Year 11 General Unit 2, Mod 3 - Social Justice Issues
Human suffering was not intended by God. Suffering results from the lack of peace that comes from failing to relate as intended by God’s state of original justice.
Justice is needed for peace. Today there are many challenges to the peace God originally intended. This can be seen at local, national, regional and international levels. These challenges come from the increase in people experiencing poverty in the world, particularly extreme poverty.
The majority of the poor in the world are children, women, people with disabilities, the elderly, indigenous people, mi-grants and refugees.
For many reasons, the original balance between humanity and creation is being destroyed. Rich nations consume much more than their share, and are responsible for most of the world’s pollution.
Many poor countries are forced to con-tribute to the world’s pollution. They have to adopt unsustainable and ecologically damaging practices to survive.r Catholics, restoring God’s justice in the world is an important part of being a follower of Jesus. Justice has to do with behaving in responsible ways towards others by respecting their rights. People are usually willing to respect the rights of family and friends, but find it more difficult to accept that they have responsibilities to other people.
Promote Respect of Human Life
God so values life that in the Fifth Commandment the deliberate killing of any human being is forbidden.
This is true be they:
- sick or well
- young or old
- rich or poor
- able or disabled
- unborn or born
God confirms natural moral law and for-bids the deliberate killing of any human being in any circumstances.
Modern Encyclicals
- Modern threats to human living conditions.
- The increasing gap between rich and poor.
- Threats to world peace.
- Human rights to the necessities of life.
- The proper use of technology.
- The criteria for the well-being of humanity.
- The right to employment.
- The obligations of employers.
- The modern conflict between labour and capital.
- Social welfare.
- Rural needs.
- The needs of the disabled.
- Refugees and migrants.
- Private property and the universal destination of material goods.
Promotion of Social Justice through Commandments
The Fifth Commandment is concerned with respecting the right of every human being to the life given to them by God. God demands that human life be safeguarded and protected.
Every human life is sacred to God. God is involved in the development of every person. Every human life is the result of parents using their God-given powers of procreation and the action of God who creates personally every soul.
Everyone has a special relationship with God and God relates with each personally. God ultimately wants everyone to have the intimate union that is ‘heaven’. God desires that everyone come to the joy and peace this union brings.
An essential principle for democracy. The basis for human equality is that all people have an equal right to live and to the necessities of life.
Laws that permit deliberate killing. The most obvious examples of parliaments disobeying the Fifth Commandment are those which have passed laws that allow abortion and euthanasia. Believers cooperate with the Holy Spirit as they promote:
- respect for human life
- respect for unborn human life
- care for the terminally ill
- provision and care for human life
- defence of human life
- the avoidance of war
Contrary social trends there are people who reject God’s value of human life. They promote or practise behaviours which violate the absolute value God has placed upon the life of every person. They:
- deliberately kill, murder, abort and euthanize
- fail to care properly for the elder-ly, disabled, terminally ill or those lacking life-necessities
- fail to protect human life ade-quately by being careless about their own or the health of others
- fail to provide adequate defence of human life or by risking life without grave cause.
The Seventh Commandment forbids people from taking what belongs to another. God gave the human race the resources of the earth [e.g. Genesis 1:29-30]. Every generation, including future generations, has a God-given right to these resources.
Every human life is sacred to God. God is involved in the development of every person. Every human life is the result of parents using their God-given powers of procreation and the action of God who creates personally every soul.
Everyone has a special relationship with God and God relates with each personally. God ultimately wants everyone to have the intimate union that is ‘heaven’. God desires that everyone come to the joy and peace this union brings.
An essential principle for democracy. The basis for human equality is that all people have an equal right to live and to the necessities of life.