SOCIAL JUSTICE

As taught and promoted in the Old Testament As part of Jesus ministry to the poor, outcast, weak, oppressed As continued by the early Christian community, the CHURCH

We are part of the Church.

We are called to work for social justice.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHURCHS MISSION

1.THE EARLY CHURCH

2.THE MEDIEVAL ERA

3.CAPITALIST ERA
4.THE FIRST SOCIAL ENCYCLICAL

JESUS CHRIST WAS POOR

Born in a manger and died an outcasts death He loved the poor and fought for the rights of the poor He attacked the powerful people of his time Criticized them lovers of money Lk 16:14 Devour the houses of widows Called them thieves Mk 11:17; chief priests made the Temple a market where they sucked the peoples money Why thieves? For his work for the poor, he was persecuted and ultimately killed

1. EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

Like Jesus, the early church was poor. Majority of the members belonged to the poorer class, some were slaves It was a persecuted church; many were martyred. Christians had to meet secretly for meetings and worship The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity.

2. Medieval era
Medium aevum -- Medieval or The Middle Ages
The period from 500 1500 A.D. in Europe is known as the Middle Ages or Medieval period.

2. Medieval era
313 AD Emperor Constantine granted religious freedom to the Christians through the Edict of Milan Turned the Church from a poor persecuted church to one that was wealthy and powerful Constantine made Christianity as the official religion of the Roman empire The state or the empire gave the church wealth and power; huge lands and properties were given to the Pope

2. Medieval era

The Popes became owners and kings of famous papal states in Italy Bishops and Abbots of monasteries became feudal lords, or owners of vast lands and possessions

Social Structure of Feudalism

Land-lord (noble) owns a Manor (huge estate of land).
1. Explain the mutual obligations of the feudal system.

He gives a grant of land (fief) to someone who promises in exchange to provide military protection to the lord and his family, work the lords lands, and serve in other ways. A person who receives land from a lord is a vassal.

2. Why did the feudal system create complicated alliances?

The same noble might be a vassal himself to several different lords.

Social Structure of Feudalism

3. Describe feudal social classes.

Those who fought : nobles, knights, and kings Those who prayed : the Churchs Clergy (priests, bishops, monks) Those who worked : Peasants (serfs) Social class was usually inherited.

The Middle Ages are aptly sometime called The Age of Faith.
While Feudalism and the Manor system created divisions among Medieval people Shared beliefs and the teachings of the Church was a stable force, establishing unity among Europeans.

Whoever you were, whatever your lot in life, everyone could still follow the same path to Salvation (everlasting life in Heaven).
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.

2. Medieval era
The common people suffered; they tilled Church lands, and donated to Church coffers Corruption in the church Emergence of great saints The greater the darkness the clearer the light.

3. CAPITALIST ERA
o Brought down the king and feudal lords through war o Capitalism vs. church (possessed political power)
o Capitalists wanted to conquer State power, so the Church had to be conquered too because they possessed political power o Monasteries were closed, church properties were confiscated, priests were killed

3. CAPITALIST ERA
o Capitalism reconciled with the church
o Through concordats or treaties o Church regained wealth even more wealth than it owned during medieval times

o Sin of omission church stood at the side of the capitalists o Church focused its apostolate on things of eternity;
o sin of omission working for justice o Taking care of the masses

INDUSTRIALIZATION
the process of change from an agrarian, handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. This process began in England in the 18th century and from there spread to other parts of the world.

More machines = less jobs = unemployment = a new social problem Conflict between capital and labor

INDUSTRIALIZATION
More machines = less jobs = unemployment = a new social problem Conflict between capital and labor

Church felt the need to become involved and intervene in a new way (res novae new things) Response of the church THE FIRST SOCIAL TEACHING RERUM NOVARUM (1891)

o Leo XIII committed the Church to the cause of the poor o From non-commitment to the side of justice o Justice became part of the Churchs evangelization o Who is Leo XIII? (March 2, 1810 July 20, 1903), was the 257th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903, Reigning until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate Leo XIII brought normalcy back to the Church after the tumultuous years of Pius IX.

He tried to reconcile the Church with the working class, particularly by dealing with the social changes that were sweeping Europe. The new economic order had resulted in the growth of an impoverished working class, with increasing anti-clerical and socialist sympathies. Leo helped reverse this trend. He wrote the first social encyclical.

RERUM NOVARUM

RERUM NOVARUM (POPE LEO XIII, 1891)

Res novae (new things) Beginning of a new path Brought about by the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century The social problem labor The church felt the need to become involved and intervene Thus, the first SOCIAL ENCYCLICAL. What is an encyclical?

MAGISTERIUM teaching authority of the Church

-through the Pope and bishops

- grounded on the Word of God

PASTORAL LETTERS written by the bishops addressed to the local church ENCYCLICALS

Papal letters
Written by the Pope addressed to the universal Church

WHAT ARE CHURCH SOCIAL TEACHINGS? CHURCH SOCIAL DOCTRINES CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS CST the Churchs body of teachings on social, economic, political and cultural matters social doctrine

goes back to Pope Pius XI

-Church teachings in the area of social matters

CHURCH CHALLENGES INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES THAT RUN IN CONFLICT WITH THE GOSPELS VISION OF THE HUMAN PERSON AND SOCIETY

CONTENT OF CSTs:
1. Principles for reflection 2. Criteria for evaluating systems

3. Guidelines for fostering active pursuit of the common good TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF CSTs:
1. PERMANENT Based on the Gospel Values are timeless 2. CHANGING Context of people changes

 Considered the plight of industrial workers Provided a methodology Principles for reflection Criteria for evaluating systems Guidelines for fostering active pursuit of the common good
A methodology used in successive social encyclicals Other CSTs can be seen as an updating, a deeper analysis and expansion of Rerum Novarum