What the Church Teaches

In an atmosphere of national division, it can be hard to sort through the complications of competing arguments and ideologies. As Catholics, our faith hands us clear guidelines about our responsibilities to society—yet even those are debated. So what does Catholic Social Teaching really tell us about our place in the world? By SEAN HAGERTY, S.J. ’02

“‘It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.’ When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him [Jesus] out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.” — Luke 4:26-30

Discussing Catholic Social Teaching is a proposition that is fraught with complications. It should come as no surprise that conversations about justice and God’s care for the poor are difficult; Jesus encountered rejection among his own community when discussing the topic.

In the passage from Luke’s Gospel above, Jesus is speaking to the people of Nazareth and proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom, liberty for the captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. It is a beautiful message that is at first received with joy, but when Jesus makes clear that he is not speaking about the locals, but outsiders, the Nazarites attempt to throw him off a cliff. When confronted with the proposition that God was most concerned with the least, with the outsider, the people of Nazareth felt indicted and left out. Instead of pondering Jesus’ words, they chose to cast him out of the town in order that they might maintain their illusion of privileged status as God’s chosen. Their inability to look beyond their immediate community, to see the dignity and worth of those on the peripheries, is a moral failing made evident by Jesus’ words.

Catholic Social Teaching is fundamentally concerned with how we treat others as a society. Before Vatican II, most of the Church’s moral teaching was centered on the discrete acts of an individual and whether those acts constituted a violation of divine and moral law. Put another way, it was concerned about a Catholic committing an act that broke their relationship with God or another person. However, Vatican II introduced a way of understanding sin in a more relational and societal, rather than individual and act-centered, way. Sin was not limited to merely discrete acts against others but was also understood as the fundamental failure to love others on the individual and cooperative level. This is most evident in the addition of “and what I have failed to do” to the Penitential Rite in the Mass in the 1970 Roman Missal.

While a seemingly small change, it implies a great deal. It is not enough that we do not harm others; it demands that we actively seek to help those at the edge of our society. It implies that Christians have a duty to confront social sin and actively work to create a more just society that serves the common good. When we encounter someone who is suffering, we cannot look away. Whether it is a migrant on our border or a man looking for a meal at a parish on 16th Street, they demand our attention. This task is not an easy one. It means that as Catholics, we are not only responsible for ourselves; we are also responsible for those we are able to help. Failure to love those who are in need is a sin.

An essential component to Catholic Social Teaching is the reflection of the Catholic community on problems that affect society. To confront societal failings, there must be an acknowledgment both that the problem exists and that we have a duty to fix it. Often, we identify a problem in our society, but then excuse our own inaction because the problem is just “too big” for a person to change. Herein lies the communal aspect of Catholic Social Teaching; the response to a societal problem requires the discernment and response of the community. It must, by its very nature, become the concern of the entire Christian community. In order to facilitate this discernment, the Church has provided seven themes (Life and Dignity of the Human Person; Call to Family, Community, and Participation; Responsibility to Protect Rights; Preferential Option for the Poor; Dignity of Work and Workers; Solidarity; and Care of God’s Creation) to guide this reflection.

As mentioned above, discussions around Catholic Social Teaching and our obligation to others can be difficult. No one likes to admit that their—or their community’s— inaction is sinful. Like those in the synagogue at Nazareth, it can be easier to discredit and destroy the messenger than to have a frank discussion about the situation. One need only to look at recent discussions about systemic and structural racism in our country to see how fraught and complicated these discussions can become.

The existence of structural racism in American life and

culture is not in question. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2018 pastoral letter, Open Wide Our Hearts, acknowledges that racism is a pervasive evil in American society that continues to affect our brothers and sisters of color. Yet when confronted with this reality, many Catholics (myself included) will respond defensively and insist that they are not to blame for racism’s existence in the United States: “But I didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve always treated people fairly!” However, this response refuses to acknowledge that every Catholic has a duty to oppose racist structures, which are still very much a part of American society. Whether it is systemic problems in our criminal justice system (which the bipartisan First Step Act began to address) or lending practices that have denied Black families homes, we are plagued by racism. While I may not have contributed to the creation of structural racism, my inaction in the face of its pervasive evil is nonetheless sinful.

Whether the societal issue is racism, abortion (the two issues are linked), immigration, or climate change (these, too, are linked)—all of us have the obligation to respond. We, as a Christian community, have an obligation to identify where our failure to act has allowed evil and sin to remain.

As members of the Xavier community, we can point to many things of which we are rightfully proud. However, we must also have the humility and courage to see where we have failed to act. To do that, we must be honest about the problems facing our community, our active or passive complicity in them, and recall our obligation to change the world for the better. If we don’t, we are no better than the people of Nazareth who sought to throw Jesus off the cliff.

An essential component to Catholic Social Teaching is the reflection of the Catholic community on problems that affect society. To confront societal failings, there must be an acknowledgment both that the problem exists and that we have a duty to fix it.

Sean Hagerty, S.J. ’02 is a member of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. Before entering the Society, he served as an Army officer and worked in logistics in the private sector. He is a graduate of Fordham University, Saint Louis University, and Boston College, where he recently completed his studies with a concentration in moral theology. He serves on Xavier’s Board of Trustees. After his ordination this June, he will start a new position in the vocations office.

WHAT IS CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING?

In the words of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Social Teaching “is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society.” Papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents fully articulate the wisdom and teachings of the Church. The following are the seven principal themes of Catholic Social Teaching and descriptions of those themes from the U.S. bishops. 1Life and Dignity of the Human Person “The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching.”

2 4 Call to Family, Community, and Participation “The person is not only sacred but also social. … We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.” 3 5 6 7

Rights and Responsibilities “Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities—to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.” Option for the Poor and Vulnerable “A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.” The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers “The economy must serve people, not the other way around. … If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected— the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.”

Solidarity “We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. … At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.” Care for God’s Creation “Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.”