In 2005 the Church published The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. This is an accessible summary of Catholic social teaching of the last century. Gerry O’Hanlon stresses that this is not something added on to our faith. It is the practical application of the Gospel.
We live in interesting times. It is commonly said that in the Ireland of today the moral authority of the Church has been so damaged that she can no longer expect to have her voice heard on matters of public concern. Catholics – lay and perhaps especially clerical – are tempted to keep their heads down.
Confusion
Meanwhile the economic boom, welcome as it is, is accompanied by a fretful sense that all is not well. As God gets pushed out to the margins, we are no longer sure what anchors us, and are a bit adrift and confused.
At the same time, we are becoming more aware of the strong convictions of Muslims worldwide. Their understanding social justice is at the core of their faith, while they often believe that Christians are concerned only with personal salvation and with the afterlife.
Indeed, at times even ordinary Catholics can be unsure about what the Church has to say on so-called non-spiritual matters and, indeed, whether it has the right to say anything at all. It is welcome, then, that at this time the Church has chosen to publish The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2005).
This gives an extremely accessible and useful summary of that wonderful body of Catholic Social Teaching which has evolved over the centuries, in particular since the publication by Pope Leo XIII of Rerum Novarum in 1891, right up to the teachings of John Paul II.
Social justice
At the heart of this teaching is the assertion that the social dimension is not just some optional ‘add-on’ to the Church’s mission to proclaim the gospel. It is not something that is tacked on almost as an afterthought. No. From the beginning, in preaching the Reign of God, the good news that Jesus brought had to do with how we live together and, in particular, how we behave towards those who are neglected or under pressure for whatever reason.
Social justice, then, is integral to the message of the gospel, and so must be integral to the mission of the Church. Stories like the Good Samaritan and the GoodShepherd, and images like that of the Last Judgment in Matthew, all point in the same direction: good Catholics, followers of Jesus, are people who pray and go to Mass, but who also get involved in the nitty-gritty of daily life.
In particular, they want to be involved in the great social issues of our day from a Christian perspective: for example, the scandalous division between rich and poor in our world, how to tackle immigration within countries like Ireland, how we treat our own poor, and so on.
This does not mean that the Church is asking to be in charge of government in some sort of ‘confessional’ State, or that she has some kind of blueprint for political progress. Nor, for that matter, does she want to coerce others into accepting her teaching. At different times in history, it is true, variations of these approaches were tried and sincerely believed in, but not today.
Power of persuasion
In his recent encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI makes it clear, as has been the teaching for a long time, that the contribution of the Church will be at the level of persuasion, and not that of power. It will be at the level of a vision of the good life, without a claim to any particular economic or political expertise.
This will involve offering motivation, norms and an appeal to conscience in the case of particular policy decisions, but not technical knowledge as such. And so, while recognizing that there is a correct autonomy at the political level, nonetheless the Church will also want to say that we are all human beings, subject to the moral law. We are to engage in politics so that we can live together in peace and justice.
This type of motivation will counteract the tendency in politics to opt for power for its own sake. Similarly, the gospel norms of freedom, justice and peace, are important criteria for the conduct of public life, criteria that can be easily neglected sometimes by the Church herself – as our numerous tribunals of public enquiry testify.
Best-kept secret
A reading of Catholic social teaching gives a liberating sense of what the Church, in line with so many other Christian groups, has to offer to civil society. On human rights, the family, the economy, politics, international affairs, the environment and so much else a most enlightening body of teaching has developed.
This teaching – often called the Church’s ‘best-kept secret’ – is of help to everyone, from politicians and employers to human rights activists and school teachers: to all who struggle for the recognition of human dignity in this world. It is a teaching which has developed in dialogue with the human and natural sciences, within the framework of the wisdom of the gospel. This humanism, in turn, is ordered towards that ‘civilization of love’ which from Paul VI has been the way successive Popes have described God’s dream for our world.
The kingdom of God
There are two final aspects of Catholic social teaching which are particularly attractive. The first is that, in understanding this teaching as being at the heart of her mission, the Church is effectively understanding herself as serving, not just Catholics or Christians, but rather all human beings.
The Church is for the Kingdom – the Reign – of God, which wants to involve all of us in all our dimensions. Catholic social teaching is universal in this humble, serving role, true to the humility of Jesus Christ in his love for our world.
Secondly, this is a teaching to which laity contribute in a clear way, and which is put into practice above all by them. The teaching evolves from the experience of workers, family people, economists and so on, and it is practised in the workplace, the family, our schools, our courts and our parliaments.
At a time when commentators often speak of a moral vacuum at the heart of our public discourse, Catholic social teaching appears as a refreshing antidote. It is not secularist: it locates a respectful reading of ordinary life within the religious story. But neither is it fundamentalist: the religious story is not a literal reading, but can do justice to the proper laws of secular reality. It will reward the effort to get to know it better. It is a real beacon of hope for our times. It is a treasure, a pearl of great price: let’s claim it.
This article first appeared in The Messenger (October 2006), a publication of the Irish Jesuits.
