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 Two Parts to Justice From this history of Catholic Social Teaching we also gain an understanding that there are two parts to our Christian concern for Justice: Service and Social Action. This means we are called to do direct service—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked etc. But we are also called to ask, “Why are people hungry and naked? What about society makes it so that people don’t have food, clothing, shelter, clean water etc.?” A Brief Story There is a story common in justice education that illustrates this point. A group of friends walking by the river noticed a little baby crying, floating down the river. One person jumped into the river and grabbed the screaming baby out. But just then another crying child came floating along. Another friend immediately jumped to rescue the infant. All of a sudden lots of babies were floating down the river. The friends frantically tried to save them, pulling them out one by one. Eventually one friend pulled herself out of the river and started running away. The other friends yelled at her, confused as to why she would leave when there was such a crisis. She yelled back, “I’m going to find out who is putting the babies in the water so we can stop it.” This fictional anecdote illustrates the need for both service and social action. Somebody had to pull the babies out of the water, but without someone looking to the root of the problem it would never stop. We must respond to immediate needs in our world for basic resources—food, clothing, shelter, clean water—but we must also discover and address the reasons for such poverty if we really want to stop it. Our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the sorrowing, console the bereaved, welcome the stranger, and serve the poor and vulnerable must be accompanied by concrete efforts to address the causes of human suffering and injustice. We believe advocacy and action to carry out our principles and constructive dialogue about how best to do this both strengthen our Church and enrich our society. We are called to transform our hearts and our social structures, to renew the face of the earth (see A Century of Social Teaching). -USCCB, Renewing the Vision Contemporary Justice Issues Back to Justice Resources Page |
| ©2005 Grand Island Diocese |