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.
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