that all people are assured participation in the community. It is wrong for an individual or group to be excluded from this.
Global Solidarity and Development:
-          We are all one family. Our responsibility is to accept one another regardless of national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work for justice; real development must be human development. It must respect personal, social, economic and political rights and must avoid extremes of underdevelopment and super development.
Questions:
1.       Catholic teaching shows us that the requirement to maintaining peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order among humans.
2.       It is wrong to exclude people from participating in society because it is breaching their rights, and we must respect others’ opinions.
3.       Our global responsibilities are to accept one another regardless of differences and to work for justice.

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