Choose Life!
SSpS International JPIC Seminar
Steyl, Holland
1-21 October 2012
Toni Harris OP
CATHOLIC SOCIAL
TEACHING
 Our Context
 Development and Content
 SSpS Commitments
 A Closer Look
CATHOLIC SOCIAL
TEACHING
Session 1
12 October 2012
The Pastoral Cycle
ILLUMINATION - REFLECTION
The Light of Catholic Social Teaching
John 8: 10-11
“Has no one
condemned you?
. . . Neither do I
condemn you.”
7 Billion People
193 Member States
SSpS – Countries of Service
Africa:
Angola
Benin
Botswana,
Ethiopia
Ghana
Mozambique
Togo
South Africa
Zambia
Oceania:
Australia
Papua New
Guinea
The Americas:
Antigua &
Barbuda
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Cuba
Ecuador
Jamaica
Mexico
Paraguay
Saint Kitts
USA
Asia:
India
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Philippines
Taiwan
Timor Leste
Russia /Siberia
Europe:
Austria
Czech Republic
England
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Moldavia
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Spain
Switzerland
Romania
Ukraine
POOREST PLACES:
Where are the SSpS Sisters
among the peoples
of the poorest countries of the world?
World's Poorest Countries
The rankings below were published in the United Nation's 2010 Human Development Report
and reflect the countries with the lowest human development.
1. Zimbabwe
2. Congo-DRC
3. Niger
4. Burundi
5. Mozambique
6. Guinea-Bissau
7. Chad
8. Liberia
9. Burkina Faso
10. Mali
11. Central African Republic
12. Sierra Leone
13. Ethiopia
14. Guinea
15. Afghanistan
16. Sudan
17. Malawi
18. Rwanda
19. Gambia
20. Zambia
21. Côte d'lvoire
22. Tanzania
23. Djibouti
24. Angola
25. Haiti
26. Senegal
27. Uganda
28. Nigeria
29. Lesotho
30. Comoros
31. Togo
32. Nepal
33. Papua New Guinea
34. Mauritania
35. Madagascar
36. Benin
37. Yemen
38. Myanmar
39. Cameroon
40. Ghana
41. Bangladesh
42. Kenya
www.infoplease.com
ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL CONFLICT
Where are the SSpS Sisters
among the peoples of countries
with actual or potential conflicts?
Actual or Potential Conflict
Countries in Conflict (1 OCT 2012):
Deteriorated Situations
 China/Japan
 Mali
 Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan)
 Syria
Conflict Risk Alert
 Mali
 Venezuela
Conflict Resolution Opportunity
 Colombia
www.crisisgroup.org
CONFLICT - Unchanged Situations
Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India (non-Kashmir), Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Israel Occupied Palestinian Territories , Jordan, Kashmir,
Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya,
Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico,
Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North
Caucasus (Russia), North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Religious communities either
. . . announce the Good News
in the midst of the world . . .
or else they succumb by decline
quickly or slowly,
simply because
they have conformed
to the world.
(Vita Consecrata, 1b)
The first task
which must be once again
assumed with enthusiasm is
the proclamation
of Christ to all.
This task falls especially
to consecrated
men and women . . .
(Starting Afresh from Christ, 2002)
As we look around our world
and when we reflect seriously
on the Gospel,
we cannot help but be challenged
to work to bring our reality into
closer conformity with Gospel demands.
That challenge means working toward
the elimination of everything in our reality
that does not respect and sustain
the basic dignity,
fundamental rights,
and decent quality of life for all persons.
“Megatrends and Mission:
Re-Imagining the
Missionary in the New
World”
Realities that have a
bearing on our mission:
• Multiculturality
• Migration
• Religious Plurality
EDGAR JAVIER SVD
• Poverty
• Earth
Reflect:
RECALL
EFFORTS THAT YOUR
MEMBERS HAVE MADE AND ARE
MAKING TO CREATE A BETTER
WORLD.
IDENTIFY JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF
YOUR CONGREGATION’S EFFORTS.
What do we mean by
“justice?”
establishing equality
in our relationships with others
to do the good due one’s neighbor,
community , creation and God
avoid doing evil by inflicting no injury
on one’s neighbor , community or creation
dimensions of basic justice
 commutative
justice: fundamental fairness in
all agreements and exchanges
 distributive justice: the benefits and the
burdens of society are shared fairly
 restorative justice: the need to repair the
harm done to victims
 social justice: all persons have an unmet debt
to the common good
“right relationship”:
contemporary re-articulation
of the commitment
to do the good due God,
neighbor, one’s self,
and all of creation.
CHARITY AND JUSTICE
Responding to immediate
human needs
(hunger, shelter, clothing, etc.)
is not the same as
working to change the systems
that create injustices in society.
This distinction may be understood as
the difference between charity and justice,
the difference between works of mercy and
works that change oppressive social systems.
“Charity will never be true charity unless
it takes justice into account ….
Let no one attempt
with small gifts of charity
to exempt themselves from
the great duties
imposed by justice.”
Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris (1937)
Although there is an essential relationship
between charity and justice,
they are not the same.
Working for justice involves changing systems,
structures, institutions and public policies
that are the root causes of social injustices.
The Gospel demands that followers of Jesus
walk with both these “feet:”
the two feet of charity and justice.
OF WHAT PARTICULAR INJUSTICES
ARE YOU AWARE IN THE PLACES
WHERE YOU LIVE AND SERVE?
. . . a society that
does not respect and sustain
the basic dignity,
fundamental rights,
and decent quality of life
for all persons.