Day 254: Social Justice

Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority. CCC 1928

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses social justice. A term which has been abused in recent times, in fact, so much so that I actually cringe when I hear it now. However, what the Church teaches about social justice isn't the same as what some are pushing it to be in modern culture. In the Catechism, social justice is defined as:

The respect for the human person and the rights which flow from human dignity and guarantee it. Society must provide the conditions that allow people to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and vocation (CCC 1928, 1931).

Something that seems to be absent from what some advocate for social justice in modern culture is "forgiveness of offenses" and the "commandment of love," even for one's enemies - real or imagined. For true "liberation in the spirit of the Gospel is incompatible with hatred of one's enemy as a person" (CCC 1933).

The Catechism Compendium gives a summary of how society ensures social justice:

Society ensures social justice when it respects the dignity and the rights of the person as the proper end of society itself. Furthermore, society pursues social justice, which is linked to the common good and to the exercise of authority, when it provides the conditions that allow associations and individuals to obtain what is their due. (#411)

We are all made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27), with inherent equal dignity and fundamental rights (Gal 3:28). We are all equally called to Christ and salvation (2 Cor 5:14-15). Unjust discrimination is sinful, for if we are all made in His image, we should "show no partiality" (favoritism) and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Jam 2:1-9). This doesn't just apply to the usual "sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion" (CCC 1935), but also to the differences between all persons, like "age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes" (CCC 1936). The Church recognizes that "these differences are part of God's plan... and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods" (CCC 1937). Finally, there "exist sinful inequalities" which we are called to address as much as possible, as people rightly "strive for fairer and more humane conditions" (CCC 1938).