Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

14 Our Faith often places significant
emphasis on covenants. Why
are contracts also important for
social and economic life? Accept
reasoned responses. Contracts hold
us accountable for our promises and
help us to organize our earthly affairs
and businesses. They govern areas
of less intimacy and importance than
our covenantal relationships but are
nevertheless an important way of
ensuring justice between two parties.
15 What are some ways our society
could better acknowledge
the reality of sacramental
Marriage? On a personal level,
we can recommit ourselves to
understanding what Marriage truly
is, and we can support our friends
and families in their marriages as we
remind them to stay close to Jesus,
who offers the spouses the graces
they need to persevere through
difficulty. From a governmental
standpoint, we can advocate for
repeal of laws such as those that
penalize marriage in economic
terms and those that allow for
no-fault divorce while providing no
recourse for the abandoned spouse,
and we can support those laws and
policies that encourage just living
wages that do not require both
parents of young children to work.
184 Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
Vocabulary
Economic Justice (n.):
A particular expression
of commutative justice.
It pertains exclusively
to the moral obligations
of individuals, business,
and governments
concerning just wages,
stable currencies, fair
interest rates on loans,
safe working conditions
for laborers, and other
responsibilities associated
with economic life.
Covenant (n.): A sacred
permanent bond of
family relationship. God
entered into a series
of covenants with His
People throughout
Salvation History to
invite us to be part of
His divine family and to
prepare us gradually and
in stages, words, and
deeds to receive the gift
of salvation.
© Sophia Institute for Teachers
Commutative justice always involves two parties of equal standing and the
certain shared obligations they have toward each other. It often contributes
to social order through the mutual respect each person has for another’s
property. We see examples of commutative justice whenever we make a
purchase at a store. When you buy something, your obligation is to pay
the agreed price. The seller’s obligation is to give you exactly what you
have paid for. To shortchange a seller, or for a seller not to deliver on the
promised good or service, is a violation of commutative justice.
This type of justice compels us to keep our word and honor our commitments.
It also pertains to lending and borrowing. We must always pay back
a just loan and return borrowed goods in the same condition we borrowed
them. If you borrow your friend’s car with a full tank of gas, you should
return the car with a full tank of gas. This is how the Church explains it:
“Promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent
that the commitments made in them are morally just. A significant
part of economic and social life depends on the honoring of contracts
between physical or moral persons — commercial contracts of purchase
or sale, rental or labor contracts. All contracts must be agreed
to and executed in good faith” ( CCC 2410). Another form of justice that
you might hear about, economic justice, is a particular expression of
commutative justice. It pertains exclusively to the moral obligations of individuals,
business, and governments concerning just wages, stable currencies,
fair interest rates on loans, safe working conditions for laborers, and
other responsibilities associated with economic life. It also obliges laborers
to work honestly for their pay.
Generally, when one of the parties to a contractual agreement fails
to meet their obligation, the other party is free of the contract. This distinguishes
a contractual from a covenantal relationship. In a covenant,
both parties are obligated to the terms of the covenant, even if one party
fails. Thus, God is always faithful to His covenant, even when we are not.
Likewise, in Marriage, a covenant binds spouses to each other as long
as they both live. Their Marriage is not a contract but a permanent bond
that remains despite the failure of one or both parties. This is what makes
covenants stable and contracts more fl uid. Society needs both covenantal
and contractual relationships. They differ by the nature of the agreement
between two parties. Yet commutative justice is at work in both covenants
and contracts. We are always obligated to fulfi ll what we have promised to
do so long as the agreement is morally sound and reasonable.
In summary of these fi rst three kinds of justice, the Catechism states,
“Commutative justice obliges strictly; it requires safeguarding property
rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted.
Without commutative justice, no other form of justice is possible. One
154 Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
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