Chapter 2 Test Flashcards
Dorthy Day
A journalist and social activist who had frequently run in communist and social circles; converted to Catholicism
What is meant by Catholic Social Teaching? (CST)
The call of the popes and bishops for people to let the reign go God’s love shape their world, a call that is rooted in the mission of Jesus Christ. Ideas for social justice described in Church documents.
Church’s mission expressed in, The Church in the Modern World
Mission handed down from Jesus to save all people from sin and death so that they can share in God’s love. An expression of compassion -carried out whenever the Church makes Christ’s saving action present in word and deed, primarily through the celebration of the liturgy.
Action for justice expressed in, Justice in the World
The church is called to bring Christ’s saving presence into the world so that all people might be transformed by his love. Catholic social teaching and the Justice that flows from it are therefore critical to the Church’s mission.
Signs of the times
The signs of the times are religious, political, cultural, and economic factors that shape the overall situation of society
Rerum Novarum, On the Condition of Labor
Controversial encyclical issued in 1891. Like socialism, Rerum Novarum criticized the abuses of liberal capitalism that left the majority of workers with lives little better than slavery. It opposed the socialist solution to that situation (for the worker to take over and abolish private ownership of property) and offered an alternative solution based on the Gospel and Church Tradition. Provides guidance on how society can be more just. Major elements: Cooperation between classes, the dignity of work, the just wage and workers’ associations (unions), the role of the state, private ownership of property, defense of the poor
The enlightenment
A movement that asserted that reason and science are the basis of knowing truth. This movement dismissed religious teachings
Pope Leo XIII
Worked on the Rerum Novarum to come up with a solution to the issue of people living lives similar to slavery. His main points were the ones listed above for the Rerum Novarum: Cooperation between classes, the dignity of work, the just wage and workers’ associations (unions), the role of the state (government should avoid interfering in private matters), private ownership of property (all people have right to own property but private property must be fairly distributed), defense of the poor (Christians and governments should make protection of the poor a priority)
Encyclicals
letters from the Pope to all the bishops of the world; sometimes they are addressed to all of the Christian people
Pastorial letters
(like Economic Justice for All) are typically written by a bishop or group of bishops of all the Catholics in a specific location
A constitution is
a text from a council of all the world’s bishops, including the Pope, written for all the world’s Catholics and others
Liberalist philosophy
liberalist philosophy of individual rights and autonomy, together with limited government and the ownership of private property was part of the “program” of enlightenment
Industrial revolution
the shift from a farming and craft trade economy to an economy based on factory production
Capital
As machines in factories enabled goods to be produced faster and cheaper, those who owned the means of producing goods became wealthier
Capitalism
The system in which few owned the means of production for their own profit and workers sold their labor for whatever wages they could get
Socialism
Socialism advocated distributing wealth according to need, not ownership of capital and profits
Karl Marx
A German philosopher who wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (1867). He provided a bitter critique of capitalism. His theory of history predicated that that masses would rise up, overthrow the capitalist class, abolish private property, and create a form of socialist state
Communism
An equitable society in which government and laws would be unnecessary. Karl Marx proposed that socialism would lead the way to communism
Marxism
Karl Marx’s atheistic theory was adopted as a model for social change by many workers’ movements around the world, and for the formation of modern-day socialist and communist states- none of which had been quite the ideal society that Marx had envisioned
Communist Manifesto
Written by Karl Marx critiquing capitalism
Frederic Ozanam
Started the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a worldwide charitable organization for the poor
Cardinal James Gibbons
(of Baltimore) supported the Knights of Labor, a union supported by US hierarchy
Natural Law
A God given need for creation, including human beings, to follow what God intended it to be
Just wage
An amount sufficient to provide a decent life for a worker’s whole family
Unions
An organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests
Cold War
A period between 1945 and 1990 when the US and the Soviet Union competed to dominate the world through military might. Many nuclear weapons were used
Marginalized
Forced outside the main group
Common good
The social condition that allows all people in a community to reach their full human potential and fulfill their human dignity
Subsidiary
The idea that large organizations or governments have a responsibility to coordinate and regulate society when individuals and smaller organizations do not or cannot carry out responsibilities necessary for the common good
Rights
Those conditions or things that any person needs in order to be fully what God created him or her to be. Individual rights are limited by the responsibility for the good of others and the common good for society as a whole
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Human rights that are officially recognized by most nations in the world, listed in a 1948 United Nations document that the Catholic Church has strongly supported as a tool for promoting Justice
What is liberation theology? Who coined the term? In addition to the option of the poor, what has been liberations main contribution?
Liberation theology is one way of talking about God amid the reality of the suffering of innocent people. Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) created the term has been used to describe a variety of ways of responding to poverty in Latin America. Liberation theology can appropriately acknowledge God’s love, Christ’s redemption, and the dignity of the human person when understood within the Church’s Scriptures and Traditions. It’s other main contribution has been to emphasize the acting on faith, which is more important than talking about faith
Christian base communities
Small groups of 10-20 people who gather to reflect on the meaning of the Gospel for their lives and to support one another. Partially brought on by Liberation theology
How is the story of the Russian women used to explain this theme of Life and Dignity of the Human Person
The idea of life and dignity of a human person is that everyone has dignity no matter who they are or what they’ve done. This is because they “are loved by God and made in his image”. The Russian woman reflect this in their actions towards the German prisoners of war. One woman, instead of yelling at the men for what they had done, fed them, treating them as humans with dignity
What are the 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching?
- the life and dignity of the human person
- participation: the call to family and community
- rights and responsibilities
- The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
- The Dignity of work and the Rights of Workers
- Solidarity
- care of God’s creation
Explain the two aspects of participation–the common good and subsidiarity
The Common good is social condition that allows all the people in the community to reach their full potential and fulfill their human dignity. This means that certain groups that are excluded should be paid attention to.
Subsidiarity is the balance of large government organizations: They are allowed to step in if it helps the common good, but they shouldn’t take over the social responsibilities of smaller org. or individuals if it is things they can manage themselves.
Recount the story of Melba Pattillo Beals. Why is her story used to explain this theme of Catholic Social Teaching?
Melba was one of those people that was marginalized, in her case because of the color of her skin. She was not being given the opportunity to have an equal education as everyone else. Because the local governments were not able to figure out how to deal with the problem of segregation, higher authorities stepped in to help the common good
How are rights and responsibilities related?
An individual’s rights are limited by their responsibilities for the good of others, as well as for the common good of the whole society.
What does the option for the poor and vulnerable mean? When was this idea developed?
It is the choice to put the needs of society’s most poor and vulnerable members first among all social concerns. Developed as part of Latin American liberation theology
In the 1968 conference in Medellin, Colombia, how does the bishop describe the option for the poor and vulnerable?
The Latin American Bishop described the option for the poor and vulnerable “ We ought to sharpen the awareness of our duty of solidarity with the poor, to which charity leads us. This solidarity means that we make ours their problems and their struggles, that we know how to speak with them”.
What are the two parts of the bishops two parts of ‘option’?
First it involves freely choosing to become friends or partners with the poor, and taking on their problem as our problems. Second, the option involves a commitment to take action to transform the injustice that prevents the poor and vulnerable people from living out their God-given dignity.
What is a maquiladora?
a foreign owned assembly plant
What is the Maria Guadalupe Torres story?
when she was 16, she came from Mexico and worked in a maquiladora for 18 years with not good conditions. She began organizing to improve the conditions inside the factory, and discovered that workers do have rights. Now she works with the Border Committee of Working Women.
What is solidarity?
A constant commitment to the common good
What is solidarity based upon
It is based upon the belief that “we are all really responsible for all.” It is also based on the understanding that all people are part of the same human family, whatever national, racial, ethnic, economic, or ideological differences may be.
