Catholic Social Teaching - a hidden treasure

Today I'm sharing with you a blog which I've written for one of our classes.  Social Justice is one of the main reasons why I'm doing this experience.  I hope it makes you more interested in what I'm studying.

Catholic Social Teaching is generally known as the Church’s hidden treasure.  I feel glad and proud that I form part of an institution that has always given great importance to social justice.  Simultaneously though, I also feel sad, that for most Catholics, and the rest of the world, these teaching remain hidden.

The question is why have these teachings remained hidden?  Is it the fault of the Church leaders?  I don’t think that this can be said, when considering the number of official Church documents written on the subject.  This topic has been at the forefront of the Church’s agenda for over a century now, with encyclicals being written by most Popes who have led the church in the last century. 

Personally, I attribute this fact to an ever-increasing sense of individualism and selfishness.  Aren’t after all the acts of mercy at the basis of social justice? To feed the hungry and the thirsty, to welcome strangers, to dress the naked and to visit and console the imprisoned are all acts, which stem from the respect towards human dignity, a basic principle in catholic social teachings.  These acts push us to think of others in a deep way.  They invite us to see beyond our urges and needs.  They invite us to be just, not only by providing to the poor, but also by seeing the dignity in the human person no matter what their social standing is, or whatever they have done.  This is not charity, but justice, because it is the right of every human being to have.

The world however alienates us from this fact.  Many times it makes us believe that what we have is ours by right and that no one should interfere in our freedom.  What we fail to see however is that this freedom sometime impinges on the freedom of others, who because of their situation cannot attain their own rights.  By looking solely at our personal interests, many times we fail to see the bigger picture, the picture which involves the common good of all.

For many it is just that people who are not born in a country, are not given permission to live in that country, because they will take the opportunities of that country’s citizens.  For others it is only fair that world policies are dictated by the most powerful countries, because they are the ones providing economic growth and progress.  Some might think that whatever we do with our bodies/lives, is only for us to decide.  Yet when we start thinking of others, this might change.  When we put ourselves in the shoes of those who have no say, are the victims in the situation, we might see things in a different way.

The common good many times contradicts our own personal goods.  Sometimes it means that we have to forfeit some of our personal choices.  We cannot have it always our way.  By thinking more of others, and less of ourselves, the relationships we have with others become more balanced, more just, more mutual.  They no longer are about what I can get from you, but a relationship built on mutual respect and love.

Social Justice thus is not just a world process, it is most of all a personal process, where everyone becomes more aware of others around him and their needs.  It is only when this personal transformation starts, that we can start to look at a world transformation.  Until this happens the church’s social teaching will remain its best hidden treasure.

A Cubs game at Wrigley field

There are a number of things that are a must when you visit Chicago.  One of them, as the title clearly spells out, is to go to a Cubs game at Wrigley field.  For those of you not acquainted with Chicago, the Cubs are one of the two major baseball teams of the city.  The other team is that of the White Sox.  Funnily enough, when I first came here I used to see a lot of people with Sox baseball caps.  But not knowing anything about the team, and the logo placing the letters in a particular way, I thought it was some particular brand called Sex.  It was only when I commented about this to a friend that I was finally illuminated.

But let’s not deviate too much.  This was my first ever baseball game, and trust me it’s not that exciting.  It lasted around 3 to 4 hours and most of the time there was hardly any action on the field.  I must also admit that even though my friends tried to explain the game to me, I still couldn’t understand what was really going on.  I understood though that the Cubs won, which was quite a surprise, because apparently this season they were doing very bad.  I also noted that one of the players’ surname was Rizzo.  I’m curious to know whether he is of Maltese descent, although he might also be Sicilian.  This guy was actually one of the best players of the game as he did a number of home runs.  A homerun is when the batter throws the ball so far out, that he can run safely home.  Usually the ball ends on the spectators watching the game who keep the ball as a souvenir.  So you see I’ve learnt something about baseball for sure.

However I’ve also noted that people don’t just go there to watch the game.   Its a social outing.  Everyone is chatting, and most of all eating and drinking beer.  The smell of grilled sausages permeates throughout the stadium, and makes you want one.  I myself enjoyed the company of my friends and ate so much.  The atmosphere is wonderful, with bands playing, people singing and so on.  And all this is performed with organ music being played in the background.  Its not a church organ kind of music, but if you have seen ‘The Simpsons’ you surely know what I’m talking about.

Wrigley field is also a place to go because the stadium is one of the oldest in the US.  It is also one of the smallest and has this scoreboard that is not automatic, but people change scores on it from the inside.  It is like a tall building with lots of windows.  The windows are filled in with words and scores.    This scoreboard really fascinated me, and I’d like to visit it from the inside one day.  Its quite big, and I imagine that when you are inside you realize the enormity of it all.  

This was one of my first experiences of American sport.  Next in line is Basketball.  Our school had an offer for some Bulls game, and everyone said that it was really worth it.  So late in October I should be telling you about that.  

Sweet home Chicago

I’m back to Chicago now.  Actually I’ve been back for a few weeks, but it is only now that I’m starting to feel settled down.  Having arrived, when the semester had already started made it more difficult for me to settle down quickly.  

As soon as I arrived, I had to get all the books, and do all the readings.  And we’ve had already a huge chunk of assignments to submit.  In the meantime I was also dealing with all the apartment issues, such as signing the lease, getting internet, and changing the utilities in my name.  I did some quick re-arranging of the apartment, but it still needs some touches.  However the bulk is now almost over, and I can now call Chicago home.  Having enjoyed those warm summer weeks in Malta, I am now ready to face Chicago’s cold winter, which seems to be approaching quite fast.  And I’m looking forward to keep you abreast with what’s going here in Chicago, hopefully weekly.

So let the year begin, and may the odds be ever in our favour. :P (I’ve just seen the hunger games)