Social Justice and African American Catholics
By Beatrice Parwatikar and Ralph McCloud
(Page 2 of 3)

Full Black Catholic News Article Index

Pope Denounces Abortion Campaigns in Africa New Advocacy Network for Ending Hunger in Africa

Full Black Catholic News Article Index

Common Good and Participation

Do we work toward communities of equity or just be content with poverty and being content with "the poor will always be with us"? In environments where the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, are we speaking for equitable employment, healthcare and education? Do we abandon our central cities taking the only role models our young people have along with our tax bases and our roots only to find suburbs that aren't welcoming? Are we voting with the poor in mind? Are we following up between elections with elected persons to make sure the needs of our poor are met? Do we recall with intentionality the many mothers / fathers / extended family who insisted in us "giving back"? Do we practice what they preached?

Our teaching says:

"Christians must be conscious of their specific and proper role in the political community; they should be a shining example by their sense of responsibility and their dedication to the common good; they should show in practice how authority can be reconciled with freedom, personal initiative with solidarity and the needs of the social framework as a whole, and the advantages of unity with the benefits of diversity." - The Church in the Modern World, #75

Rights and Responsibilities

Do we view rights and responsibilities equally? Are we more prone to impute blame than offer assistance? Do we advocate for all people to have health care? Decent housing? Living wages for all?

Our teaching says:

"Beginning our discussion of the rights of the human person, we see that everyone has the right to life, to bodily integrity, and to the means which are suitable for the proper development of life; these are primarily food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, and finally the necessary social services.

Therefore a human being also has the right to security in cases of sickness, inability to work, widowhood, old age, unemployment, or in any other case in which one is deprived of the means of subsistence through no fault of one's own."  - Peace on Earth, #11

Dignity and Rights of Workers

Do we see all labor as dignified or do we treat some occupations as menial and not having dignity even though they may be more strenuous, more dangerous and provide considerably lower pay?

Our teaching says:

"Work remains a good thing, not only because it is useful and enjoyable, but also because it expresses and increases the worker's dignity. Through work we not only transform the world, we are transformed ourselves, becoming "more a human being." - On Human Work, #9

We believe in Privacy! We will never sell your email address. Period!

to top of page