Social Action

     
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Lord, Hear Our Prayer

 For our parish and our country, that we will become  more aware of the dignity of  the human life from conception to natural death, the beauty of God’s plan for marriage, and the significance of full and  authentic religious liberty.  

For parents and grandparents who have lost a child through abortion, that God will console them in their grief and lead them to forgiveness and healing in 
Confession and through the Project Rachel Ministry. 
 
For those in the twilight of their lives, that their families and caregivers will cherish them and care for them with tender compassion, rejecting the path to assisted suicide. 

For married couples, that they continue to live their vocation of love as an example to their families and to the world of God’s faithful, fruitful, and lasting love. 

For all those suffering from troubled or broken marriages, especially children, that they will be assured of God the Father’s unfailing care for them. 

For all those discerning a vocation to the priesthood, consecrated life, or marriage, that the Lord guide their hearts and make His will clear for their lives. 

For our President, Governor, legislators, judges, and all in service to the common good, that through the gift of heavenly wisdom they may work to uphold religious freedom and conscience protection for all. 

life, marriage & liberty

The well-being of society requires that life, marriage, and religious liberty are promoted and protected. Serious threats to each of these goods, however, have raised unprecedented challenges to the Church and to the nation. Two immediate flashpoints are the following: 

First is the HHS Mandate, which requires almost all employers, including Catholic employers, to pay for employees' contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs regardless of conscientious objections. This is a clear affront to America's first freedom, religious liberty, as well as to the inherent dignity of every human person. 

Second, current trends in both government and culture are moving towardredefining marriage as the union of any two persons, ignoring marriage's fundamental meaning and purpose as the universal institution that unites a man and a woman with each other and with children born from that union. 

Social Action

For I was hungry and you gave me food,         I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me,
 in prison and you visited me.’
 Matthew 25:35-36

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 these brief reflections, we highlight several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.

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1.  Life 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. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia.  The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic  stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life  and dignity of the human person.
 
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 Life and Dignity of the Human Person



2.  Call to Family, Community
and Participation
The person is not only sacred but also social.
How we organize our society -- in economics and politics, in law and policy -- directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. 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.
 
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 Call to Family, Community, and Participation



3.  Rights and Responsibilities
The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, 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.
 
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Rights and Responsibilities

4.  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.

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Option  for the Poor and Vulnerable



5.  The Dignity of Work
and the Rights of Workers
The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. 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.

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Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers



6.  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. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice. The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.
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Solidarity



7.  Care for God's Creation
We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship  of 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.

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Care for God's Creation

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"Any country that accepts abortion is not
teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."
Mother Teresa

 

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Pope John Paul II  Homily at Giants Stadium, Oct. 5, 1995

"To a great extent, the story of America has been the story of long and difficult struggles to overcome the prejudices which excluded certain categories of people  from a full share in the country’s life: first, the struggle against religious  intolerance, then the struggle against racial discrimination and in favor of  civil rights for everyone. Sadly, today a new class of people is being excluded.  When the unborn child – the "stranger in the womb" – is declared to be beyond the protection of society, not only are America’s deepest  traditions radically undermined and endangered, but a moral blight is brought  upon society. I am also thinking of threats to the elderly, the severely  handicapped and all those who do not seem to have any social usefulness. When  innocent human beings are declared inconvenient or burdensome, and thus unworthy  of legal and social protection, grievous damage is done to the moral foundations  of the democratic community. The right to life is the first of all rights. It is the foundation of democratic  liberties and the keystone of the edifice of civil society. Both as Americans and as followers of Christ, American Catholics must be committed to  the defense of life in all its stages and in every condition."

Foundational Church Documents on Justice & Peace:

Papal and Vatican Documents
Rerum Novarum. . . (On the Condition of Labor)—Pope Leo XIII, 1891
Quadragesimonno. . . (After Forty Years)—Pope Pius XI, 1931
Mater et Magistra. . . (Christianity and Social Progress)—Pope John XXIII, 1961
Pacem in Terris. . . (Peace on Earth)—Pope John XXIII, 1963
Gaudium et Spes. . . (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)—Second Vatican Council, 1965
Dignitatis Humanae . . . (Declaration on Religious Freedom)—Second Vatican Council, 1965
Populorum Progressio. . . (On the Development of Peoples)—Pope Paul VI, 1967
Octogesima Adveniens. . . (A Call to Action)—Pope Paul VI, 1971
Evangelii Nuntiandi. . . (Evangelization in the Modern World)—Paul VI, 1975
Laborem Exercens. . . (On Human Work)—Pope John Paul II, 1981
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. . . (On Social Concern)—Pope John Paul II, 1987
The Church and Racism: Towards a more fraternal society. . . —Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 1989
Centesimus Annus. . . (The Hundredth Year)—Pope John Paul II, 1991
Veritatis splendor. . . (The Splendor of Truth)—Pope John Paul II, 1993 
Evangelium Vitae. . . (The Gospel of Life)—Pope John Paul II, 1995
Dignitas Personae. . . (The Dignity of a Person)—Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1998
Ecclesia in America. . . (The Church in America)—Pope John Paul II, 1999
Fides et Ratio. . . (Faith and Reason)—Pope John Paul II, 1998
Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life. . . -Congregation  Doctrine of the Faith, 2002
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. . . —Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004
Deus Caritas Est. . . (God Is Love)—Pope Benedict XVI, 2005
Sacramentum Caritatis. . . (The Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church's Life and Mission)—Pope Benedict XVI, 2007 (especially paragraphs 47, 49, 82-84, and 88-92)
Caritas in Veritate. . . (Charity in Truth)—Pope Benedict XVI, 2009

 
United States Catholic Bishops Documents
Labor  Day Statements
Respecting  the Just Rights of Workers, June 2009
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, November 2007
A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, November 2005
Catholics in Political Life, June 2004
"For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food" Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers, and Farmworkers, December 2003
Strangers No Longer, January 2003, Joint Statement from Bishops of the United States and Mexico
A Place at the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to Respect the Dignity of All God's Children, December 2002
Statement  on Israeli-Palestinian Violence, March 2002
A Call to Solidarity with Africa, November 2001
A Pastoral Message: Living with Faith and Hope After September 11, November 2001
Resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis, June 2001
Global  Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good,June 2001
Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice,November 2000
Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice, November 1999
In All Things Charity:A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium, November 1999
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, June 1999
A Good Friday Appeal to End the Death Penalty, April 1999
A Commitment to All Generations: Social Security and the Common Good, May 1999
A Jubilee Call for Debt Forgiveness, April 1999
Living the Gospel of Life,November 1998
Called to Global Solidarity, November 1997
A  Catholic Framework for Economic Life, November 1996
A  Decade After Economic Justice for All, November 1995
Sowing Weapons of War, June 199
Confronting a Culture of Violence, November 1994
Communities of Salt and Light,November 1993
The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace, November 1993
When I call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women, September 1992
A Matter of the Heart,November 1992
Renewing the Earth, 1991
Economic  Justice for All, November 1986
The Challenge of Peace, 1983
Statement on Capital Punishment, November 1980
Brothers and Sisters to Us, 1979
Declaration on Conscientious Objection and Selective Conscientious Objection, October 1971