THE JUST SOCIETY 1. What is social justice? The term social justice in a Catholic context refers to that aspect of Church teaching and Christian life which seeks to apply the Gospel command of love to the structures, systems and institutions of society which. are the framework in which all human relationships (personal, political, economic, cultural) take place. The object of the virtue is systemic, structural relationships; the agent of social justice is usually people organized in some form of group activity working through the political process.
2. Can we find a basjs for the idea in the Scriptures? . Yes.
The fundamental
meaning of the term can be found 1n the
prophets (e.g.,. Isaiah, Amos) who constantly tested the fidelity of the chosen peOple in terms of its social relationships. The Gospels do not mention the term as such but the basic perspective of social justice as a demand of the New Covenant and a central dimension of the ministry of Christ pervades the Synoptics (cf. lk. 4o18fl; Mt. 25,3111). To grasp the themes of social justice fully-one needs to read the Gospels in light of the prophetic literature.
3. Where do we find the meaning of social iustic<! in Catholic teaching? It is primarily to be found in the body of papal, conciliar and synodal literature of the lost eighty years which comprises "the social doctrine" or "social teaching" of the Church. Pre-eminent among these documents are
the following, Rerum Novarum ( 1891 ); Quadragesimo Anno ( 1931 ); Christmas Messages of Pius XII ( 1940-57); Ma~er et Magistro. ( 1961 ) ; . Pacem in Terris ( 1963); Gaudium et Spes ( 1965); Dignitatis Personae Humanae ( 1965); Populorum Progressio ( 1967); Octogesima Adveniens ( 1971 ) ; Justitia in Mundo ( 1971 ) . The key document' in this line of development was Quadragesimo Anno in which Pius XI began to speak specifically about a structural analysis of society as a framework for interpreting justice. The line of growth and continuity between this initial structural i~sight and the method of analysis
327