Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Theme #3: Rights and Responsibilities

The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents.
                                             http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.shtml
(Content on this page is taken directly from the above website.)
Introducing…   
Catholic Social Teaching (CST)#3

Background
Its roots are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice. It is a teaching founded on the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came "to bring glad tidings to the poor . . . liberty to captives . . . recovery of sight to the blind"(Lk 4:18-19), and who identified himself with "the least of these," the hungry and the stranger (cf. Mt 25:45). Catholic social teaching is built on a commitment to the poor.  Our commitment to the Catholic social mission must be rooted in and strengthened by our spiritual lives. In our relationship with God we experience the conversion of heart that is necessary to truly love one another as God has loved us. We are called to reach out and to build relationships of love and justice.

CST covers a broad range of topics impacting personal, local, national, and international concerns in seven major themes.  Each week, we will explore one of these themes and its relevance and application to our lives.

The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity must be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life— the right that makes all other rights possible. Each person also has a right to the necessities for living a decent life—faith and family life, food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing.
Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities; we have a duty to secure and respect these rights not only for ourselves, but for others unable to secure these rights due to social, economic, or political obstacles.  Jesus called us to “love one another.” Our Lord’s example and words demand care for the “least of these” among us.  Yet they also require action on a broader scale. In our Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in the political process is a moral obligation. All believers are called to faithful citizenship with informed, active, and responsible participation in the political process. Faithful citizenship encompasses more than elections.  The central question should not be, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” It should be, “How can ‘we’ – all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable – be better off in the years ahead? How can we protect human life and dignity? How can we pursue justice for peace?” We must fulfill our responsibilities to each other, our families, and society in general. —USCCB Administrative Committee, Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility

Other Current Relevant Topics (not complete)
            Careers & Vocations
                        Job Development
                        Fair & Living Wages
                        Modern-Day Slavery (Human Trafficking)
                        Unemployment
            Civic Duties
                        Forming Christian Conscience
                        Becoming Informed Voters
                        Other Activities, i.e. volunteering at national parks, schools, hospitals, etc.
            Immigration
            Financial Responsibility
            Education
            Poverty (Domestic & International)
Homelessness
Motel Residency
                        Welfare
            Restorative Justice/Detention Ministry
            War & Conflict

Our faith calls us beyond knowledge of the issue to action…

Suggestions for actions
1)    Pray

2)    Become educated
Visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website at www.usccb.org and click on the Social Justice link for resources. 

3)    Incorporate into your daily lives
Examine your activities and use the CST themes to direct your actions
Are you an informed voter and vote by your Catholic conscience
Do you pay your taxes honestly? (Income tax returns are due April 15.)

4)    Volunteer-do works of charity
Get on the Bus (Brings children to visit their parents in prison. http://www.getonthebus.us)
Homeboy Industries (Work w/ former gang members. http://www.homeboy-industries.org)
Catholic Legislative Network (http://www.cacatholic.org)
            You can also research any of the above topics to find local volunteer opportunities.

5)    Become an activist-do works of justice
Find a cause that you are passionate about and work to change policy or laws to address the problem’s root cause.

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