Is social justice the same as socialism?

By Kathy McGourty| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology Social Justice
Lately there have been accusations that a church with a social justice mission is one that supports socialism.

Conservative TV personality Glenn Beck told Christians, "I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice' or ‘economic justice' on your church website. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. . . . If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish. Go alert your bishop."

Kathy McGourty is a youth minister in Bloomingdale, Illinois.

 

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Is social justice the same as socialism?

By Kathy McGourty| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology Social Justice
Lately there have been accusations that a church with a social justice mission is one that supports socialism.

Conservative TV personality Glenn Beck told Christians, "I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice' or ‘economic justice' on your church website. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. . . . If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish. Go alert your bishop."

Kathy McGourty is a youth minister in Bloomingdale, Illinois.

 

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Our health care system needs a heart transplant

By Thomas G. Pretlow, M.D.| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Ethic of Life Social Justice
And our politicians need a brain transplant. Universal health care is the most compassionate option we have, argues a Catholic doctor, and it’s the smartest, most economical solution as well.

Thomas G. Pretlow, M.D., is a member of Physicians for a National Health Program and professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

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The Congo’s killing fields

By Kevin Clarke| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Social Justice War and Peace
Families separated. Millions left for dead. Do we share some of the blame?

Patrick Mwnyamahord knows where his father is buried because a neighbor showed him that small place. What he doesn't know is how his father got there, and there was no one he could safely ask, not then. Twelve years ago he and his family made one of a series of sudden escapes from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into nearby Burundi. On this particular exodus his father was too ill to travel and the family had to leave him.

Kevin Clarke is a writer living in New York.

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What is the preferential option for the poor?

By Kira Dault| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Social Justice

I have a friend who is a permanent deacon. He’s a former Marine, and though he is wonderfully kind, he can also turn on his military face and voice to let you know when he means business. One Sunday at Mass, he preached a homily about prayer, particularly about praying for the poor. He had on his game face that day, and at the end of his homily he leaned in close to the microphone and said in a terrifyingly stern whisper, “I know you are all busy. But you can give 30 minutes of your God-given breath to pray for the poor.”

Kira Dault is a former associate editor of  U.S. Catholic.

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Oscar Romero declared a martyr as Vatican inches him toward sainthood

By Josephine McKenna| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Hispanic Catholics Saints, Feasts, and Seasons Social Justice Vatican

c. 2015 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Archbishop Oscar Romero, the hero of the Catholic left who was assassinated in 1980 while celebrating Mass in El Salvador, is inching one step closer to sainthood after his case languished in bureaucratic limbo for decades.

According to the Italian Catholic bishops daily, Avvenire, a panel of theologians at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has ruled unanimously that Romero should be considered a martyr, or murdered “in odium fidei” (Latin for “hatred of faith”).

The shameful silence surrounding sexual assault in the military

By Meghan J. Clark| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Social Justice Women
Our military men and women deserve the best protection, both in and out of combat.

Meghan J. Clark is an assistant professor of theology at St. John’s University in New York. She is author of The Vision of Catholic Social Thought: The Virtue of Solidarity and the Praxis of Human Rights (Fortress).

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Why wealth inequality matters

By Kevin Clarke| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Social Justice
As the rich get richer, the growing inequality poses a wealth of problems.

Kevin Clarke is a writer living in New York.

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Undocumented failure: Why we must care for our immigrant brothers and sisters

By Kira Dault| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Ethic of Life Immigration Politics Social Justice
The father, in his rage and grief, told me that this country did not care about his son who lay dying.

Certain events in our lives get burned into our memories and become a part of us. Often these events happen at beginnings and endings: births and deaths. Perhaps because of the definitude of those moments, we recognize them as utterly important and crucial.

Kira Dault is a former associate editor of  U.S. Catholic.

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Get to know a person living in poverty

By Michael Jordan Laskey| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Social Justice
Creating a culture of encounter requires more than just organizing drives. It might even mean learning a name or two.

About 10 years ago, during a college Christmas break, I spent a couple of days with a group of classmates at a Franciscan community of priests and brothers in the South Bronx. One night we packed a van with sandwiches and a tank of hot chocolate, and a friar named Brother Giuseppe drove us down to Lower Manhattan. We parked and unloaded at a street corner where the Franciscans spend time with the homeless all year round.

Michael Jordan Laskey is the director of Life and Justice Ministries for the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey.

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