World Day of Social Justice
Social justice is being torn apart by increasing inequality and conflict: justice is reconciliation
The goal of social justice is at the heart of the UN’s global mission to promote development and human dignity, but not even establishing a specific World Day of Social Justice in 2007 has made its principles prevail. In this time of World War III in bits and pieces – as Pope Francis calls our days – the UN’s call for the international community to support efforts to eradicate poverty, promote full employment and decent work, gender equality and equal access to social welfare and justice seems to be falling on deaf ears.
TODAY, SOCIAL JUSTICE SEEMS MORE LIKE A MIRAGE THAN A HORIZON:
how to remove all barriers determined by gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability?
WHAT ABOUT THE 2030 AGENDA?
FOR US OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
THE SECULAR APPROACH TO SOCIAL JUSTICE NO LONGER SEEMS SUFFICIENT
“THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES” ANNOUNCE THAT THE FUTURE WILL BE SPIRITUAL OR IT WILL NOT BE
(as also recalled by Father Pinto at the 30th General Chapter)
– “The 21st century will be spiritual
or it will not be at all’
(A. Malraux, writer)
– “The Christian of the future will be mystical or
will not even be Christian”
(K. Rahner, theologian)
“The failure of a hyper-technical world
generates an immense need for spirituality”
(L.V. Thomas, anthropologist)
FOR US OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
TODAY THE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE REQUIRE
“AN EXTRA SOUL”
(principle recalled in the opening address of the 1999 Synod on Europe)
“We wait for new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
“Justice” is the word that in the preaching of the prophets (such as Isaiah, Amos, Micah) most significantly expresses the attitudes of man called to responsible solidarity and fraternal sharing towards those who, in the society of all times, are marginalised, weak, prisoners, defenceless and foreigners.
Image: www.chiesasarda.it
Justice is “to loosen unrighteous chains”, “to share bread with the hungry”, “to bring in the homeless” (Cf. Is 58:6-12; Mi 3:9-12 and also Mt 25:31-46). It is here that the beatitude that Jesus declares for those who make these attitudes their own finds its context: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO SPIRITUALLY INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
Social justice is an ideal that goes beyond simply eliminating inequalities. It is about creating a human, spiritual, ecological, cultural, economic, political, etc. ‘environment’ in which access to opportunities and services is equitably distributed, coexistence between people and the Earth is pacified by ‘a soul supplement’!
