Contemp Semester 1 Final

wheel of power and privilege

• shows who has the most vs least privilege in society based on appearance, background, health, and money

7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching

• created by the USCCB

• central element of the Catholic faith

• rooted in Hebrew scripture

• founded on the life and words of Jesus

• is built on commitment to the poor and vulnerable

Subsidiarity

• relates to the SCT of rights and responsibilities

• moral principle that large organizations and governments should not take over responsibilities and decisions that can be carried out by individuals and local organizations

• large corporations and governments have the responsibility to support the good of human beings, families, and local communities, which are the center and purpose of social life

Universal Destination of Goods

• principle that the Earth and all its goods belong to God, and God intends those goods to provide the things all human beings need to live with dignity

• takes precedence over right to private property

  • people don’t have the right to accumulate money and possessions when other people lack the money and possessions needed for survival

life and dignity of the human person

• most fundamental theme of CST

• all human being have dignity because they are created and loved by God

• every person’s life matters

• called to respect and protect human life

• called to allow people to live and help others live to their fullest potential

call to family, community, and participation

• society fulfills responsibilities to the family

  • providing/creating jobs that pay enough to support a family

  • ensuring basic necessities like food, housing, education, regardless of ability to pay

• families have a responsibility to participate in society

  • helping neighbors and vulnerable members of society

  • being involved in the political process

  • staying informed about issues in the world

rights and responsibilities

• focuses on human rights

• includes economic, political, and cultural rights

• ex.

  • right to life (food, clothing, shelter)

  • right to emigrate and immigrate

  • political rights

option for the poor and vulnerable

• calls people to care for these people first

  • their needs are greater

  • called preferential option for the poor

• calls for a commitment to take action, get to know people, work for justice

dignity of work and rights of workers

• human work is sharing God’s work

• Human work has sacred dignity that must be respected

• therefore

  • human work should contribute to the goodness in the world

  • workers must be treated with dignity by their employers and other workers

  • their rights must be respected by business owners and society

• rights

  • to participate in ownership, decision making, profits where they work

  • to rest from work

solidarity

• union of one’s heart and mind with all people

• leads to the just distribution of material goods

• creates bonds between opposing groups and nations

• leads to the spread of spiritual goods such as friendship and prayer

care for God’s creation

• 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

• Pope Francis → environmental destruction is the result of an unjust economy

stewardship

• the responsible management of something/someone that has been entrusted to a person’s care

marian spirituality

• devotion to Mary which calls us to follow her example

  • first person to have accepted Jesus into her life

  • open and honest

the magnificat

• speech that Mary gives in the passage to Archangel Michael

  • shows solidarity

mary as an agent of liberation

• mary, the mother of the poor and vulnerable

  • the stranger, outcast, marginalized, excluded

  • ex. people experiencing/facing poverty, ableism, addiction, war, any kind of discrimination

jesus as an agent of liberation

• the cross holds special meaning for christians around the world

• good Friday, when people venerate the cross that Jesus carried, is a particularly important day

• many Christians who bear burdens of poverty, oppression, and suffering find comfort and solidarity in this image of the suffering of Jesus

mary in hispanic and latinx culture

• cuba → lady of charity

• dominican republic → lady of la altagracia

• puerto rico → lady of divine providence

• see her as a protector or spiritual mother

  • someone who suffers with them

  • someone who understands suffering, grief, poverty

liberation theology

• movement in christian theology

• developed by latin american roman catholics

• emphasizes liberation from social, political, and economic oppression as an anticipation of ultimate salvation

• applies to the core concerns of marginalized communities in need of social, political, or economic equality and justice

• theology that seeks liberation and justice for the poor here and now and not just in heaven

commitment to liberating action

• challenging oppressive systems

historical/cultural context of liberation theology in latin america

• developed in the 1960s and 70s

• major wealth disparity between the elite and the poor/oppressed

• church adopts a line of resistance and opposition to harsh national security states which violated human rights on a regular basis

el salvador’s war

• reports of various human rights violations during these wars, military takeovers, and political unrest

controversy over liberation theology

• originally → skepticism and fear towards the theology due to belief of marxist ties

• credible today because gustavo gutierrez was a close advisor of pope francis → held in high esteem in the church

gustavo gutierrez

• founder of liberation theology

• born in lower middle class family in lima, peru

• studied medicine at san marcos national university

• participated in catholic action

• became president of the catholic center of barranco

oscar romero

• archbishop of san salvador in 1970s

• originally seen as social conservative

• spoke out against human rights abuses/repressions in el salvador

• sermons → only way people could hear the truth about what was happening

• urged soldiers not to follow orders to kill

• not a libertarian theologian → associated with it today

ecumenism

• the principle or aim of promoting unity among the world’s christian churches

black liberation theology

• emerged out of the history of black religion and the black church

• influenced and shape by

  • civil rights movement → MLK

  • black power/consciousness movement → malcom x

james cone

• founder of black liberation theology

• grew up in arkansas in a segregated school system

• an ordained minister in the african methodist episcopal church

• professor of systematic theology at union theological seminary

• wrote god of the oppressed → theology emerged

womanist theology

• is a form of reflection that places religious and moral perspectives of black women at the center of its method

• issues of class, gender, and race are seen as theological problems

shawn copeland

• know for her contributions to womanist theology, black catholicism, and theological anthropology

womanist theology (hagar connection)

• hagar was a servant that was looked down on

• only person to see god

• hope for others

the common good

• the good that is collectively shared by a number of people and is beneficial for all members of a given community

• social conditions that allow for all citizens on earth, individuals and families, to meet basic needs

• requires

  • respect for the life and dignity of every person

  • commitment to social well-being and full development of every person

  • establishment of true peace, based on a just society

social doctrine

• body of teaching by the church on economic and social matters including moral judgments and demands for action in favor of those being harmed

  • from bible, tradition, and interpretation of the signs of the times (realities faced by people in the world)

social encyclicals

• teaching document from the pope about topics of social justice, humans rights, and peace

pastoral letters

• documents written by the national conferences of bishops about social justice issues (more country specific)

“signs of the times”

• realities faced by people in the world

USCCB

• united states conference of bishops

• the national bishop’s conference for our country

• the author of pastoral letters for the us

on the condition of labor

• significant because it was the first modern social encyclical

• concerns about poor conditions for workers, unchecked, capitalism, communism (industrial revolution)

peace on earth

• social encyclical

• addresses social and economic problems caused by the industrial revolution

care for our common home

• social encyclical

• call on environment degradation and climate change

sin

• any deliberate offense against god in word, deed, or desire

elements to determine the morality of a human act

1) object → specific thing the person is choosing to do (action)

2) the intention of the person doing the action

3) circumstances surrounding the act play a secondary role in determining the morality

cooperating in the sins of others

• participating directly and voluntarily in them

• ordering, advising, praising, or approving them

• not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so

• protecting evil-doers

structures of sin

• positive social structures

  • ex. fair trade business practices, addiction support groups

• negative social structures

  • social structures that block justice and fail to protect human life and human rights

  • the result of personal sin of individuals, and lead to personal sins of others

  • ex. human trafficking rings, hate groups (kkk)

social structures

• complex patterns of relationships that shape any society

• help determine how justice is lived out

john paul ii on structures of sin

1) rooted in personal sin of individuals

2) result of interconnected choices of many people, not just one person

3) root causes are “the all-consuming desire for profit, and the thirst for power” → selfishness

4) modern society avoids calling such structures, “structures of sin” but change is more likely to occur when they are spoken of in ethical terms that challenge individual’s morality

circle of social action

• awareness

• analysis

• action

awareness

• learning statistics and stories about the social issue

  • stories compel people to want to make a difference

  • statistics strengthen the need for change by demonstrating one person’s reality isn’t entirely unique → there is a trend of injustice that needs to be addressed

  • without stats, people may not see the need for social change, they may only try to fix the one person’s situation

  • without stories, those stats feel empty and perhaps overwhelming to address → insight into the problem

analysis

• this is about processing the data you’ve received and identifying root causes of the problem by looking at trends within the stories

action

• what steps can be taken to actually address one of the root causes?

discernment

• listening for god’s call in our lives

• the social issues we face are complex and do not have simple answers

• in prayer, people must ask god to direct our response to the social issues of our time

works of charity

• actions that can be taken to meet an immediate need

works of justice

• actions that seek to change structures of sin and build structures of greater justice

state

• any organized political authority in a specific area

• it can refer to city or county governments, or regional and national governments

civil

• related to the state and its citizens

role of the state

(from peace on earth)

• to protect the common good

• to act morally in its work for the common good

• not to favor some people or groups more than others

• to recognize, respect, defend, and promote individual’s rights

role of the citizen

• contribute to the material and spiritual good of society in a meaningful way

• be involved in political life

  • voting, staying informed, advocating

• to pay taxes, which help to fund things like fire-departments, road maintenance, parks, government offices

role of economic institutions in society

• from the church’s perspective, all economic institutions should serve the common good

• businesses are about more than creating goods and services

• lead to

  • human community

  • serving the needs of people

  • help the personal growth of people

gross domestic product (gdp)

• dollar value of all the goods and services produced in a country in a given year

• is one indicator of the economic health of a given country

• as a country with great wealth, the church calls us to share our resources with our global community

3 branches of government

• legislative

• executive

• judicial

legislative branch

• congress makes the law

• senate, congress, house of reps

executive branch

• president carries out the law

• president, vice president, cabinet

judicial branch

• supreme court interprets the law

• supreme and federal court

• make sure laws uphold the constitution

conscientious objection

• not every law is morally right

• we must not violate our moral conscience

• we can

  • voice objection to the law

  • work to change it

  • organize other to protest

  • directly disobey it

• not the same thing as being involved in a protest/walk

• intentionally breaking a law due to believing it is morally wrong

civil disobedience

• refusing to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines

• peaceful form of protest

reparation

• making amends for something one did wrong that caused harm to another person or led to loss

restitution

• making things right with another person or people who have been harmed by an injustice, or returning or replacing what rightfully belongs to another