International Vaccine Equity

 Because fewer than four percent of people living in low-income countries have been vaccinated against COVID, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging people to contact their Congressional representatives to ensure that “the United States uses its full diplomatic and funding capabilities to push for the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This includes pushing for additional global vaccine donations and investments in supplies, health systems, and further manufacturing capacity.”
 
An Action Alert from the bishops states: 

As Catholics, we believe in Catholic social teaching and that we must live out the principles of human dignity and the preferential option for the poor. The U.S. must continue to push for additional global vaccine donations and healthcare supplies. 
 
Take action and remind our elected officials that by helping others abroad, we also help ourselves here at home. Lift your voice today to protect the health and safety of our global family!

The bishops commend our government for its pledge of $4 billion toward the global vaccine campaign and the broader $10.8 billion committed toward the overall international COVID-19 response. However, they note, despite pledges from many nations, the global community has not fulfilled its commitments. The result is that “low vaccination rates worldwide have resulted in millions of deaths and unimaginable suffering that could have been averted.”
 
To take action or to learn more, click here.

Parish Racial Justice

The Ignatian Solidarity Network will offer another of its racial justice programs on Wednesday, October 27.
 
The session will be led by Tom Ulrich, author of Parish Social Ministry and “On Earth As It Is In Heaven.” 
 
The invitation notes:

Addressing skepticism and resistance surrounding the idea of “social change” is an essential part of social justice ministry. This work requires a solid, thorough understanding of the Church’s teaching on social sin and reconciliation.

Join this session for a directed, interactive conversation attempting to break open Catholic Social Teaching on social sin. You’ll receive resources for your social justice ministry toolbox and fortify your confidence in talking about how social change for justice is a crucial part of God’s vision for a grace-filled world. 

The free event is from 2-3:30 p.m. If you are not available at that time, you can still register and receive access to a recording and resources on the topic. Past programs are available here.
 
The Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) works in partnership with more than 150 Jesuit universities, high schools, and parishes, along with many other Catholic institutions and social justice partners.
 
Through in-person and virtual programs and campaigns, ISN provides social justice education grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, and mobilizes more than 20,000 network members to take action on timely issues related to migration, care for creation, racial justice, and criminal justice.

Raising the minimum wage

Last November, following one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in American history, there was one policy that united us as a nation; that policy was raising the federal minimum wage.

 

In fact, 67 percent of people responding to one poll reported that they supported raising the minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour. This is particularly interesting in light of the current debate in Congress on whether to raise the minimum wage.

 

The Brookings Institute has an informative article that reports some interesting facts. One is that, in Florida, which President Trump won, a ballot initiative to raise the state minimum wage from $8.56 to $15 per hour by 2026 passed with the support of more than 60 percent of the voters. The majority of voters cast a ballot for Donald Trump and for an increased minimum wage.

 

From the Catholic perspective, the minimum wage is a matter of social justice. We believe that all economic life should be shaped by moral principles. “Economic choices and institutions must be judged by how they protect or undermine the life and dignity of the human person, support the family and serve the common good.”

 

According to the Catechism, “In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account. ‘Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural, and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good.’”

 

In a background paper prepared by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2014, we learn the following:

“The federal minimum wage has lost more than 30% of its value and would be more than $10/hour today if it had merely kept pace with the cost of living over the past forty years. If it had kept pace with worker productivity growth over the same period, it would be over $18/hour. Low-wage workers are doing and making more with the same amount of time, working harder, but not enjoying the fruits of their labor.” 

The bishops went on to note:

“Work has a special place in Catholic teaching. Work is more than just a job; it is a reflection of our human dignity and a way to contribute to the common good. . . . Wages earned from work are the primary way people meet their material needs and contribute to the common good.

The family is the fundamental cell of society and where we first learn, love, and develop. A living wage is a fundamental right of workers and a moral imperative of employers because it provides workers with the means and resources to form and support a family. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church points out, “In order to protect this relationship between family and work, an element that must be appreciated and safeguarded is that of a family wage, a wage sufficient to maintain a family and allow it to live decently. Such a wage must also allow for savings that will permit the acquisition of property as a guarantee of freedom. The right to property is closely connected with the existence of families, which protect themselves from need thanks also to savings and to the building up of family property” (No. 250).

 

Catholic Bishops in the United States have long supported increases in the federal minimum wage to ensure that no full time worker and their family lived in poverty. The federal minimum wage is not a living wage, and it is not a silver bullet to solve all economic problems, but it is one way to ensure workers are compensated fairly.”

While some argue that raising the minimum wage will lead to large increases in the prices of goods and services, research shows that this is not necessarily true or concerning. For example, companies such as Target have found that the increased wages were offset by savings on recruitment and training as employees stayed longer, reducing turnover. And at least one study has shown that restaurant food pricing prices rose by just 0.36 percent for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage.

Video series on Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have worked together to create a seven-part series on Catholic Social Teaching, designed to be an introduction to this important body of thought.

The first video, “Care for God’s Creation,” was released in conjunction with Pope Francis’ declaration of September 1 as a day of prayer for creation. Other videos will be released every three weeks in conjunction with notable events on the Church calendar.

 “Catholic Social Teaching is at the core of why and how CRS performs its mission to serve the poorest of the poor and people in need at times of emergency,” said Carolyn Woo, CEO and president of CRS. “These teachings are embedded in our identity as employees and servants of God.”

“Care for each other and care for creation, what Pope Francis calls integral ecology, are at the heart of our witness as disciples of Jesus Christ. This series will help us put our faith into action,” said Jonathan Reyes, executive director of USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development.

You can learn more here.

Holy Orders and Social Mission

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in the document Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, bishops, priests and deacons help Christians imitate Christ’s mission of love and justice. Here are some excerpts from the section about Holy Orders on pages 22-23:

As co-workers with their bishops in teaching and carrying out Christ’s mission, priests and deacons proclaim the Word of God to his people. This includes education about the social teaching of the Church, which is based in both Scripture and Tradition, and helping community members become aware of their “right and duty to be active subjects of this doctrine” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 539).
. . .
Pastoral ministry requires that ordained ministers develop competency in “social analysis and community organization” and cross-cultural ministry (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], The Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests, 29). Priests should “animate pastoral action in the social field,” especially assisting lay Christians who are involved in political and social life (Compendium, no. 539).
. . .
Because the Church’s social doctrine is an “essential component” of the “new evangelization” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 54), those preparing for the ordained ministry should develop a “thorough knowledge” of Catholic social teaching and “a keen interest in the social issues of their day” (Compendium, no. 533).
. . .
Bishops, assisted by priests, deacons, and religious, must “evangelize social realities” (Compendium, no. 539) by being “articulate spokesmen for and interpreters of Catholic social teaching in today’s circumstances” (USCCB, Program of Priestly Formation, no. 345).

Confirmation: A call to action

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that Confirmation enriches the baptized with the strength of the Holy Spirit so that they can better witness to Christ in word and deed (No. 1285). Thus it should be no surprise that in discussing Confirmation and social mission, our bishops tell us, “At Confirmation, we pray for an increase of the gifts of the Spirit in our own lives in order to serve the cause of justice and peace in Church and world.”

These words are from Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, which was published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last year. Here are some other excerpts from the section about Confirmation:

. . . the Spirit sends us as workers in the vineyard and instruments of the Holy Spirit in renewing the earth and promoting God’s Kingdom of justice and peace.
. . .
The Church’s missionary activity includes a “commitment to peace, development and the liberation of peoples; the rights of individuals and peoples, especially those of minorities; the advancement of women and children; safeguarding the created world,” and many other areas of action in the world (Redemptoris Missio, no. 37). 

In addition, action inspired by the Holy Spirit calls us to “bear witness to Christ by taking courageous and prophetic stands in the face of the corruption of political or economic power.”

What gifts have you been given? How are you called to use those gifts to benefit others?

NEXT: Penance and Reconciliation

The seven themes of Catholic social teaching

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. In some brief reflections, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops highlights several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.

You can read more here.

A Pedagogy of Hope

Over at the blog Catholic Moral Theology, Jessica Wrobleski, a professor at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, has an entry titled Developing a Pedagogy of Hope in 2012. Fortunately, the article is better than the title.

Recently, I was beginning work on the syllabus for RST 230: Catholic Social Thought (which fulfills a general education requirement, and is one of my favorite classes to teach) when I read Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for World Day of Peace 2012, “Educating Young People in Justice and Peace.” As someone who feels called to work in Catholic undergraduate education (and who still counts herself among the “young”), I could not help but feel a particular challenge from this year’s message: how can I more effectively contribute to my students’ education in freedom and truth, in justice and peace and hope in the year ahead?
. . .

I’ll admit, I have found that cultivating a true hope—and not simply naïve or false optimism—is one of the greatest challenges of educating youth in justice and peace. I sometimes struggle with how it is possible to open students’ eyes and hearts to the world’s injustice and violence—the depths of global inequalities of opportunity and development, the injustice and danger of an industrial food system and excessive dependence on fossil fuels, the trauma of generations of people who have never known life without daily threats of violence and conflict and war—without smothering the hope that must nurture and carry forth action on behalf of justice and peace. In my brief experience as a teacher of Catholic Social Thought, I have found that it is not difficult to awaken students to the need for justice and peace in the world, but they often feel overwhelmed by the magnitude and complexity of the issues involved. With each subsequent semester that I have taught this course, I have deliberately tried to foster a pedagogy that can call forth hope as well as teaching truth. I offer a few thoughts toward this end here—by no means as an expert, but rather in the spirit of seeking and sharing in collected wisdom—with the hope that others will do so as well in comments or in other posts here.

The entire blog post is here.

More on CST and the Occupy Movement

Over at The Theology Salon, Fr. Thomas Massaro SJ, Professor of Moral Theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, reflects on Labor and Work in Catholic Social Teaching and the Occupy Movement:

Pope John Paul II began his 1981 encyclical letter Laborem Exercens(On Human Work) with the stunning claim that “work as a human issue is at the very center of the ‘social question.’” This pope who had held some interesting jobs himself during his lifetime (factory hand, actor, mineworker) reminded his readers that “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man [sic] and society.

”In many ways, the agenda of the Occupy movement reflects this same set of concerns. As diffuse and disputed as its agenda may be, the Occupy movement has called unprecedented attention to the great imbalances in power and material outcome experienced by Americans today. One could quibble with the movement’s tactics and demands or even with its math (that overly simplistic motif of the 99% and the 1%), but you would have to possess a very large blind spot indeed not to notice the ambient social inequities surrounding us today.

At the very root of many of these disparities and inequities is human work. One need not subscribe to a crass Marxism to recognize that work arrangements do indeed determine the life prospects for just about all of us. The way that labor is divided, distributed and remunerated makes a huge difference in promoting or frustrating the attainment of social justice.

The rest of the reflection is here.

A labor strategist's tools

Clayton Sinyai, director of strategic campaigns for the Amalgamated Transit Union and a member of the Catholic Labor Network, writes about faith, Scripture Catholic social teaching in America magazine:

I draw a great deal of strength and direction from the study of Scripture and the social encyclicals of the popes. Reading Scripture teaches me humility. Every time I pick up the Bible I find myself baffled by something or other about our mysterious God. Scripture reminds me how little I understand of the highest things, how high God’s thoughts are above my thoughts.

The social encyclicals complement my study of the words of Scripture almost perfectly, offering desperately needed counsel in great clarity. Think of it: Who among the laity enjoys so much guidance in their vocation as I? I searched in vain for passages in the papal letters that might tell one how to be a worthwhile machine operator or railroad clerk or letter carrier. But Leo, Pius, John Paul and Benedict are full of advice on how to be a good trade unionist.

The rest of the article is here.

Themes Of Catholic Social Teaching

The bishops of the United States tell us that 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.” This social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents, which most Catholics never have read.

While the depth and richness of this Catholic tradition can be understood best by actually reading these documents, the bishops have highlighted seven key themes at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.

Can you name one?

The list is here.

Examination Of Conscience In Light Of Catholic Social Teaching

To help us understand how our activities affect others, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has an Examination Of Conscience In Light Of Catholic Social Teaching. Some of the questions to consider:

Do I try to make positive contributions in my family and in my community?

Am I aware of problems facing my local community and involved in efforts to find solutions? Do I stay informed and make my voice heard when needed?

Do I support the efforts of poor persons to work for change in their neighborhoods and communities? Do my attitudes and interactions empower or disempower others?

Do I urge those in power to implement programs and policies that give priority to the human dignity and rights of all, especially the vulnerable?

Am I disproportionately concerned for my own good at the expense of others?

Do I engage in service and advocacy work that protects the dignity of poor and vulnerable persons?

The entire list is much longer, but well worth the read.

Catholic social teaching and Occupy Wall Street

Does Catholic social teaching support Occupy Wall Street? Columnist Tony Magliano says "yes" in this column distributed by Catholic News Service:

The Catholic social teaching principle known as “the universal destination of the earth’s goods” insists that all people deserve a fair share of creation and the goods of humankind, and certainly to the point of having each basic need met entirely.

Pope Paul VI taught that God intends for everyone to adequately share in the goods of the earth.

American society’s failure to fulfill this ethical principle is a moral indictment against most of Washington’s politicians, corporate America and liberal capitalism, which highly favors those with wealth and power at the painful expense of those with little or none.

Blessed John Paul said that the human inadequacies of capitalism are far from disappearing. So much of America’s political and economic system is unjust. And yet, for the most part, Catholics are silent.

Silence supports the rich and powerful, never the poor and weak.

But Catholic social teaching calls us to speak up for the poor and weak.

So let us raise our voices together with our courageous brothers and sisters of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Demand that the do-little U.S. Congress:

– Significantly raise taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.
– Drastically cut military spending; stop the wars.
– Create millions of public service jobs.
– Give small businesses (especially green energy companies) job-producing financial assistance.
– Extend the efficiency of Medicare to everyone.
– Pass strong anti-sweatshop legislation.
– Greatly increase poverty-focused assistance to the nation’s and world’s poor!

The entire column is here.