EVANGELII GAUDIUM Chapter 4 The SOCIAL DIMENSION of EVANGELISATION 4 July 2015

TO EVANGELIZE IS TO MAKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD PRESENT IN OUR WORLD

4 parts Repercussions of the First Proclamation of the Gospel Inclusion of the poor in society The common good and peace Social dialogue contributes to peace

Repercussions 1 Heart of gospel is community life / engagement with others Redemption not just for the individual Trinity – community Accepting the proclamation means we desire to seek and protect the good of others (178) Gospel not merely about personal relationship with God (180)

Repercussions ll Not about small personal gestures to ease our conscience Universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand We must have an impact on society Catholic Social Teaching

More repercussions No longer possible to restrict religion to private sphere and say prepare souls for heaven ( 182, 183) Authentic faith desires to change the world Need a just ordering of society / church must fight for justice

2 Inclusion of the Poor in Society Largest section of 13 pages Liberation of the poor That means working to eliminate structural causes of poverty Solidarity more than a few acts of generosity Priority of life of all over ownership by a few

Inclusion of the poor Other peoples needs round the world Education, access to health care, employment Just wage Mercy triumphs (193) Gospel message is clear and direct, simple and elegant – why complicate it? 194 Orthodoxy sometimes complicit (194)

Inclusion of the poor ll Divine preference for the poor Lk 4:18 Preach the Good News to the Poor St Paul urged followers to reject self- centred hedonism Gal 2:10 Option for the poor Let us be evangelised by them (198) Poor esteemed as of great value None of us exempt from concern for social justice (201)

Inclusion of the poor- the economy Welfare projects (food banks..) are temporary Reject autonomy of markets & financial speculation Attack structural causes of inequality Inequality root of social ills (202) Need better distribution of income Politics a lofty vocation if it seeks common good

Inclusion of the poor- the vulnerable Global world means shared responsibility Don’t just talk about social issues homeless, addicted, refugees, indigenous people, elderly, isolated and abandoned Migrants a special concern of universal church Human trafficking Excluded women show daily heroism (212) Unborn children (214) Environment

3 Common good and peace Not the mere absence of violence Not absence of war based on precarious balance of power Keeping peace no justification for silencing or appeasing poor to allow more affluent to continue lifestyle

Social Dialogue - a contribution to peace l Three Areas stand out – dialogue with States, with Society & with Other Believers Church wishes to cooperate with all national & international authorities Every baptised person to be a peacemaker not just a few or a minority Dialogue with science belongs to work of evangelisation at service of peace

Social Dialogue - a contribution to peace ll Ecumenism dialogue Dialogue with religious Jews Dialogue with Non-Christians Dialogue in context of religious freedom

Conclusion I have tried to make explicit the Inescapable social dimension of the Gospel message & to encourage Christians to demon- strate it by their words, attitudes and deeds Pope Francis

Current Issues Poverty Housing Environment & climate change Migration Trafficking Human Rights

JPIC Support J&P diocesan co-ordinator & members commission planned (22 July mtg) Diocesan newsletter- sign up to receive Assemblies twice a year NJPN regular and NJPN Annual conference in July List of websites - available on line and today Petition sites Parliamentary Outreach – informative sessions on how to influence decision making