The Season for Social Justice 2010
Solidarity: Life Without Borders
It has become our practice at Old St. Patrick’s to designate September as a Season for Social Justice. During this time we set our sights on gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of the Catholic social ethic. Selecting a theme from Catholic Social Teaching, we use the Season as a time for dialogue, learning, inspiration, reflection, and most importantly, as an impetus to action.
The Season for Social Justice at Old St. Patrick’s Church celebrates your good work on behalf of social justice, invites you to intentionally anchor this good work in your Catholic identity, draws your attention to the challenges of the Catholic Social Ethic, encourages you to continue with renewed commitment your work of building a better and more just world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is social justice?
Ask two people and you’re likely to get three answers. However, sometimes it helps clarify the conversation if we make a distinction between works of charity and works of justice.
Acts of charity are good works directed toward meeting the immediate needs of others. Feeding hungry people at a food pantry or shelter is an act of charity.
Acts of justice usually begin with questions. For example, why do so many people have to rely on food pantries and shelters for their food? Is it possible that something systemic or structural contributes to poverty? Do I in any way contribute to systemic inequalities? The key to acts of justice is naming the root causes of a social injustice. Acts of justice are good works directed toward eliminating injustice through systemic change. Working for social justice necessarily calls us to question our economic, political, and social policies and choices.
Do we have a particular focus for the Season for Social Justice?
Yes, each year we select one of the core principles from the body of Catholic Social Teaching. Through prayer, lectures, workshops, discussions and personal reflection, we explore the principle looking to draw out new insight and wisdom that will guide us, especially as we engage in the economic, social, and political spheres of our lives.
This “Season,” we have selected the Principle of Solidarity as our point of focus. Solidarity occupies a central place in the Catholic Social Ethic. Put simply, the principle affirms our conviction that we are one human family and that our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. Solidarity is the foundational understanding of how we are meant to be with each other.
Blending with the Old St. Patrick’s theme for 2010-11, our focus for the “Season” will be expressed as Solidarity: Life Without Borders. In the coming weeks and throughout the year, we hope that we can be resources to each other as we explore the gifts and challenges of life lived in solidarity.
Social justice issues are often complex, can we find guidance in our faith tradition?
Actually, quite a bit. The call for social justice is expressed throughout the Scriptures, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Sacred Scripture has always been the source for developing Catholic thinking regarding social justice.
And while there is no official canon of Catholic Social Teaching, the church has come to recognize a body of writings, beginning with the 1891 encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum and continuing to the present, as a trustworthy articulation of the Catholic thinking on social justice. Promoting The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers is one of the universally accepted principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
Click Here for Notable Quotations from Catholic Social Teaching on the Theme of Work and Workers' Rights
Solidarity (Season theme for 2010)
We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences.
Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers (Season theme for 2009)
Our faith tradition teaches us that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Our work should be more than a way to make a living; it should reflect our continuing participation in God’s creation. Therefore, the dignity of work must be protected and the basic rights of workers must be respected — the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property and to economic initiative.
Working for the Common Good (Season theme for 2008)
The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society in economics and politics, in law and policy, directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Therefore, we believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Care for God’s Creation (Season theme for 2007)
The goods of the earth are gifts from God. We have a responsibility to care for these goods as stewards and trustees, not only as consumers and users.
Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable (Season theme for 2006)
The opposite of rich and powerful is poor and powerless. If the good of all, the common good is to prevail, preferential protection must move toward those affected adversely by the absence of power and the presence of privation.
The Dignity of the Human Person
All people are sacred, made in the image and likeness of God. We firmly hold that people do not lose dignity because of disability, poverty, lack of success, age, or race.
Rights and Responsibilities
People have a fundamental right to life, food, shelter, health care, education and employment. Just as importantly, all people have a right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities to respect the rights of others in the wider society and to work for the common good.
Source: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Season for Social Justice at Old St. Patrick’s Church
- celebrates your good work on behalf of social justice,
- invites you to intentionally anchor this good work in your Catholic identity,
- draws your attention to the challenges of the Catholic Social Ethic,
- encourages you to continue with renewed commitment your work of building a better and more just world.
Scheduled Activities
Whether you’re interested in just learning more or actively trying to find new and effective ways to express solidarity with our global family, we hope the following initiatives, scheduled for September and throughout the fall, might be helpful to you. Please feel welcome to join us!
Sunday, September 12
Just Coffee and Talk
10:45 – 11:15 am
Fr. Jack Wall Mission Center, 711 W. Monroe Street, 2nd floor
Elena Segura, director of the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education for the Archdiocese of Chicago, will address immigration issues from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching.
Sunday, September 26
Information on micro-financing / micro-lending projects will be made available through the Sunday Crossroads bulletin. We’ll show how interested Old St. Pat’s members (and groups) might choose to support global and local micro-lending programs.
Sunday, October 24
Alternative Market
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Church Hall
Small, local, and Fair Trade vendors will feature not only their products, but also share the stories of the individuals who grow or craft the items for sale. Make the choice to support those who empower and uplift workers near and far. Every purchase you make can be a step toward a more fair, just, and conscious economy. Please note: not all our vendors are equipped to handle credit card transactions, so please remember to bring your checkbook.
Sunday, November 14
Host Home Project
with Bonnie Wade, M.S.W.
10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Fr. Jack Wall Mission Center, 711 W. Monroe Street, 2nd floor
The LGBTQ Host Home Program (a project of UCAN) is a housing model that provides an alternative to the shelter system and is designed to move Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning youth (who are experiencing homelessness) beyond life on the streets to independent living. Come join us for this engaging presentation and learn more about the crisis of abandoned and marginalized youth as well as an innovative response that is making a difference. Presented at Old St. Pat’s on June 13, this program was so well received that we invited project director, Bonnie Wade to join us once more. We’re delighted that she can be with us to tell us more about her important and groundbreaking work.
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