Catholic Social Teaching

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has dedicated his papacy to speaking out on behalf of the poor and the marginalized. Because of it and because of the gift he has for expressing himself in memorable ways, he has earned the attention of the news media who are quick to broadcast what he says. As a result, we are hearing more references to what has come to be called, “Catholic Social Teaching.” It is important for us as Catholic followers of Jesus to understand what it means when that phrase is used so that we do not misunderstand the Pope’s words, especially since they can be so often distorted by the news media.

The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, offers a very helpful definition: “Catholic social teaching is the body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of social justice, involving issues of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state.” Though it is a more recent development in the teaching of the Church, its roots go all the way back to Jesus and His teaching. In fact, what we call, “Catholic Social Teaching”, is nothing more than the gospel commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves applied to our life together at every level of social life whether it be the family, the city, the state, the country or the world. The central question that the social teaching of the Catholic Church asks is, “How should we organize our life together as a community to best reflect the values of the gospel?”

While the People of God have always sought to apply the gospel to the plight of the poor and defenseless, what has come to be called “Catholic Social Teaching” began in 1891 with Pope Leo XIII and his encyclical letter called Rerum Novarum - On the Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor. At the time this letter was written, the world was experiencing the social change that came with the Industrial Revolution. People were leaving their rural communities and flooding into the cities to find work in factories.  They were required to work long hours in unsafe conditions many times alongside their children. As a result, communism and socialism were becoming more popular as a means of fighting for the rights of workers. In this context, Pope Leo XIII sought to strike a balance between criticizing the injustices of the modern industrial society and the tyranny that comes with communist and socialist ideologies.

With the publication of this groundbreaking encyclical, Pope Leo XIII established the feast we celebrate today - The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. It is an opportunity for us to remember that, no matter what government is in place and no matter who is running it, Jesus Christ is ultimately in charge. He is guiding the affairs of the world and, in ways that we cannot begin to understand, is bringing all things together for the good of all. It is a reminder that there is an authority that is greater than the state, namely the truth that is to be found in Jesus Christ. Finally, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate the fact that we do not have a lasting home here on earth. Ultimately, the society of perfect justice and peace which we seek is in heaven. As Jesus tells Pilate in today’s gospel reading, “My Kingdom does not belong to this world.”

We cannot begin in an eight minute homily to cover all the aspects of the Church’s social teaching. There are a few points, however, that we can make that, I hope, will give you some understanding of what we mean by “social justice” and that will make you interested in reading more about it on your own.

One central concept that was especially important in the teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II is “solidarity”. Solidarity is simply the Christian virtue that draws us out of ourselves and our own concerns to take into consideration the needs of others. It helps us to see that we are all in this together, that what is good for you is good for me. Solidarity teaches us that we should not be seeking to benefit one class of people at the expense of another. Rather, we should be working for the “common good”. Imagine what the world would be like if each of us would take time to see things from another person’s perspective. Imagine how much more peaceful our society would be if we would let go of our fears and prejudices and and work together to solve the world’s problems. Solidarity, as it is understood in Catholic Social Teaching, is that virtue that helps us seek the good of both the worker and the employer, of both the immigrant and the native citizen, of both the conservative and the liberal, of both the environment and the economy.

Another central concept of Catholic Social Teaching is “care for the environment”. Pope Francis has brought this to the fore in his recent encyclical, Laudato Si, On Care For Our Common Home. Care for the environment is closely linked to solidarity because all of us have a stake in the earth’s health no matter our nationality, political allegiance or religion. Unfortunately, the debate about climate change sometimes distracts from the Pope’s central message that all of us are responsible for ensuring that our planet and its resources be kept safe for future generations. Even if science were to be prove that climate change is not caused by humans, we would still be required as Christians to use less of the world’s resources, to eliminate pollution and to live in a way that will ensure that all people have access to clean water and air.

Finally, it is not enough to have good intentions. Rather, our actions must lead to real results in bringing about the common good. Unfortunately, many programs and laws purporting to help the poor have actually hurt them. We have to apply our intelligence and to work together so that our good intentions can translate into good results. People of faith and good will often disagree about how best to safeguard the environment, protect the rights of workers or educate the young. However, we should never demonize those who disagree with us. Instead, in solidarity, we should work together for the good of all.

Religion is central to the life of society because it points us to an authority that is greater than the state. That is why oppressive regimes have always singled out religion for especially fierce persecution. However, Christ is King and He will judge. We look to His Kingdom of love as the standard for achieving peace and justice in our world today. If we make Him King in our hearts, King in our homes and King in our communities, then all the evils which bedevil the world will be gone. As followers of Jesus Christ, it is up to us to take the lead. 

Viva Cristo Rey!

At the beginning of the twentieth century, much of the world was in tumult. Peoples were restless, governments were being overthrown and wars both large and small were being waged.

Mexico was no exception. In 1911, its longtime president was overthrown in a bloody revolution which eventually brought into power Plutarco Elias Calles. A sworn enemy of the Catholic Church, he worked vigorously to erase any trace of the Church and her charitable work from the nation of Mexico. In 1917, a new constitution was drawn up which prohibited the Catholic Church from opening schools, outlawed religious orders, and took basic civil rights away from the clergy including the right to vote or to speak freely on public affairs.

With the new constitution in place, a full blown persecution of the Church was underway resulting in the massacre of thousands of priests, religious women and members of the laity who refused to comply.

One outstanding victim of this persecution was Blessed Miguel Pro. He began his studies for the priesthood as a young man in Mexico. However, because of the persecution of the Church, he was forced to complete them in Belgium. Upon his ordination, he returned to his native country to find his people forced to celebrate Mass in secret with many of their priests either killed or imprisoned. Blessed Miguel Pro worked vigorously to bring the sacraments and preach the gospel to the small group of Catholics who continued to worship and live their faith under these difficult circumstances.

Unfortunately, Father Pro did not manage to evade the authorities for long. He was arrested eventually in November 1927 and charged with the attempted assassination of a former president. Without any trial, he was condemned to execution by firing squad. With the same courage he showed in ministering to God’s people, he stood before his executioners, held his arms out in the form of a cross and shouted “Viva, Cristo Re!”, that is, “Long live Christ, the King!” as the bullets rang out.

This past Friday, November 23, marked the eighty-fifth anniversary of his martyrdom. In 1988, Blessed John Paul II traveled to Mexico for his beatification giving him the title of “blessed”.

Like so many martyrs before him, and so many martyrs since, Blessed Miguel Pro witnessed with the shedding of his blood that Jesus Christ is King. There is no higher authority than Jesus Christ and there is no law higher than God’s law. No authority can force believers to break the commandments or to obey an unjust law. We remain loyal and patriotic citizens of our beloved country but our first allegiance is to Almighty God and the unfailing truth of His commandments. Though worldly powers wield vast wealth and powerful armies, in the end Jesus Christ prevails.

Today reading from John’s gospel contrasts the real power of Jesus with the transitory and illusory power of human authority.

Jesus is standing before Pilate having been accused of everything from blasphemy to plotting to overthrow Caesar. Pilate believes that he has power over Jesus, that he can crucify Him or set Him free. However, Jesus makes it clear to him that he would not have that power unless it had been given to him by God. Though Pilate judges Jesus to be innocent and wants to let Him go free, he is unable to because of his fear of the crowd. He appears to have the power to set Jesus free, but in reality he cannot.

On the other hand, Jesus has the power to set Himself free. At His command, all the angels of heaven could come down and release Him from Pilate’s grasp. Yet He hands Himself over freely to be crucified so that by His death we might be freed from the grasp of sin. As we read in today’s second reading from the book of Revelation, “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood...be glory forever and ever.” Jesus uses His power not to dominate others but to set them free.

After the example of Christ our King, we must work not to gain power, wealth and influence for ourselves, all of which are illusory and fading. Rather we must sacrifice ourselves for the needy. We must give to those who cannot repay us. We must speak out tirelessly against the unjust laws that fail to protect the life of the unborn, fail to recognize the dignity of all workers, fail to treat the sick and dying and fail to secure the rights of migrant workers. When we commit ourselves to the powerless, the weak and the marginalized as Blessed Miguel Pro did, then we show ourselves to be citizens not only of our great country but of the Kingdom of Heaven. By doing so, we enrich our homeland and make it a place where all people can enjoy freedom, prosperity and happiness.

The martyrs throughout history have witnessed to one basic fact - that there is a law and authority greater than any man-made law or any human authority. The law and authority of Christ our King, Christ who created the world and holds it in existence, is the measure of when and whether a law is just and when and whether an authority should be obeyed. Jesus is the Truth we are to obey at all times and in all circumstances. His is the dominion, the power and the kingship. Like Blessed Miguel Pro, we must obey God no matter what the cost. In doing so, we lift the world up from slavery to wealth and addiction to power so that we can all live freely and enjoy the beautiful gifts this life has to offer.

Endowed By Our Creator

The founders of the United States had a very basic and important insight about how governments should rule over peoples. Thomas Jefferson articulated it in the Declaration of Independence when he wrote that we are "endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights." The rights that we hold dear as a free people - the right to free speech, the right to worship and the right to free assembly, among others - are not given to us by the government. Rather they are given to us by God. It is because we are made in the image and likeness of a good God that we have these rights. The government cannot give them to us and neither can any government take them away from us. They are ours because of who we are as human beings. All the government can do is recognize them and protect them.

Government, therefore, is not the ultimate authority. The ultimate authority is God himself.  

The same is true with our laws. If they are to ensure that we live well as a society, then the laws that governments enact must be reflections of the truth and justice of God.

We are all familiar with the law of gravity. We call it a "law" because it is a foolproof guide to how the world works. What goes up must come down. And we know that if we try to ignore the law of gravity by jumping from a bridge or dropping a boulder on someone’s head it will have disastrous consequences. 

Just as there is a law of gravity, there is also a moral law, a law that guides how we should live as human beings and the choices we should make. It is as foolproof a way of guiding our lives as the law of gravity is. If we ignore it and act contrary to it, then it will also have disastrous consequences for ourselves as individuals and for our society as a whole. The laws enacted by our government, if they are to truly benefit us, must be taken from this moral law which comes from God. Just as the government cannot give us our rights or take them away, so it cannot create laws that are contrary to the law of God and expect them to serve the common good. It would be like trying to walk off a cliff or jump from a bridge and hope to come out of it unharmed. Sadly, we have seen over the past decades how laws and policies that are contrary to God's law have damaged the family, young people, the economy and our society in general.

Each of us knows how true this is from our personal lives. We have all tried making our own way through life. We have lived under the delusion that life is whatever we make of it, that truth and reality are whatever we decide they should be. However, instead of giving us a sense of control over our lives, this attitude only confused us. We became unsure about what choices were right for us. Our lives began to lose their purpose and direction. It wasn't until we submitted ourselves to God and his plan that we regained a sense of meaning and started to make good choices again. When we put God at the center of our lives, when we make him our King and let his law rule over us, we can go forward with confidence, peace and joy. 

What is true for each of us as individuals is also true for us as a society. Only when Christ and his truth are at the center of all we do can we be assured that history will make real progress toward a future marked by peace and justice. 

The feast we celebrate today - Christ the King - is a proclamation of this central truth: that Jesus is the ultimate authority. Each person, no matter how great, will stand before him one day and be judged for the good or the evil he or she has done in life. We will all be accountable to the one who created us for the choices we have made.

Saint John says it beautifully in the second reading from the Book of Revelation. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Alpha and omega are the first and last words of the Greek alphabet. What Saint John is saying is that Christ stands at the beginning of the world and its history as its creator and also at the end of the world as its judge. All things come from Christ, and all things are leading toward him. Whatever exists exists because of Christ. There is no part of our world and no part of our individuals lives that does not fall under the shadow of his mighty arm.

Jesus is our King. However, his kingdom is not of this world. It is not a kingdom we can see. It does not have an army, a flag or any territory. It is a kingdom of faith whose territory is the hearts of believers and whose flag is the Scriptures. But that does not mean that this kingdom is not real. In fact, history tells us that it is the only real and lasting kingdom that has ever existed. Every earthly power, no matter how mighty, has faded from the scene. Many of them are unknown to us today. But God's kingdom has endured through the centuries because it is based on his law which never fails.

At our baptism, we made vows that we believed in God and that we rejected sin. We promised to place ourselves under the rule of Christ our King. Our presence here today is a testimony to that commitment made in faith. Let us also commit ourselves today to spreading the word about the justice and peace that can only be found in God's word. Only by making Christ king over our hearts will our society stop its descent into wickedness and will we as a country know the true meaning of peace and the freedom that the founders of the United States envisioned for us.