Catholic Social Teaching (part 1 of 3)
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the Catholic Church's social teachings, emphasizing the importance of building a just society. It outlines three forms of justice: commutative, distributive, and social, and discusses the two 'feet of justice': charity and social justice. The script also touches on human rights as necessities for a dignified human life and the common good as the collective benefit of society. It sets the stage for exploring the seven major themes of Catholic social teaching.
Takeaways
- 📜 The script discusses the role of 21st-century Catholics in building a more just society, guided by the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church's social doctrine.
- 🏛️ It introduces three forms of justice: commutative, distributive, and social justice, each with its own principles and applications.
- 🔍 Commutative justice emphasizes fairness and balance, treating everyone the same, as in equal pay for equal work.
- 🍽️ Distributive justice focuses on the equitable distribution of resources according to individual needs, ensuring everyone's needs are met.
- 🌐 Social justice involves questioning and improving societal institutions to ensure they serve the dignity and needs of all members of society.
- 🤝 The 'two feet of justice' concept is presented, with charity providing immediate relief and social justice aiming for long-term systemic change.
- 🙋♂️ Human rights are defined as the necessary conditions for a person to live a truly human life, including food, shelter, healthcare, and respect.
- 🤔 The common good is contrasted with private good, emphasizing the importance of actions and policies that benefit society as a whole.
- 🏗️ The script calls for Catholics to engage in social justice, which can be challenging and controversial, often involving political action.
- 📚 It outlines seven major themes of Catholic social teaching, which are repeatedly emphasized in official church documents and are central to the faith's approach to social issues.
Q & A
What does it mean for 21st-century Catholics to live in a way that is faithful to the teachings of Jesus?
-21st-century Catholics should strive to think, act, and live in accordance with the teachings of Jesus, which includes building a more just society where the hungry are fed, the homeless find shelter, and the dignity of every person is recognized and respected.
What are the seven major themes of modern Catholic social teaching?
-The script does not explicitly list the seven major themes of Catholic social teaching but mentions that they are spelled out in official church documents and occur repeatedly.
How is justice defined in the context of Catholic social teaching?
-In Catholic social teaching, justice is defined in at least three forms: commutative justice, which involves fairness and balance; distributive justice, which involves distributing resources according to need; and social justice, which involves questioning the fairness of societal institutions.
What is commutative justice and how is it exemplified?
-Commutative justice is about fairness and balance, treating everyone more or less the same. An example given is being paid exactly what you are owed for work done, or a family ensuring each member gets an equal share of food during a meal.
Can you explain distributive justice using the example provided in the script?
-Distributive justice is about distributing resources according to individual needs. In the example, the family does not give the same amount of food to a five-year-old and a 19-year-old; instead, they distribute it based on size and appetite, ensuring everyone's needs are met.
What is social justice and how does it differ from the other forms of justice?
-Social justice involves questioning the fairness of societal institutions and systems to ensure they respect the dignity of every person and meet the needs of all according to commutative and distributive justice. It differs from the other forms as it focuses on systemic changes rather than individual transactions or needs.
What are the two ways to achieve justice mentioned in the script?
-The two ways to achieve justice are charity and social justice. Charity is short-term, providing immediate help like food, while social justice is long-term, aiming to make systemic changes to eliminate the need for charity.
How is the concept of human rights defined in the script?
-Human rights are defined as whatever is needed for a person to subsist in a truly human fashion, including food, shelter, clothing, health care, respect, acceptance, and a sense of belonging.
What is the common good and how does it contrast with private good?
-The common good refers to what benefits society as a whole, in contrast to the private good of individuals or sections of society. It involves putting collective interests ahead of personal interests, such as funding public services like fire departments and police, which benefit everyone indirectly.
Why is working for social justice considered more challenging than charity?
-Working for social justice is considered more challenging because it involves systemic changes, can be controversial, and often requires political involvement. It may also take a lot of time and effort, unlike charity which is more immediate and personally rewarding.
How does the concept of the common good relate to the actions of individuals in society?
-The concept of the common good relates to individual actions by encouraging people to contribute to societal benefits even if they do not directly benefit from them. It promotes a collective mindset where the well-being of society is prioritized over individual interests.
Outlines
🤝 Building a Just Society: Catholic Social Teaching
This paragraph introduces the concept of modern Catholic social teaching and its focus on creating a more just society. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and respecting the dignity of every person, ensuring that the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered, and that justice is served. The paragraph outlines three forms of justice: commutative, distributive, and social justice. Commutative justice is about fairness and balance, treating everyone the same, as in equal pay for equal work. Distributive justice involves distributing resources according to individual needs, ensuring everyone's needs are met. Social justice is about examining and improving societal institutions to ensure they serve the common good and respect the dignity of every person. The paragraph also introduces the two 'feet' of justice: charity, which is a short-term solution to immediate needs, and social justice, which is a long-term approach to systemic issues.
🌟 Human Rights and the Common Good in Catholic Social Teaching
The second paragraph delves into the concepts of human rights and the common good as they relate to Catholic social teaching. It begins by defining a right as what is needed for a person to live in a truly human way, which includes not only basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare, but also respect, acceptance, and a sense of belonging. The paragraph then connects human rights to human needs, suggesting that in modern society, this also includes the right to education and a secure job with a living wage. The common good is presented as something that benefits society as a whole, rather than just individuals or groups. Examples given include public services like fire departments and police, as well as accessibility ramps for the physically handicapped. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering the common good over private interests, suggesting that this is a key aspect of Catholic social teaching.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Justice
💡Commutative Justice
💡Distributive Justice
💡Social Justice
💡Charity
💡Human Rights
💡Common Good
💡Catholic Social Teaching
💡Dignity
💡Needs
💡Institutions
Highlights
21st century Catholics strive to live according to the teachings of Jesus and to build a just society.
Catholic social teaching is outlined in various official church documents from Popes and councils.
There are seven major themes in Catholic social teaching documents.
Justice is a key concept with three forms: commutative, distributive, and social justice.
Commutative justice involves fair exchanges, like being paid for work done.
Distributive justice is about distributing resources according to need.
Social justice questions the fairness of societal institutions and systems.
Achieving justice has two 'feet': charity and social justice.
Charity is a short-term solution to immediate needs, like feeding the hungry.
Social justice is a long-term approach to systemic issues, such as advocating for a living wage.
Human rights are defined as what is needed for a person to live in a truly human fashion.
The common good refers to what benefits society as a whole, not just individuals.
Catholics are encouraged to contribute to the common good by prioritizing collective interests.
The concept of the common good includes public services like fire departments and police.
Access to public places for physically handicapped people is an example of the common good.
With these concepts, we can examine the seven major themes of Catholic social teaching.
Transcripts
[Music]
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21st century catholics try to think act
and live in a way that is faithful to
the teaching of jesus and to the example
he set for us
since we are by nature social beings
that clearly includes building a more
just society a society where the hungary
are fed the homeless find shelter and
most importantly
the dignity of every person is
recognized and respected
but what exactly can and should catholic
christians do about building a more just
society
this is the subject of modern catholic
social teaching a teaching which has
been spelled out in a number of official
church documents from pope's ecumenical
councils and synods of bishops in
various countries around the world
there are seven major themes that occur
over and over again in these church
teaching documents
but before we can examine them we need
to briefly define and understand three
important concepts
the first of these concepts is justice
the catholic understanding of justice
has always recognized that there are at
least three forms of justice
the first commutative justice is the
first thing most of us think about when
we hear or read that word it means
fairness and balance in the sense that
everyone is treated more or less the
same
if someone hires you to work for twenty
five dollars an hour and you work four
hours for them then you must be paid one
hundred dollars
there is a balance here
your employer receives what he deserves
four hours of your labor and you get
what you deserve one hundred dollars
here's another example it's thanksgiving
day and your entire family is seated
around the table grandma carves the
turkey and is careful to make sure that
everyone gets exactly the same amount of
white and dark meat and she weighs and
doles out the vegetables and dessert the
very same way everyone gets exactly the
same amount of food and no one can
complain that they got cheated
commutative justice
but that's not how we share thanksgiving
dinner and other meals is it grandma
doesn't give her five-year-old
granddaughter the same amount of food as
her 19 year old grandson
no the food is distributed according to
need
the bigger people and those who have
bigger appetites get more
maybe even seconds
everyone at the meal is happy even
though they all don't get the same
amount
this is the second form of justice known
as distributive justice
resources in this case the food are
distributed to each person according to
their need
in order to do and be well
some need more and some need less
this is a different kind of balance but
it too is totally fair
as much as possible everyone's needs are
met
the third form of justice is a bit
different
it's called social justice and it is
achieved by asking questions about the
fairness of our society's institutions
our legal and political systems
our economic financial and educational
institutions and all the rest
are these institutions and our society
as a whole respecting the dignity of
every person and are they meeting the
needs of all according to both
commutative and distributive justice
if not how can we change those
institutions so they better serve the
needs of all and the common good as well
it is often said that there are two ways
to achieve justice that is to make sure
everyone's needs are met and they are
commonly called the two feet of justice
the first foot is charity
someone has no food and is going hungry
so you and your friends generously take
up a collection and give them something
to eat
like jesus feeding the five thousand
the traditional list of corporal and
spiritual works of mercy comes to mind
here
the second foot of justice is the
already mentioned social justice we work
together to discover why people are
hungry and we try to fix that we make
the kind of changes needed for example
workers and their families might be
going hungry because even though they
work full-time they do not earn enough
to pay for housing transportation
medical care and food
so we work to increase the minimum wage
so that everyone who works full-time
makes enough to meet their needs
including food
so the first charity is short term the
people who lack food get fed for a day
or two but the second social justice is
long term
we try to make changes that will
eliminate hunger in the long run so
people no longer need charity
of course charity makes us feel good
we're the good people who feed poor
people and few people will criticize us
for acting charitably but working for
social justice can be both difficult and
controversial and may take a lot of time
and effort and it usually means getting
involved in politics
think for example of martin luther king
jr
a second consideration before going
further is the concept of human rights
we often speak of rights the bill of
rights the right to life and so forth
well what exactly is a right
going all the way back to the ancient
greeks to the time of aristotle a right
has been defined as whatever is needed
for a person to subsist in a truly human
fashion
what does every person need in order to
live in a way befitting a human being
in order to live a decent dignified life
human needs include not only food
shelter clothing and health care but
also respect and acceptance and a sense
of belonging
that's the traditional definition of a
human right which the catholic church
accepts and uses in her teaching every
person has a need and thus a right to
food clothing health care and shelter
and in our society that means they have
a right to the means to achieve those
goods
in order to live and thrive in our
modern technological society a good
education
leading to a secure job that pays a
living wage are required
so human rights are connected to human
needs
the third and final consideration before
we begin has to do with the question of
the common good much of catholic social
teaching suggests that we all should be
concerned with contributing to the
common good but what does that mean
the common good refers to that which
benefits society as a whole in contrast
to the private good of individuals and
sections of society
keep this in mind
you may never directly personally
benefit from whatever is in the common
good only indirectly for example even
though you hope you will never need
their services and probably never will
paying taxes to fund your city's fire
department and police department is in
the common good
what they do for public safety is in the
long run in our collective best interest
we all benefit if not directly then at
least indirectly with lower rates for
fire insurance for example
the same can be said for building ramps
to give physically handicapped people
access to public places
even though you personally may never use
such a ramp it is in all of our best
interest that people with physical
limitations be able to fully participate
in and contribute to life in our
communities
so when we talk about the common good we
are asking about what benefits society
as a whole in contrast to the private
good of individuals and sections of
society
we put our common interests ahead of our
own private interests
so with these concepts in hand
commutative distributive and social
justice human rights and the common good
we now turn our attention to the seven
major themes of catholic social teaching
you
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