1. Catholic Social Teaching
Defining Justice
Catholic Social Teaching
Intended Use: The instructor will present the PowerPoint and students will take notes.
Document #: TX001966

2. Justice is a concept that has many definitions
Justice is a concept that has many definitions. The definitions in this presentation all have their roots in biblical justice.
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3. Scriptural Justice
According to Scripture, a just or righteous person is first in right relationship with God and second in right relationship with other human beings.
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Old Law
In the Old Testament, justice is primarily about treating members of one’s own community fairly and equally.

5. New Law
In the New Law of Christ, justice means “extending God’s compassion, forgiveness, and mercy to all people, even when that means sacrificing one’s own comfort and material wealth.”
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6. Commonweal – Feb. 14, 1936
In this wider sense, we can then define social justice as that virtue by which individuals and groups contribute their positive share to the maintenance of the common good and moreover regulate all their actions in proper relation to the common good.
Today it is of supreme importance to regain a proper conception of social justice so that we may again recapture something of the virtue itself without overbalancing ourselves. The imperativeness of this task comes from two factors whose opposite trends are productive of much of our present chaos: (1) the increasing social inter-relation of all the aspects of human life, especially in the economic field; (2) the disruptive effect of the type of individualism that is the child not of Christianity but of a rejection of Christianity in the name of a liberal enlightenment, of which the chief offspring was extreme economic liberalism.

7. The Four Cardinal Virtues
The four cardinal virtues―prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude―play a pivotal role in our moral life.
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All other human virtues can be grouped around the cardinal virtues.
As we develop the cardinal virtues in our lives, we become persons of moral character —meaning we will do the right thing, even under difficult circumstances.

8. The Four Cardinal Virtues
Prudence -  "right reason applied to practice.“ It is the virtue that allows us to judge correctly what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. When we mistake the evil for the good, we are not exercising prudence—in fact, we are showing our lack of it. 
Fortitude – aka “courage”, it allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles in a reasonable manner
Temperance - the restraint of our desires or passions; he virtue that attempts to keep us from excess and in balance

9. Justice as a Cardinal Virtue
As a cardinal virtue, justice is the virtue concerned with the rights and duties within relationships and societies.
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Justice guides us in giving both God and neighbor what is their due and in working for the common good.
Justice takes into account the needs of others as much as our own needs.
Justice is about more than simple fairness; it asks us to bring God’s compassionate and merciful love to those who are most in need.

10. Justice as a Cardinal Virtue
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The virtue of justice recognizes that some people have greater physical and spiritual needs than others and require a greater sharing of material goods and spiritual support.
It takes determination and dedication to be a person who lives the virtues of justice.

11. Commonweal – Feb. 14, 1936
It is from this Thomistic viewpoint that our modern division into three kinds of justice has come:
(1) commutative or exchange justice, which is an equal give-and-take between individuals;
(2) distributive justice, by which the whole gives to the various parts what each of them has coming to it; and
(3) legal justice, by which the parts give to the whole what is owing to it.

12. Commutative Justice
Commutative justice is the fairness that should exist when exchanging goods and services among individuals and institutions. Fair contracts and transactions.
It requires that both parties receive exactly what they agreed to; in this way the human dignity of everyone involved in the exchange is protected.
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It is the most fundamental form of justice in societies; without it all other forms of justice are impossible.

13. Legal Justice
Legal justice is concerned with the responsibilities that individuals have to society.
It is called “legal” justice because these responsibilities are usually spelled out in laws or other legal documents.
Our country and community organizations cannot fulfill their responsibilities unless we fulfill our obligations to society.

14. Distributive Justice
In 1986, the U.S. Catholic bishops provided this explanation of distributive justice in Economic Justice for All:
“Distributive justice requires that the allocation of income, wealth, and power in society be evaluated in light of its effects on persons whose basic material needs are unmet” (70).

15. Distributive Justice
• Distributive justice is concerned with the responsibilities that society has to its members.
• It is called “distributive” because it calls for the just distribution of the earth’s resources to all people.
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16. Distributive Justice
Thus the principle of distributive justice means, for example, that it is a social sin for people to go hungry in a country that can produce enough food for all its citizens.
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17. Social Justice
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority” (1928).
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Social Justice
The primary responsibility for social justice rests with the social institutions that make up society — governments, businesses, and other civic organizations.
But it is individuals who make the decisions that determine the policies and practices of these organizations. They are the leaders, or authorities, of these institutions.

19. Social Justice
The Catechism says that social justice is linked to the exercise of authority or leadership.
In the United States and many other democratic countries, citizens have a say in the country’s decisions and policies.
Therefore we all share some responsibility for ensuring social justice.
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20. Thus the principle of social justice applies to all of God’s people.
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(USCCB documents cited in this presentation are from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and available at Copyright © USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church is from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, second edition, number Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana.)
Social Justice
Thus the principle of social justice applies to all of God’s people.