CE 3050 Catholic Social Teaching
Fall 2014 Thursdays 12:40-3:30
DRAFT
Instructor:
Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC
# 205 Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
2301 Vine Street
Berkeley, CA 94708
510-883-2081 mfarina@dspt.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 10-12:00 and by appointment
WELCOME
In this course, you will learn about the Roman Catholic Church’s commitment to justice
as essential to proclaiming the Gospel. It is an intensive study of the theological,
philosophical, and historical development of the Catholic social vision and the sharing of
this vision through teaching, witness, and pastoral services intended to address human
needs throughout the world.
Course Description
This is a seminar course focused on the Roman Catholic social teaching as expressed in
the encyclical tradition from Leo XIII to Pope Francis and the Regional Bishops’
Conferences of the Catholic Church. The study will examine the development of Catholic
social thought as it emerges from the reading of the “signs of the times” in light of sacred
scripture, natural law, and virtue.
The course goals align with the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
Institutional Goals, which identify significant aspects of theological learning and leadership
formation. We will evaluate our progress in achieving these goals throughout the course.
Deep Learning
Knowledge of facts, details,
concepts, and terminology that
students will become familiar with
in this course
through
Integrative Thinking
Intellectual Humility
Self-Direction
Collaborative Leadership
A collaborative leader inspires
within others the desire to realize
the common good by articulating to
academy or society a coherent
vision rooted in the mission of the
Church, all the while leading by
example.
 identify political and social challenges to justice
and peace in contemporary society
 acquire a good understanding of the social justice
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
 learn methods by which the Church responds to
"signs of the times" through awareness of social
needs, study, reflection, and decision.
 articulate orally and in writing key aspects of
social justice theory and praxis
 draw implications for research and ministry from
the study of Catholic social teaching
 develop strategies to address issues related to
economic justice, human rights, non-violence and
peace, environmental justice, and other concerns.
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Course Materials
Required: Prices do not include tax and shipping costs.
Himes, Kenneth R. (Editor). Modern Catholic Social Teaching. Georgetown: University
Press, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-1589010536. $34.25
Hornsby-Smith, Michael. An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University press, 2006.ISBN-13: 978-0521681995. $30.99
Kasper, Walter. Mercy. Translated by William Madges . Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press,
2014. ISBN 9780809106097. $29.95
Readings on Moodle (To be posted)
Resources for Encyclicals and Other Writings
http://www.vatican.va and http://www.educationforjustice.org and http://www.usccb.org
Recommended:
DeBerri, Edward (ed) Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret. New York: Orbis
Books, 2004.
De La Torre, Miquel. Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis
Books, 2004.
Dorr, Donal: Option for the Poor: A Hundred Years of Catholic Social Teaching.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1994.
Massaro, Tom, Living Justice. (2nd Edition) Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield 2011.
McDonald, Daniel. Catholic Social in Global Perspective, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,
2010.
McKenna, Kevin. Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching. Notre Dame: Ave Maria
Press, 2002.
Mich, Marvin L. Krier. Catholic Social Teaching and Movements. (Seventh Printing)
New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2009
USCCB Learner’s Guide to Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Washington, DC: United
Stated Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000
Pontifical Commission. Compendium of Catholic Social Doctrine United States Catholic
Conference of Bishops, 2005.
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Thompson, J Milburn, Introducing Catholic Social Thought, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis
Books, 2010.
Course Requirements
Class Participation: 40% of grade (See DSPT Student Handbook about absences p. 17)
Class Discussions: Students will come to class having read all the material assigned, with
notes and questions that arise from the readings.
Class Writing: 45% of grade. Papers should evidence of the class readings and
discussions. Format should follow Turabian style and including bibliography. See the
DSPT Student Handbook regarding Academic Honesty (pp. 16-17)
Paper #1 Topic: What does the Church mean by social justice? How do we come to
understand God’s will for us as local, national, and global communities, i.e., the pastoral
circle process? How do philosophy, other disciplines in academic fields, and those of
social science inform this vision? How is the “irruption of reality” [Sobrino] shaping our
understanding of social justice? In what ways can we as Catholic community witness to
God’s mercy help us to witness to this vision? DUE OCTOBER 9
Paper #2 Topic: Should the Church Give Economic Advice?
Compare and contrast one papal encyclical with any one regional statement on the
syllabus related to economic justice. How are these teachings reflective of the Church’s
understanding of social justice? How do they address global and national economic
concerns? What specific recommendations do they propose? What is your evaluation of
these recommendations? Looking at these documents, how would you make a case for
the Church to have a voice in such economic policy debates? DUE NOVEMBER 13
Paper #3 Topic: The Catholic Church as a Broker for Peace?
Based on the Church’s reflection on non-violence and peace show how the Church’s
teachings might address a particular conflict present in our world today. How effective
might the recommendations made by the whole Church and that of regional churches
promote peace in these areas? What role do human rights and human rights conventions
have in these suggestions? DUE DECEMBER 19
Group Presentation 15% of grade Choose a topic: Immigration, Family, Human
Trafficking, Environmental Crisis. Each group will present the topic to the class and
engage the class in discussion. Details will be given.
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READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Catholic Social Teaching: A Vision, Witness and Promise
Week 1: September 4: Catholic Social Teaching: What Do We Mean by Vision?
Introduction: Sharing about your program of study and understanding of how this
course fits into your program.
As you reading the following chapters come to class prepared to discuss these questions:
What is Catholic social teaching? What are the sources of this teaching?
What is Kasper suggesting by his introductory chapters? What is contextual theology?
Hornsby: Chapters 1 and 2
Kasper: Chapters 1 and 2
Moodle: Jon Sobrino “Jesus from the Salvadoran Context: Compassion, Hope and
Following the Light of the Cross” and William Spohn, “What are They Saying about
Scripture and Ethics?”
Week 2: September 11
Catholic Social Teaching: Biblical Roots
Himes, Chapter 1
Hornsby-Smith, Chapter 3, 4
Kasper: Chapters 3, 4, 5
Moodle: (Optional Reading) Excerpts from Pleins and Kavanugh
Week 3: September 18
Reading and Group Discussion
Week 4: September 25: Catholic Social Teaching: The Ecclesiological Roots
Himes, Chapters 3 and 4
Kasper: Chapters 6-8
Week 5: October 2: Catholic Social Teaching: Natural Law and Virtue Theory
Himes, Chapter 2
Hornsby-Smith Chapter 5
Moodle: Articles by Schockenhoff and Porter which refer to Aquinas, Summa theologiae,
II, II, qq. 23-46 (Charity), qq. 57-80 (Justice).
Week 6: October 9: Economic Justice: Labor and Power
Encyclicals: Leo XIII On the Condition of Labor, 1891; Pius XI: Reconstruction of Social
Order, 1931; John Paul II: On Human Work, 1981
Hornsby-Smith, Chapter 8
Himes, Chapters 5, 6, 16
Week 7: October 16: Economic Justice: Just Development
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Encyclicals: Paul VI: On the Development of Peoples, 1967; John Paul II: On Social
Concern, 1981; Benedict XVI: Charity in Truth, 2009; Pope Francis: Joy of Faith, 2013
Himes: Chapters 12 and 17
EVALUATION: Looking at the course thus far and our experiences of readings,
discussions, and assigned writings
Reading Week: October 20-24
Week 8: October 30: Economic Justice: Local Realities and Responses
Regional Statements
Latin America: Medellin Conference Documents, 1968
United States: Economic Justice for All, 1986
Africa: Economic Justice in South Africa, 1999
Hornsby-Smith, Chapters 9 and 10
Himes, Chapter 19
Week 9: November 6: Human Rights and Responsibilities
Encyclical: John XIII Peace on Earth, 1963
Vatican II Documents
Apostolic Constitution, (Gaudium et spes)1965; Human Dignity, 1965
Statement of the Synod of Bishops, Justice in the World, 1971
Hornsby-Smith, Chapters 6 and 7
Himes, Chapters 9, 10, 11, 14
Week 10: November 13: Non-Violence and Peace
The Challenge of Peace and the Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace: United States
Recent Statements: War and Terrorism Global and Regional Struggles
(Readings TBA) website:
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/warandpeaceind.shtml
Hornsby-Smith, Chapter 11
Himes, Chapter 20
Excerpts from Pope Francis Homilies and Talks in the Holy Land Visit May 2014
Non-Violence and Peace and Reconciliation
Regional Statements: African Synod of 2009
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_23_ii_specialeafrica-2009/02_inglese/b30_02.html and articles located:
http://sites.google.com/site/yesafricamattersorg/Yes-Africa-Matters/resources-andupcoming-events/articles
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Weeks 11-12: November 20- December 4
Immigration, Family, Human Trafficking, and the Environment
Topic: Immigration and Inter-cultural Challenges
Catholic Bishops of Mexico and United States
Strangers No Longer: Together on a Journey of Hope, 2003
Asian Bishops and Inculturation: http://www.ucanews.com/html/fabc-papers/fabc-89.htm
Topic: Issue and Concerns of the Family
John Paul II Familiaris Consortio
Selections from 2014 Synod on the Family
Hornsby-Smith: Chapter 7
Federation of Asian Catholic Bishops and US Catholic Bishops (See websites)
Topic: Human Trafficking
International and Regional Statements of Civil and Religious Groups
http://www.usccb.org and http://www.humatrafficking.org and
http://www.notforsale.org
Topic: Environmental Justice
US Catholic Bishops Renewing the Earth
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/ejp/bishopsstatement.shtml
Moodle: Chapters from Thompson, Smith, De La Torre, and Jadhav
Week 13: December 11
First Part: Finishing up Material from December 4 Class
Second Part: Leadership and Vision: Future of Catholic Social Teaching
Hornsby-Smith, Chapter 12
Himes, Chapter 21
EVALUATION: Reflections on the course
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