Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

High School Chapter: Different Types of Justice
187
The primary virtue at play in social justice is a sense of personal responsibility
for the basic needs of those who are most vulnerable and struggle
to support themselves. The commitment to social justice is what makes
certain that no one falls through the cracks of society because of extreme
poverty, oppression, or social exclusion. As a virtue, this responsibility obligates
us to help our neighbor if we are able or to support services like food
banks if we have no other way to help.
These acts are not a matter of charity but of justice; each of us is
responsible for ensuring that no one is deprived of their basic needs. As
Scripture teaches us, we are our neighbor’s keeper. Jesus’ parable of the
Good Samaritan illustrated the point beautifully (Luke 10:29–37). And as
the Church teaches, “The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others
and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it
involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be. ‘As you
did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me’” (CCC
1932). While this responsibility is a social responsibility for everyone, we
exercise it individually as we do what we can to make sure that social
conditions are not marginalizing or excluding anyone. For each individual,
the practice of social justice depends on their unique circumstances and
social position.
The commitment
to social justice
is what makes
certain that no
one falls through
the cracks of
society because of
extreme poverty,
oppression, or
social exclusion.
Marx and Engels at the Rheinische Zeitung by E. Capiro (1849).
Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels published The
Communist Manifesto
in 1848, asserting
therein that the basis
of all human history is
class struggle and social
conflict.
© Sophia Institute for Teachers