Social Justice Ministry

 “A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus (John 13:34)
How do we live out this new commandment?

Certainly we do what we can to help the needy.  Charitable programs sponsored by our parish include
our Food Pantry and seasonal charitable giving programs like Thanksgiving Dinners, Easter Baskets,
Project Apple, and a number of others.  These programs are referred to as Social Concerns Programs.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Social justice addresses root causes of societal inequities.  It looks for causes of human suffering
and seeks to address them.  As Pope Paul VI said “If you want peace, work for justice.”  It can seem
like a daunting task because of its scope, but each of us can influence those around us and
make our voice heard in this democracy.

Before we can put a program into action here, we would do well to examine what is already out there.

First we must consider what would be “just” in the context of today’s issues.  We have
a number of resources to this end.  A good starting point is the summary of our church’s social teaching
provided for us by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

They identify seven key themes (fully described on their web page):

They go a step further and give us resources to learn more about each theme and how
it translates to the issues we see in the news.  Researching our church’s social teaching
in relation to contemporary issues can help us understand them more fully
and see them in the light of the gospel.

On the left dashboard of their web page are selections for International Issues, Domestic Issues,
Issue Campaigns, News, and a host of other helpful items. Their home page has
Social Justice Issues, Life Issues, etc. It’s very educational to browse through!

Our diocesan web page gives us some local info on the Justice and Caring page.

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has a very informative page on social justice.

The Vatican web page has information on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

NETWORK - A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby can inform you on the status of
legislation affecting social justice issues.  Learn the issues with legislative alerts
and make your voice heard by contacting your representatives in Washington.

Some other places to learn about social justice issues:
U.S. Catholic
e-Catholic 2000
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

We hope to bring into our parish speakers and programs that address some of these issues.
But most importantly, we need input from our parishioners.  After looking at the sources above,
what do you think we can and should do?

Please contact Maureen Baldwin to get involved and make your voice heard.