Posted on 01/23/2011 1:59:24 AM PST by Cronos
Peter Cardinal Turkson, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, has a message for Catholics in America, particularly those involved in social justice ministry, that could put a damper on the political machinations of the Shadow Party.
The message? “Social justice” is about “relationships,” not “socialism.” This clarification may very well be the catalyst to set the Catholic Church in America back on course with authentic Catholic teaching on hot-button issues involving massive government entitlement programs and other forms of overreach. If nothing else, it will almost certainly jump-start the “social justice” debate among Catholics. Cardinal Turkson, you see, is scheduled to deliver the plenary address at the 2011 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in February.
It would be useful if we just observed our sense of justice as our ability to fulfill the demands of the relationships in which we stand.Whether he intended to or not, Cardinal Turkson has now echoed what many conservative Catholics in America have been calling for repeatedly — subsidiarity in economic policy. More importantly, the Cardinal observes the heart of the matter in noting that a ‘handout’ and a ‘gift’ are not at all the same, with the latter being more in keeping with the Gospel message.
This is in contrast to socialism, he explained, which is an ideology in which private property and private interests are totally placed in the service of government policies. What the Pope proposes in ‘Caritas in Veritate,’ said Cardinal Turkson, is ‘achieving the common good without sacrificing personal, private interests, aspirations and desires.’
Cardinal Turkson said the Council was also surprised that the Pope’s concept of the ‘gift,’ was perceived in some circles as encouraging government welfare handouts. In ‘Caritas in Veritate,’ Pope Benedict described the concept of “gift” as a way to understand God’s love for men and women in his gift of life and his gift of Jesus.
One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom. It conflicts with the passion for centralization and bureaucracy characteristic of the Welfare State.You may remember that Pope John Paul II worked closely with President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to bring down communism in the Soviet Union and Marxist governments in Latin America. With the worldwide Left now in such kinship with Islam, and with no modern-day Reagan or Thatcher in sight, Pope Benedict XVI certainly has his work cut out for him. If they recognize that America has become polarized, perhaps America’s Catholic bishops will bite the bullet and commit themselves to following in the footsteps of the just-beatified Pope John Paul II…to morally undermine the Left as he morally undermined the Soviet Union.
Praise the Lord, I hope the Catholic Church in America will embrace these words.
These words are truly guided by the Holy Spirit. I have been praying for this for years.
I wish it was absolutely clear to the laymen and given as an order. You don’t serve the Lord by encouraging others to steal from others in order to hand it out to others while preserving a cut for the thieves/yourself.
Well the first step would be to dissolve the USCCB, which has functioned as an arm of the Democrat (Socialist) Party. It still endeavors to instruct the Federal government to engage in ever more wealth redistribution.
I’m so delighted to have come upon this thread. Thanks for posting it.
One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom. It conflicts with the passion for centralization and bureaucracy characteristic of the Welfare State.
“With the worldwide Left now in such kinship with Islam, and with no modern-day Reagan or Thatcher in sight, Pope Benedict XVI certainly has his work cut out for him. If they recognize that America has become polarized, perhaps America’s Catholic bishops will bite the bullet and commit themselves to following in the footsteps of the just-beatified Pope John Paul II…to morally undermine the Left as he morally undermined the Soviet Union.”
That’s a fascinating topic for further research and contemplation!
Thank you from my heart for posting this thread.
I had just about given up on coming on this forum-—until I saw this.
At last the Church’s position about the law of subsidiarity is coming to the foreground—in God’s good timing when it’s most needed.
How necessary also is the truth about this Pope-—the truth which exposes the lying propaganda that he is a socialist (or even Marxist).
Again, thank you, Cronos.
And God bless good Pope Benedict and Cardinal Turkson.
No worries. And I think Pope Benedict is the opposite of a communist. His encyclical Caritas Veritate is all about the individual, caring for the individual. The communist view is that the individual is just a cog in the machine. That is NOT the Catholic viewpoint. Each person is a precious gift from God and we need to realise that in our interactions with our superior, subordinates, peers and the unfortunate.
Bookmarked for later.
Wow-a ray of hope. I’d all but given up on the Catholic Church. Do you think the US Bishops have read this information?
That’s not the only evil thing the USCCB has done. I agree it should be disbanded.
Since socialism has already aggressively adopted the term as their own, perhaps it would be wiser to choose a different one.
If they haven’t, we should all write in to our bishops and tell ‘em or remind them or club them over the head with it.
yes, I agree. However, do note that this is purely an AMerican English meaning — it doesn’t have the same connotations in British English, Indian English, Australian English etc
Now if anyone actually hears it....
Nope..no evidence that they actually will.
When you push people to bow to men, report to men and the masses are lessor than certain men....they bow to and and depend on the dominance of imperfect men. This is the crux of socialism.
WOW!! (Can a non-Catholic be allowed to interject that?)
Actually, you and I have heard it and we can spread it around. We can push it to our parishes, to our church communities, to our dioceses, to our bishops. We can push the message from bottom up and let the Pope push from top down
Of course, an Orthodox is always welcome. I didn’t make this a Catholic/Orthodox caucus as I thought this wouldn’t be of interest to you
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