Final Flashcards
Discuss subsidiarity, using the words: individuals, family, government, division of labor, freedom of assembly, state and society. How does this principle serve as a check on both totalitarian and libertarian systems?
- comes from a latin word meaning assistance
- refers to the way the various levels of society should relate to each other and assist one another in bringing about the best outcomes for all people
- its all about proper division of labor among human institutions, some tasks should be accomplished on the local levels, and some on higher levels.
- try to get as much accomplished on the smallest/lowest level as possible
- crucial distinction between state and society. state is just one small part of society, that its meant to serve and not to dominate or control
- it is necessary to respect the authority of local institutions including families
- joining organizations and freedom of assembly allows people to be with likeminded individuals while working for the greater good
how does the Bible both assume and protect property ownership? What does it say about the proper limits to overconsumption, in light of the material needs of others and one’s own spiritual needs?
- Our ownership is understood (in the 10 C’s), sanctioned, and given limits: Thou shalt not steal, care for the poor and vulnerable…
- only if you can have, can you share.
protected bc it goes along with key SJ themes such as solidarity (will and commitment to share) and Subsidiarity (how to work together) - Its not an absolute right, to maintain what others need when you dont need it is not justified
Why is property ownership important as an incentive to productivity and investment? What does it mean to say that property is under a social mortage? How does Church teaching in this area reject collectivism but also rampant individualism? (cf. Chapter 6) What historical factors in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the Church stressing one danger or another in the face of changing threats to human dignity?
- Only if you have, can you share
- bible forbids selfishness and ignoring the poor
- social responsibility of industries, not just individuals
- expropriate- take property from its current owner, frowned upon by the church (communism) but now sometimes it is necessary
- social characters of property can be safeguarded when certain key utilities are regulated or perhaps even owned by the entire people as represented by the government
- social mortgage: we cant claim full ownership of gods gifts. to recognize this, means that we cannot disregard the needs of the less fortunate, use our property to harm them,
iii. Massaro p117: Q3 How helpful are tools offered by rencent catholic social teaching on private property? do you think this teaching striked the proper balance between the individual and social functions of property when it speaks of socialization, social mortgage on property, and the possibility of a justified expropriation of some means of production?
- a proper understanding of property must also adjust to these changed circumstances.
- socialization- process guaranteeing greater accountability and social responsibility. government is its primary agent
- governments have the responsibility to exercise socially responsible use of property
- the goods of this world are equally mean for all. the right to private property is valid and necessary but it does not nullify the value of its principle. private property is under social mortgage. no one can claim that they are the full owner of material gifts that come from God
How do Catholic support for labor unions and Catholic advocacy for a living wage connect with the other themes of CST?
- What once were Christian concerns and goals are now part of national systems, components of structural justice:
Minimum wage Safety and health regulations, disability insurance
-Catholic understanding of work: Not a necessary evil nor just a means to an end. Rather, something good, as it can give us meaning, potential, communication, community building,
-living wage to provide a dignified livelyhood for yourself and your family - education and training towards participation
- defends collective bargaining bc of solidarity and human rights
Discuss the phrase “think globally, act locally” in light of the parable of the Good Samaritan, human and global interdependence, the legacy of colonialism, and the need to care for the needs of both humankind and the earth, i.e. the need for sustainable development (cf. Massaro 165-177).
- love thy neighbor on a global scale
- fair trade, can act locally and will have a global impact
- Legacy of colonialism (slave trade and conquering americas)
- encyclicals call for mutual assistants among nations and taking into considerations the poor
- economies must be restructured to serve human needs
- teach a man to fish, make sure he has a fishing rod
- neo-colonoliasm: economic domination
- responsible consumption, being a voice for the voiceless
- protecting natural environment is a path to promote peace defuse international conflict, and foster human development
- earth is a gift from God
- legacy of colonialism: entire regions suffer unfair disadvantages, because their economies have been hurt by long domination, source exploitation. All people have the responsibility to care for the poor because we are all members of a single human family.
Discuss the biblical justifications for Pacifism. What historical factors have led the Church to move from Pacifism to the Just War Theory to a Crusader Mentality to the Just War Theory and now back to Pacifism? (You can connect this to Personalism and to the general defense of life at all stages) At what point do you see the Church as having been truest to her principles, or do you think that changing times call for different ecclesial responses even in the realm of violence?
- pacifism is opposition to war and violence
- church doesnt want to question the soveirgnity of nations, but just war theory is sometimes hard to support with nuclear weapons possibility and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- sometimes just war criteria is manipulated
- pacifism was the way of jesus, non violent, civil disobedience
- Christian responses to war and violence must go beyond vague feelings of distress and regret to genuine and effective strategies of peacemaking and conflict transformation
- without justice there can be no peace
- the core proposition of realism is a skepticism as to whether moral concepts such as justice can be applied to the conduct of international affairs
Discuss the Just War theory in its traditional and liberationist interpretations and modern critique.
- must have just cause, be last resort, one side is clearly right, cost incurred must be satisfied by greater gains, must be to establish peace not revenge
- liberationist interpretation- can we not fight corrupt politicians, fight for equality and end of poverty, is fighting hunger not self defense
- traditional- war all over old testament, Saint Augustine said Cristian rulers can use for if they have just motive means and end, its imperative to protect the innocent and defenseless from unjust agression in our fallen world
- modern/liberation - church finds inspiration in acting in favor for brotherhood, justice and peace, against all forms of domination, slavery, violance -JPII
Massaro 118: Q6 llok up
NOT FINISHED
Discuss option for the poor and vulnerable in light of the Scriptures of Islam and Christianity.
- POP is an abiding commitment, grounded in scripture and tradition to support social justice by placing oneself on the side of the vulnerable and marginalized
- although official definition is recent, the tradition is as old as the Torah and was central to the ministry and teachings of Jesus.
- in the past the church has been blamed for being elitist and ritch but during the past century, there has been a significant shift towards the Church’s primary concern being those who are poor
- Bible presents God as defender of poor and vulnerable
- Catholic social teaching asks for an “involvement in collaborative efforts to invite all people into the social mainstream”, without favouritism or discrimination.
- Torah: You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to thepooror defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor, You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice
- Torah: let your fields rest every 7 years, dont pick up the leftovers of your field, dont withold your wages and pay them every day
- The bible condemns and promises judgement to those who do otherwise
- Bible promises that things will change for the poor
- Bible: Poverty and wealth has causes and responsibilities
What factors led to the renewed focus on the poor within Catholicism during and after the Second Vatican Council?
- Bad economic times in latin america, inequality growing
- Realization that poor are gods special people, and that hope for the rich lies within solidarity with the poor
- bishops from latin america being influential leaders
- salvation= liberation from oppression in this world
Discuss immigration as a biblical theme, related to the option for the poor and vulnerable.1 (See Strangers No Longer outline and/or document available on-line.) What are the key points of CST in the immigration debate today?
- jesus was a migrant
- people have the right to find opportunity in their homeland
- people have the right to migrant to support them and family
- refugees should be given protection
- human dignity and human right of undocumented migrants should be respected
- family reunification, humane enforcement policies, due process rights, protecting human rights in regional migration issues, sept 11 consequences
Massaro 118: Q7 LOOK UP
look up
Discuss the four new shifts described by Massaro in CST today.
- Personalism:
- Concern for the value of the human person, especially when threatened by larger institutions, ideologies, war…
- To measure all things by their contribution to the well-being of persons
- To go beyond the material to the spiritual needs of persons
- To affirm human freedom, creativity, and openness to God
- Seeks to balance extremes such as radical individualism (a danger of capitalism) and rampant collectivism (an error of communism) by focusing on both the good of individuals and the good of the whole, seeking to balance the 2 - Humility before the data of social analysis:
- The Church delivers firm, clear-cut, moral teachings but exercises caution and modesty in the social arena
- Because - The Church recognizes the complexity of the issues and the legitimacy of different opinions.
Her role is to inform consciences on the moral aspects of particular questions and to avoid identifying too closely with any particular political ideology.
Changing times call for changing tactics, ideas and methods to achieve justice. - Awareness of Social sin
- The sum total of the negative factors working against a true awareness of the universal common good, and the need to further it…”
- Structures of sin: “rooted in personal sin, and thus always linked to the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these structures, consolidate them and make them difficult to remove. And thus they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins, and so influence people’s behavior.”
- Social sins are not technically “sins,” in the sense of applying guilt to individuals, unless deliberately chosen with some knowledge of harm inflicted.
- By highlighting them the Church seeks not to promote guilt for inherited sins but rather to raise consciousness and spark people to move from apathy to commitment to social change. - Public Theology and Credible Witness
- Public role of the Church in society
- Prophetic stance vs. status quo
E.g., a consistent ethic of life vs. a culture of death
- Challenges:
How to stand firm and yet be open to dialogue
How to be both a learning and teaching Church
- Catholicism has never been satisfied merely to judge and reject a culture, but seeks instead to transform it into something nobler and more hospitable to human values
Massaro 183f: Qs1 does the concempt of personalism add anything new to catholic social teaching? in what ways is it a helpful work to use when we think about social justice?
- deep concern for the value of the human person especially when it comes under any type of threat from large structures such as government thru whom modern life is organized
- to be a personalist is to measure all things including change in culture, tech, political parties, by their contributions to the well being of persons.
- high regard for human freedom, creativity, spiritual development and openness to god
- resist any false sense of determinism that would limit the understanding of human life to its material dimensions
- overlaps with ideas such as human dignity and human rights, freedom of the will, inviolability of human conscience
- teaches us the balance between dignity of each person ( not be dwarfed by huge economic structures) and the fact that we should not emphasize our individual rights to the point where we lose sense of social responsibility
- not necessarily teach us something new, but rather further develop a concept of the catholic social message
