Chapter 3 Flashcards
Justice
A cardinal virtue that is the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor
Right
That which someone has a just claim. Some rights, called natural rights, are god-given fundamental to the human person and common to all people. It is the duty of the government to protect our natural rights. Other rights, called political rights or civil rights, can be given and or taken away by civil authority such as the right to vote, serve on juries, or receive a public education.
Distributive justice
The most basic form of social relations pertaining to what any society owes its individual members and proportion to their contributions and needs
Law
An ordinance of reason, promulgated by a proper authority, for the common good
Authority
The quality of exercising power over others and expecting obedience from them. All communities need someone or some institution in authority. Authorities is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group and employs morally illicit means to attain it.
Legal justice
What each person owes in fairness to the community such as obeying just laws and respecting legitimate authority.
Civil law
A rule of conduct established by legitimate human authority. Just civil law corresponds to right reason and is derived from the eternal law of God. Unjust civil law is contrary to reason. Citizens are obligated to obey just civil laws because such laws are an ordinance of the moral order. Citizens are obligated and conscience not to follow unjust laws because such laws are contrary to the demands of the moral order. Citizens must also not cooperate and practices allowed by civil law that are contrary to the law of God.
Moral law
A rule of conduct established by confident authority for the common good. In biblical terms, the moral law is the fatherly instruction of god, setting forth the ways that lead to happiness and proscribing those that lead to evil.
Civil disobedience
The refusal to obey civil laws or demands and willingness to accept punishment for this disobedience, as a form of non-violent protest.
Commutative justice
The regulation of exchange between persons and between institutions in accordance with a strict respect for their rights. It obligates both parties to responsibility, requires safeguarding of property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. Without it, no other form of justice is possible.
Contract
Illegally binding agreement between two or more parties that cannot be dissolved once the conditions of the agreement have been fulfilled (or not) or upon mutual agreement.
Economic justice
A particular expression of commutative justice. It pertains exclusively to the moral obligations of individuals, businesses and governments concerning just wages, stable currencies, fair interest rates on loans, safe working conditions for laborers, and other responsibilities associated with economic life.
Covenant
A sacred permanent bond, a family relationship. God entered into a series of covenants with His people throughout Salvation History to invite us to be part of his divine family and to prepare us gradually and in stages, words, and deeds to receive the gift of salvation..
Social justice
The responsibility of each member of society to respect the dignity of every human being, and the rights which flow from that dignity and guarantee it. Society must provide the conditions that allow people to obtain. What is their due according to their nature and vocation.
