Justice, Virtues, Law, and Social Structures

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering virtues, types of justice, Catholic Social Teaching, deadly sins, societal and economic structures, forms of law (Thomas Aquinas), and restorative vs. retributive justice.

Virtue

A habitual and firm disposition to do the good, defined as the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.

Cardinal Virtues

The four "hinge" virtues (Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, and Justice) that enable individuals to live moral lives and live in community with others.

Theological and Cardinal Virtues Classification

The division of classical virtues into theological virtues (Faith, Hope, Love/Charity) that direct us to God, and cardinal virtues (Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance) that order moral community life.

Prudence

Good common sense and human reason married to truth; a cardinal virtue that assists in making wise, sound moral decisions rather than acting impulsively.

Fortitude

A cardinal virtue providing firmness, strength, and courage to deal with temptations, difficulties, and dangers while doing what is true and right in the face of fear.

Temperance

A cardinal virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods; it stands as the direct opposite of the deadly sin of gluttony.

Justice (Virtue)

The cardinal virtue by which we follow God's plan and give God and our neighbor what is their due by right, ensuring everyone has what they need.

Equality vs. Equity/Justice Illustration

A concept visual demonstrating that equal assistance (giving everyone identical crates) differs from justice/equity (providing tailored support so all can see over the barrier).

Commutative Justice

The justice of exchange calling for fairness and equality in agreements and transactions between individuals, between an individual and a group, or between two groups based on what is given and received.

Distributive Justice

Justice that guarantees the common welfare through the fair sharing and distribution of the goods of creation to meet human needs, governing the obligations of the government to its citizens.

Legal Justice

Justice regulating a citizen's duties toward the larger society and the government, requiring citizens to obey social laws, pay taxes, register for required services, and uphold the common good.

Social Justice (Contributive Justice)

Justice that applies the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the structures, systems, and laws of society to guarantee individual rights and ensure everyone has a fair say in social, political, and economic institutions.

Theological Virtues

God-given virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity) granted through prayer and divine grace that directly orient human beings toward the loving, Triune God.

Faith

A theological virtue that empowers believers to place complete trust and belief in God, God's revelation, and the teachings proposed by the Church because God is truth itself.

Hope

A theological virtue that inspires desire for heaven and eternal happiness, trusting firmly in Christ's promises through reliance on the Holy Spirit rather than human efforts alone.

Charity (Love)

The theological virtue enabling one to love God above all else for His own sake and to love one's neighbor as oneself; it holds primacy as the foundational virtue binding all others together.

Rerum Novarum

An 1891 papal encyclical on "The Condition of Labor" by Pope Leo XIII that condemned the abuses of Marxist socialism and unbridled capitalism, marking the inception of modern Catholic Social Teaching.

Pride

A capital sin consisting of undue self-esteem or self-love that craves excessive attention and honor, setting oneself in direct competition with God (CCC 1866).

Greed

A capital sin characterized by an inordinate love for riches, where accumulating and hoarding money or material possessions becomes an end in itself.

Envy

A capital sin defined as resenting another person's good fortune or happiness, which can manifest as material envy toward others' wealth, talents, or beauty.

Wrath (Anger)

A capital sin defined as a sudden, hostile emotional outburst involving the desire for vengeance and revenge.

Lust

A capital sin involving an inordinate craving for or indulgence in sexual pleasure, treating people as mere sexual objects rather than beings made in the image and likeness of God.

Gluttony

A capital sin marked by extreme overindulgence in food or drink, extending past healthy consumption to the point of drunkenness or physical sickness.

Sloth

A capital sin described as habitual physical or spiritual laziness, marked by an indifferent "I don't care" mindset and neglect of one's duty to work or love God fully.

Social Structure

Organized networks of recurring human interaction—such as families, schools, ethnic groups, religious affiliations, and class systems—that define identity and order society.

Economic Structure

The system governing production, labor, and resource allocation within a society, encompassing frameworks like Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism across various industrial sectors.

Primary Industry

The economic sector focused on raw material extraction and natural resource harvesting, including occupations like farming and fishing.

Secondary Industry

The economic sector that processes raw materials into manufactured finished goods, including construction, paper milling, and factory assembly.

Tertiary Industry

The service-oriented sector of an economy providing specialized interpersonal or professional support, such as teaching, healthcare, and nursing.

Quaternary Industry

A knowledge-based economic sector centered around specialized research, development, and high-level intellectual innovations.

Democracy

A political governance structure in which power resides with the populace, exercised directly or through freely elected representatives (e.g., Canada).

Totalitarianism

A political structure where the centralized government maintains complete, unrestricted control over all public and private aspects of citizens' lives, including personal beliefs and thoughts (e.g., North Korea).

Authoritarianism

A political structure where power is strictly concentrated in a governing regime with limited political freedom (e.g., Cuba), though it stops short of seeking complete control over internal personal thoughts.

Society

A group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that transcends each individual, existing primarily for the benefit of the human person at its center.

Concentric Spheres of Society

The overlapping communities to which an individual simultaneously belongs, radiating outward from family, neighborhood, school, teams, parish, city, state, and nation up to the entire world.

Centrality of the Family

The Catholic Social Teaching principle designating the family as the original cell and foundational cornerstone of social life, requiring society to protect family rights.

Principle of Subsidiarity

The Catholic social principle teaching that justice and human welfare are best realized at the most immediate, local, and appropriate level, advocating grassroots authority.

Common Good

The sum total of social conditions that allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own authentic human fulfillment.

Three Essential Elements of the Common Good

The three constituent requirements of the common good: respect for the person, social well-being and development, and peace.

Solidarity

The Christian virtue of social charity fostering recognition that all humans belong to one universal family possessing equal dignity, shared values, and mutual interdependence.

Option for the Poor

A moral responsibility to prioritize the needs of vulnerable individuals by simplifying personal lifestyles and reforming political and economic structures that perpetuate poverty.

Corporal Works of Mercy

Practices directed toward meeting the bodily needs of others: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead, and care for God's creation.

Law (St. Thomas Aquinas)

"An ordinance of reason (rationis ordinatio) for the common good, promulgated by those who have the care of the community" (CCC 1976).

Four Essential Elements of Law

The four criteria formulated by St. Thomas Aquinas necessary for any human rule to be morally valid: it must be reasonable, serve the common good, originate from competent authority, and be promulgated.

Promulgation

The requirement that a law or rule must be publicly and officially announced so that citizens can be reasonably expected to know and follow it.

Reason in Lawmaking

The foundational principle that just laws must reflect human intellect aligned with truth rather than arbitrariness or personal whim, thereby ensuring fair social order.

Eternal Law

The overarching plan of divine wisdom by which God decrees and directs every movement, action, and event across the universe binding the entirety of creation.

Divine Law

The eternal moral law of God explicitly revealed to humanity through Sacred Scripture, summarized in the Ten Commandments.

Natural Law

The imprint of divine light and reason written on every human heart, commanding us universally and permanently to do good and avoid evil.

Eternal Law and the Ten Commandments Structure

A moral framework showing that Commandments 1-3 direct love toward God / doing good, while Commandments 4-10 direct love toward neighbor / avoiding evil.

Basic Drives of Natural Law

The three innate human inclinations identified by St. Thomas Aquinas: 1) Self-preservation, 2) Procreation and the proper education of offspring, and 3) The pursuit of knowledge and peaceful life in society.

Civil Law

The practical application of natural law formulated by human societies, adapted to specific cultural customs, legal traditions, and local historical circumstances.

Charity vs. Justice Distinction

The difference between providing direct, short-term emergency assistance for immediate physical needs (charity) versus advocating for systemic, long-term policy reforms that solve root causes (justice).

Restorative Justice

A cooperative justice model centered on repairing harm, fostering victim-offender dialogue, encouraging active community participation, and restoring broken relationships.

Youth Panels

A prominent, localized form of restorative justice conferencing used widely in Northern Ireland to hold young offenders accountable and repair community harm.

Retributive Justice

A penal justice model focused strictly on punishing the offender in proportion to their crime, frequently criticized by modern reformers for neglecting offender rehabilitation.

Application Limits of Restorative Justice

The principle that restorative justice circles are generally not suitable or standard for severe criminal offenders, such as Mason Jenkins.