Summary
Distributive justice explores how a society can value each one equally with an unequal distribution of its wealth.
Justice is a foundational virtue for life together.
In the Bible justice is fundamental to our covenant with God.
The law of love is incomprehensible without a clear sense of justice.
Love presupposes justice and rests on it.
Love and justice meet in the Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Today we speak of ecological justice - the earth and its well-being are owed their due.
Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those
who love him?
Practical; Explain the relationship between justice and love as reflected in our faith tradition.
Suddenly she remembered the words from the Gospel she had never understood, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is
the Kingdom of God."
1. This was how Barbara awakened to God's kingdom in her life.
How is God's kingdom, or presence, breaking into your life?
Hence, justice under the old covenant is about persons relating consciously to the needs of others in terms of their human
dignity as created, loved and prized by God.
In the New Testament, God reveals the just and righteous one to be Jesus Christ.
He even went so far as to seek Gods forgiveness for what others did to him: "Father, forgive them," he prayed, "for they do
not know what they are doing" (Matthew 23.34).
This is what our Catholic faith tradition presents as our calling to be just and to bring justice into our relationships.
It is also a communion of love and justice with others.
There are three types of relationships that undergird the notion of justice:
Commutative justice pertains to contractual relationships between individuals and between institutions that have the legal
status of a person.
The contracts and agreements that make up the basis of relationships at this level are subject to commutative justice.
The bank loan is therefore a contractual, rather than a personal, relationship.
1. Give examples of incidences of commutative justice in your life.
Legal justice refers to the relationship of the individual to society.
Legal justice today means that we contribute to the life of society.
3. What are some programs of legal (contributive) justice in your community?
4. What is the importance of legal justice for society or the state?
Distributive justice pertains to the relationship of the government or society to the individual.
Whatever program of distribution of the burdens and benefits the government adopts, it is subject to distributive justice.
The Catholic Church brings the gospel perspective of justice to bear on all political and economic systems.
A reflection on social justice in Canada must take account of the situation created by our liberal democracy.
Catholic social teaching stretching back to the nineteenth century provides us with principles of social justice to ground our
reflection on this reality.
The Church's teaching offers several bases for re-thinking social questions in terms of justice.
All have, therefore, a God-given right to be sustained by the earth.
The ownership of property is therefore subject to a higher principle, namely, that the "goods of this world are originally meant
for all."
This solidarity can be understood in its widest sense as a solidarity with God's love of creation.
It can also be seen as a solidarity with those who are near to us (family, community, country) and far away (all are children
of God).
There is a standard, therefore, below which society must intervene.
According to Catholic teaching, however, a just wage falls under distributive justice.
It insists that the end result of market forces must be scrutinised and if necessary corrected in the name of natural law,
social justice, human rights, and the common good.
The justice of the kingdom of God is obviously of a different texture than the justice the reader expects.
Jesus is making the point that God's mercy surpasses all human measure and is not to be equated with strict (photo:
omitted) human justice.
What does this parable teach us in terms of social justice?
All too often it is too easy to discredit another's good works because that person's generosity is upsetting our own narrow
vision of justice.
2427; Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by
subduing the earth, both with and for one another...
This is a higher commitment to justice which seeks to move beyond the "give that you may give" to an overwhelming of the
other with the power of love.
The law of justice injected with the "law" of love would create a healthy equilibrium in the practice of justice.
It would suggest that love asks for more, never for less, than what justice requires.
1. How does Jesus understand justice in the Golden Rule?
2. What happens to justice when it enters into dialogue with love?
Douglas Roche, Mary Jo Leddy and Rosalie BerteIl model for us what it means to be motivated by a sense of Christian
justice.
But revenge as an end in itself is unproductive and not worthy of the solemn obligation we have to ensure justice in the
world.
It would be obvious and easy to say that we should try to do something to change our political and economic situation models of social change and social justice.
Jesus said: "Happy are those who hunger and thirst for justice."
They will know that they will have enough energy, enough time, enough power to do good, to do justice.
But to seek justice, to love justice, is to become just.
Does one have to be Catholic to understand the Catholic Church teaching on justice?
Mary's song is a wonderful example of justice imbued with love.
Mary sings about the God of the covenant who has come to bring a new order to the world, bringing down the powerful and
raising the lowly.
Mary rejoices in what God is about to do for her people.
Summary
Justice under the old covenant is about persons relating consciously to the needs of others in terms of their human dignity
as created, loved and prized by God.
It insists that the end result of market forces must be scrutinized, and if necessary corrected, in the name of natural law,
social justice, human rights, and the common good.
Gods mercy surpasses ail human measure and is not to be equated with strict human justice.
Jesus asks us to interpret this rule in terms of generosity because God has been generous.
Review questions
Knowledge and understanding
1. Explain the distinctions between commutative, legal and distributive justice.
8. Analyze "Spirit that matters" by Mary Jo Leddy for what it means to be people of justice.
God created the heavens and the earth
It is generously marked by the glory of God and the Spirit of God shouting over the void, "Let there be..."
This means - as we have come to understand justice - giving the earth its due.
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over
the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
The "dominion" is not a dominion without responsibility to God.
In short, one' s worldview is an immensely powerful force in shaping our lives.
God is present and speaks in the dynamic life forces of our universe and planet as well as in our own lives.
Therefore what is done for nature is measured by the good it brings to humankind.
In the document Caring for Creation and the Common Good, the bishops insist that all creation has moral standing because
it is ultimately God's.
The upland marsh is also God's creature and entrusted to people to be cared for.
a) The ecological disharmony, according to the Book of Genesis, is a repercussion of human disharmony with God.
Our peace with God is also a peace with nature.
We are required therefore to gain as much information as possible as to what impact our activities are having on the earth's
biosphere.
This means understanding the earth as God's creation.
d) God has given the earth as our common home.
Yet how can anyone speak about the "waters of life" if these waters can no longer sustain life?
Not only should every human person enjoy the right to a safe environment but, specifically, every person's right to water
must also be respected.
In the Church the water of baptism is a sacramental sign of God's grace.
How is this action a reflection of the gospel's message of justice and love?
We therefore invite all men and women of good will to ponder the importance of the following ethical goals:
3. Participate actively in the advocacy campaigns of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, and
contribute financially to projects for social and ecological justice.
7. Engage your political representatives on the issues of social and ecological justice.
Renew the face of the earth
All of creation is of God, and is as yet unfinished.
We are called as co-creators to join God's work to repair some of creation's wounds which have been inflicted due to our
ecological sins.
We are also called to creative actions of solidarity with those who have less access to the benefits of God's bountiful
creation.
The "Lover of Life," who came so that we all might have life and have it abundantly, continues to provide us with
opportunities to renew the face of the earth.
In the Christian perspective, it forms an Integral part of our personal life and of life in society.
The Christian theocentric, or God-centred, worldview sees the earth as belonging to God.
We are called to a God-centred perspective on ecology, understanding the earth as God's creation.
God has given the earth as our common home with all its diversity which we must protect and respect.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Focus your learning
Cognitive; Explain the effects of sin on the sinner, and on his or her relationship with God and with others.
Finally she spotted a trashcan against the wall and in it an old woman, bleeding and in terrible state. "
This powerful story of forgiveness is significant also for what it says about sin.
It measured the infinite distance between the holiness of God and people's actions toward God, toward one another, and
toward one's self.
That relationship is our relationship with God.
Sin shatters us at the point where we are "image and likeness of God."
Our sins affect our relationship with God, that is, our very identity.
I am accountable to God for acts and omissions that violate God's law of love.
Guilt is the internal burden of sin: what sin feels like within.
Mortal sin is destructive not only of our relationship with God and others; it is also self-destructive.
Hence, to call sin "mortal" is very appropriate since we are freely and deliberately turning ourselves against the source of all
life and love.
1850: Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."
Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearths away from it.
Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods," knowing and determining
good and evil.
Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God."
1857: For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and
which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."
However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offence, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice
and mercy of God.
There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the
forgiveness of ...
Recall Chapter 4 – a covenant is a relationship freely offered by God to a people who freely respond to God's offer to be
Gods people.
The Ten Commandments describe how the people of this covenant are to live faithfully in their relationship with God.
Although frequently these transgressions are against people, the sins are equally directed against God.
Being unfaithful to God happens when we live our lives for created goods like money, power and fame instead of using
these goods to relate to others as God calls us to do.
Living for created goods rather than for God is like creating false gods for ourselves.
Unfaithfulness to the covenant affects our relationship with God and with one another, and also affects who we are.
Instead of the grace of God moving us to action, it is our rebellious hard-hearthedness or selfish obsessions leading us
against others and against God or seducing us to substitute other created goods (power, money, popularity) as gods in our
lives.
This state of sin has the power to alienate us from God, others and even ourselves.
Alienation is contrary to the communion of love that God has created and has prepared for us.
Because we are relational, the alienating power of sin spreads throughout our community and the world.
This is the power of sin that resides within the human hearth, mind and soul.
Groups of people can succumb to the power of sin and get stuck in their sinful ways.
Groups or institutions may try to legitimize sin by enacting laws that are an offence against God and against
Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins.
The Bible points to what it calls the "sin of the world" (John 1.29), indicating the historical massive alienation of humanity
from God.
So far we have looked at sin as action or omission that destroys our relationship to God, others and ourselves.
We have seen how living in a state of sin can corrode and destroy the communion and solidarity to which God calls us.
As people of faith and members of the Church, how are we to find ways of reconciliation?
In this way Jesus is presented as a scapegoat upon whom the sin of the world was placed.
More important, however, are the ways in which today we must seek to overcome violence, by arriving at reconciliation
through forgiveness.
Those who have suffered violence or humiliation at the hands of another human being find it almost impossible to think of
forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not to give up my right to justice as though forgiveness were a legal category.
It goes beyond justice, but it does not mean that once l enter into the mode of forgiveness that l can no longer turn to justice.
Forgiveness without justice strips forgiveness from being a gift; justice without forgiveness leaves us with the status quo of a
tit for tat.
However, it is our inability to set things right on our own that challenges us to cooperate with the reconciliation and
forgiveness that comes our way from God.
As St. Paul says, "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespass against them."
(2 Corinthians 5.19) It is God's love for us that is the force for reconciliation and forgiveness among us.
In accepting the offer of God's love the victim is victim no longer and is able to become an agent of reconciliation for others.
(Luke 23.34) In his own humiliation Jesus prayed to God to forgive, that is, to let the power of Gods love enter into his
persecutors.
Forgiving begins with faith and hope in the Spirit of God sent among us through Jesus Christ.
Reconciliation begins with the power of Gods love.
This experience of God's love and power to forgive arrives as a gift preparing us for reconciliation with the one who has
offended us.
Forgiveness is a gift freely, unconditionally and constantly given by God's Spirit.
We can choose to remain in a state of sin, or we can turn around, face the God of mercy and accept the grace of
forgiveness.
Accepting God's forgiveness or that of others may not come easily.
He brings the violence of the world into the healing presence of God.
Only when God is revealed completely in Christ in the fullness of time will forgiveness be complete and our broken
relationships fully healed.
In the sacrament of penance, or reconciliation, the Catholic Church celebrates God's gift of forgiveness in a personal and
individual way.
3. Distinguish: reconciliation from repentance; forgiveness from reconciliation.
Ask God to fill you with true sorrow for your sins because they have offended God, who is so good to you, as well as other
people in your life.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you
have been healed.
Such enormous suffering and violence cause some people to lose faith in God; while for others it is their faith which moves
them to ask what can we do?
What can the world do to stop these unspeakable crimes against God and humanity?
The second step is to reinstall the rule of law and the structures of justice.
If possible, the main culprits of the violence should be isolated and brought to justice.
But having justice in place does not mean that relationships have been righted.
Sometimes the evidence is not sufficient to bring culprits to justice or the violence is so deeply ingrained in society that the
courts and justice cannot resolve the broken relationships.
That is why a number of countries have attempted to go beyond the structures of justice and sought to go the route of
reconciliation.
The one, restorative justice, is used most frequently in cases where communities want to go beyond justice.
Restorative justice brings together victims, offenders and the community in order to repair the harm and promote harmony.
Finally, the process enables the community to reinforce its values and expectations, to understand the underlying causes of
crime and to determine what can be done to repair the damage caused, and thus to promote community well-being and
reduce future crime.
Restorative justice is rooted in the understanding that an offence is not only a private act between two people.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of the community the victim and the offender to bring about reconciliation and restitution.
Restorative justice has its roots in the many religions of the world.
It calls both sinner and victim to a spiritual awareness of Gods gift of love.
In assessing the value of restorative justice, the Correctional Service of Canada notes this spiritual dimension:
Restorative justice, with its principles of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, is...
It is about doing justice as if people really mattered.
Justice initiatives in many countries provide convincing evidence of the effectiveness of restorative justice values, and are
even re-defining the principles of practices of justice.
This system of justice involves the whole community and the perpetrator.
In Canada in 2004, more than 130 organizations and groups in all the provinces and territories were working for restorative
justice.
These initiatives are part of a growing movement of people seeking to go beyond retributive justice to restorative justice.
Justice and reconciliation are thus intimately connected and their objectives merge.
shattered order cannot be fully restored except by a response that combines justice with forgiveness.
The pillars of true peace are justice and that form of love which is forgiveness.
We can and we must, no matter how difficult this may be; a difficulty which often comes from thinking that justice and
forgiveness are irreconcilable.
But forgiveness is the opposite of resentment and revenge, not of justice.
In fact, true peace is "the work of justice" (Isaiah 32.17).
True peace therefore is the fruit of justice, that moral virtue and legal guarantee which ensures full respect for rights and
responsibilities, and the just distribution of benefits and burdens.
Forgiveness is in no way opposed to justice, as if to forgive meant to overlook the need to right the wrong done.
Justice and forgiveness are both essential to such healing.
The measure of such a decision is the love of God who draws us to himself in spite of our sin.
#9 Forgiveness therefore, as a fully human act, is above all a personal initiative.
Consequently, society too is absolutely in need of forgiveness.
The ability to forgive lies at the very basis of the idea of a future society marked by justice and solidarity.
They indicate that beyond the justice of the courts there is much more that must be done; that solidarity, harmony and
communion in the human family require both justice and forgiveness.
A broken society needs the healing message of God, since a crude or naked form of justice does not resolve the historical
degradation suffered.
Only God's love and healing can effect these changes.
We look for people who understand that there can be no peace without justice and no justice without forgiveness.
1. Discuss the need of reconciliation at the level of social sin.
3. Discuss the title of Pope John Paul II's peace message of 2002, "No peace without justice, no justice without
forgiveness."
The Church proclaims the truth of God's mercy revealed in the crucified and risen Christ, and she professes it in various
ways.
Summary
Sin is both an offence against God and against those who reflect the image and likeness of God.
Forgiveness is eschatological - only when God is revealed completely in Christ in the fullness of time will forgiveness be
complete and the broken relationships fully healed.
The Church responds to the Lord's command to forgive and to retain sins through the sacrament of reconciliation.
The Catholic Church and other agencies work for reconciliation to heal social sins by first seeking to stop violence, by
seeking to reinstall the rule of law and structures of justice, and by engaging in the process of healing broken relationships
between individuals and peoples.
In some cases of social sin, there is more to be done than the exercise of justice through the courts; namely, solidarity,
harmony and communion in the human family require both justice and forgiveness, such as exercised through the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.
2. Why is forgiveness important in our relationships with God and neighbour?
Thinking and inquiry
3. John Paul II wrote that there is no peace without justice, and no justice without forgiveness.
Living in a state of sin corrodes and destroys the communion and solidarity to which God calls us.