Social Justice, Catholic Style
Social Justice, Catholic Style
The Gospel offers an alternative to modern day Manichaeism
Once upon a time, a young man thought he had it all figured out. There’s good and evil, and the world is a battleground between these two equal and opposing forces.
Which side are you on? He, of course, was one of the good guys.
His mother tried to tell him that life isn’t that simple. But he wouldn’t listen. It took many years, many mistakes, and much heartbreak for him to finally get it—that there are no good guys and bad guys because there’s a bit of both in each of us.
Besides, evil is not God’s equal. Evil is alienation from God.
But even centuries after St. Augustine realized that St. Monica was right, the Manichean mistake remains with us. I became obsessed with Darth Vader in 1977 at age 4, though I wasn’t allowed to watch Star Wars until I was 10. The lore of the light side of the Force locked in perpetual conflict with the dark side is irresistible.
Social justice, too, is often framed as good guys and bad guys.
If only life were that simple.
Underlying this are two very different ideologies, plus a third option that challenges both:
One ideology believes that human nature is innate and universal. We are born wild and need society to civilize us. So, we must defend social norms and institutions that contribute to civilization against those who seek its ruin. It’s the agents of order vs. the bringers of chaos.
Another ideology sees human nature as a social construct. Society oppresses some and unfairly privileges others, so we must dismantle oppressive power structures and equitably redistribute power and material resources. Too often, though, the oppressed seeking justice against the privileged is seen as a zero sum conflict.
But what is a social construct? Put simply, it’s a shared cultural belief. Yet, while cultural beliefs vary, most would agree that objective reality exists even if our beliefs don’t describe reality perfectly.
It’s more controversial, however, to say that some beliefs frame reality better than others. For example, most people think sex is an objective biological phenomenon. But others claim sex is a social construct.
No one, though, is saying that sex isn’t real. Instead, they disagree on the basis for the reality of sex. Intersectional social justice acknowledges different physical features but argues that the male/female binary is cultural. They redefine sex as based on self-identification.
It’s a somewhat subjective way of looking at the world. Subjectivity taken too far, however, denies all facts. Is it a fact that there are no facts?
There must be something that trumps subjectivity. After all, why is sex a social construct while climate change is objective science? Why can someone be transgender but not transracial? Why is bigotry bias plus power rather than simply prejudice against anyone?
It’s about power. Whoever gets to define “knowledge” has power. Further, knowledge is communicated via language, so language policing is essential for power.
But notice that truth is not the central concern in this power struggle. What is “truth,” anyway? “Fake news” too often means, “not in my power interests.”
However, in The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis makes the point that power detached from objective value alienates us from God, thus alienating us from our shared humanity.
Catholic social justice offers a way out of this mess. Catholics believe that human nature is innate and that society can create some civility. But Catholics also believe that because human nature is corrupted by sin, society creates oppressive power structures and fails to care adequately for the poor and the marginalized.
God provides objective meaning and value, but our understanding of things isn’t always perfect. Our culture is sometimes at odds with the Gospel.
Catholic social justice is about our shared human dignity. But where does our human dignity come from? Is human dignity just another social construct that can be deconstructed?
Vatican II’s Gaudium Et Spes states that, “The root reason for human dignity lies in man’s call to communion with God.” The greatest commandment, Jesus tells us, is to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul; and not only to love our neighbors as ourselves, but also to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. And St. Paul writes that Jew or Greek, male or female, we are one in Christ Jesus.
Importantly, Catholic social justice is not a zero sum game. Catholic social justice is all of us together focusing on God and His love for humanity—most sharply in focus with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross—as the source of our shared human dignity.
But living it is hard. It’s so easy to get caught up in one’s own little world, to think and act selfishly, to lose perspective.
The question I must constantly ask myself is: Am I social? That is, am I someone people want to spend time with? Or does my behavior, even if ostensibly for a good cause, repel people? That question puts into focus much of what we call social justice activism.
My feeling is we as Christians should pattern our ideals and desires as denoted by the Word of God.The blueprint for successful spiritual living is laid out in the Bible,which should give one a sense of peace and purpose.Yet,as in my case,you might encounter much social exclusion and rejection as a result of truly living for the Lord,strangely enough,even among fellow believers!
Social justice is also social righteousness. The words justice and righteousness are translated from the same Greek word. You cannot have social righteousness without individual righteousness. This is why loving God precedes loving our neighbor in the two great commandments. Social justice cannot exist apart from the individuals who operate with inner justice or righteousness from God. Recognizing our common humanity is not a sufficient motivator for social justice because our common humanity has been corrupted by the law of sin. Of itself, even putting forth objective values cannot deal with the law of sin that weakens us (cf. Matthew 26:41; Romans 7:14 thru 8:2).