Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
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182 <strong>Exploring</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>Social</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong><br />
Vocabulary<br />
Civil Disobedience (n.):<br />
The refusal to obey civil<br />
laws or demands and<br />
the willingness to accept<br />
punishment for this<br />
disobedience, as a form<br />
of nonviolent protest.<br />
Commutative Justice<br />
(n.): The regulation<br />
of exchange between<br />
persons and between<br />
institutions in accordance<br />
with a strict respect<br />
for their rights. It<br />
obligates both parties to<br />
responsibility, requires<br />
safeguarding of property<br />
rights, paying debts, and<br />
fulfilling obligations freely<br />
contracted. Without it, no<br />
other form of justice is<br />
possible.<br />
law may differ, and if they ever contradict, we have to follow God’s law. St.<br />
Peter gave us a model for civil disobedience when he refused to obey the<br />
Jewish leaders after they ordered him to stop preaching in the name of Jesus.<br />
Peter declared, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). We<br />
see examples of this today when a soldier chooses not to carry out an order<br />
that kills innocent or civilian populations, or when a doctor refuses to kill an<br />
unborn baby even if a local law says he must perform abortions. However,<br />
with the obligation to disobey unjust laws comes the accompanying need<br />
to submit to any punishment for that disobedience. This duty, which Christ<br />
models for us perfectly on the Cross, may have the effect of shocking the<br />
conscience of observers and may help bring about the repeal of unjust laws.<br />
Whether or not our disobedience has this effect, this demand of the Church<br />
is one of the harder but undeniable truths of Christian discipleship.<br />
Commutative Justice<br />
The next kind of justice is commutative justice. This form of justice is<br />
common in the marketplace, where people enter into contractual agreements<br />
with each other. “Contracts are subject to commutative justice<br />
which regulates exchanges between persons and between institutions<br />
in accordance with a strict respect for their rights” (CCC 2411).<br />
Contract (n.): A legally<br />
binding agreement<br />
between two or more<br />
parties that can be<br />
dissolved once the<br />
conditions of the<br />
agreement have been<br />
fulfilled (or not) or upon<br />
mutual agreement.<br />
Christ on the Cross is <br />
our perfect model<br />
and example in times<br />
when we face the<br />
earthly challenges of<br />
Christian discipleship.<br />
Christ on the Cross between Mary and St. John by Albrecht Altdorfer (ca. 1512).<br />
© Sophia Institute for Teachers
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