|
FranciscansForJustice.org
The Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
During the seven weeks of Easter-time, let's take a look at the basic themes of Catholic Social Teaching:
Theme One: Life and Dignity of the Human Person
Listen to these words from today's First Reading: "Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles....A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured." {Acts 5:12, 16}
Yes, our belief in the Incarnation--that Christ is alive in every human person-- means no one should ever be treated as "less than" (or what comes about in comparing the "have's" with the "have not's"). As we find in the Acts of the Apostles, after the Resurrection of Jesus, our ancestors realized this universal dignity of the human person; they wanted their sisters and brothers who were physically, emotionally, and spiritually sick to be made whole--to be healed.
The word "dignity" comes from Old French dignite "honor;" from Latin dignitatem "worthiness." The challenge is to honor each person we meet; to work for the worthiness that each human in our society and in our world deserves.
from Vatican II:
"Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where [people] are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury." {The Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), #27}
FACEBOOK: Franciscans for Justice
| 
