Day 315: The Church’s Social Doctrine (2415-2425)
It’s Day 315!!
RESPECT FOR THE INTEGRITY OF CREATION
We are called to be stewards of the Earth, not owners
THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
This started in the 19th Century when the Gospel encountered modern industrial society
Up until then, the world was relatively stable
Not that there were no wars or famine
Things radically changed with the introduction of the industrial society
Let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we praise your name and we give you glory. We thank you. We thank you for continuing to teach us through your Church. Lord God, we realize that without the living Magisterium, the living Teaching Office of the Church, we would find ourselves lost in so many ways in this postmodern world. But you continue to speak to us through your Church. You continue to unpack your Revelation to the world through your Church. And so we thank you. We thank you for your Church. We thank you for this truth. And we ask that you please help us to be stewards of all of our resources, to be stewards of the world and to engage in this world in a wise, compassionate, just, and loving way. The way you would engage this world, if you came now, Lord God, and lived with us. Help us to live like that right now. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”
So there we have it!!
RESPECT FOR THE INTEGRITY OF CREATION
God makes this world good
He places human beings in a position of dominion over the earth
Dominion does not mean do with it whatever you want
Dominion means being a steward
Not an owner
This earth belongs to God and it also belongs to each other
Paragraph 2415 says, “The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man’s dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.”
The Church is kinda green, which is a good thing
Why?
Because we are concerned with the environment
Human beings belong at the top of the food chain because we are made in God’s image and likeness
BUT…
Not as masters
As stewards
When we are good stewards of creation, we are acting on behalf of God Himself, who the world belongs to
Paragraph 2416 says, “Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.”
Paragraph 2417 says, “God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.”
Paragraph 2418 says, “It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.”
The Church is giving us a good sense of order
We are below God
Animals on this earth are under us
That does not mean that we abuse animals
We care for them and we use them wisely
We have a vision of the world that is so wise
It is balanced
Animals are a good
We have a proper use of that good
That is where temperance, wisdom, and prudence come in
THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
Paragraph 2421 says, “The social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century when the Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and authority, and its new forms of labor and ownership. The development of the doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent value of the Church’s teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning of her Tradition, always living and active.”
The Church has always seen labor as a good
God made us for leisure, for love, and for labor
He put human beings in the Garden of Eden
The Industrial Revolution reshaped all of that
Work can now become dehumanizing
People found themselves essentially the slaves of whoever owned the company
In response to this real problem, people came up with what they thought were solutions
Some of those solutions were morally unacceptable
Paragraph 2423 says, “The Church’s social teaching proposes principles for reflection; it provides criteria for judgment; it gives guidelines for action: Any system in which social relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the nature of the human person and his acts.”
The relationships that are based off of money or economic factors eliminate the good of the dignity of the human person
Paragraph 2424 says, “A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. The disordered desire for money cannot but produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes of the many conflicts which disturb the social order. A system that ‘subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups to the collective organization of production’ is contrary to human dignity. Every practice that reduces persons to nothing more than a means of profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and contributes to the spread of atheism. ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’”
This involves human beings
Yes there are all these things like money and a given exchange of goods that are necessary
BUT…
That cannot be the exclusive norm and the ultimate end
People have to be a factor in this
Scripture says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
Human beings are vastly more important than any collective organization of production
Paragraph 2425 says, “The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modern times with ‘communism’ or ‘socialism.’ She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of ‘capitalism,’ individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor. Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning perverts the basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law of the marketplace fails social justice, for ‘there are many human needs which cannot be satisfied by the market.’ Reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives, in keeping with a just hierarchy of values and a view to the common good, is to be commended.”
To have reasonable regulation is good
We know that there are governments that can crush individuals
There are ideologies in government that can crush individuals
There are also businesses and industries that can crush individuals
Let’s listen to Fr. Mike talk about The Jungle by Upton Sinclair…
When something gets too big, it has a tendency to crush individualism
It has a tendency to subordinate individuals to making money
We find ourselves in this really complex world
AND YET…
The Church is a voice of clarity
We need that voice of clarity
That voice is Scripture
And we also need the living voice of the Church to teach us here and now because we live in this world here and now
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT…