....Pope Leo XIII is credited with beginning the modern era of Catholic social teaching with his 1891 encyclical criticizing a “savage capitalism” that exploited workers. When the “trickle-down” economic theory was in vogue during the Reagan presidency, Pope John Paul II warned of an “idolatry of the market.” In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,” saw a “scandal of glaring inequalities” in the U.S. economy....
....Barry Stenger, director of development and communications the St. Anthony Foundation, said those in the Occupy movement are “asking for a realignment so that our economic and political systems are put at the service of the people. That’s fundamental to Catholic social justice teaching.” Unfortunately, said Stenger, many Catholics are not familiar with those teachings. “It’s always been called the best-kept secret in our church. And I think that’s true.”
Judas was all about Social Justice too.
Acts2:
42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
I never knew the Bible says that we should demand that Caesar take more in taxes to spread the wealth more fairly nor did I realize that feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and caring for the sick could not be done as an individual but ONLY as a collective.
sarc//
The majority of Catholic social justice commandos are either very ignorant
folk who don’t realize that they have been infiltrated by communists, or they
Marxists themselves who want to destroy the church and replace it with a
“social gospel” like the majority of mainline Protestant churches have done.
Besides, these lefty religionists are so dumb that they don’t realize that if the occupy anarchists ever took over they would be the first ones facing the
Firing line wall
Some of the Catholic Church’s social teaching comes from false teacher Jim Wallis (One of Obama’s spiritual advisors). We had some of these advocates visit our church one day and they were pushing books written by Jim Wallis.
What a bunch of liars. This article takes each statement out of context.
I’m not going to go into all, but the Leo one, I am most familiar with, and have a handy link.
Leo’s main focus was against socialism. The term “savage capitalism” is not in his encyclical. The 1891 encyclical is called rerum novarum if you prefer to google it.
Below is a link to the actual encyclical. A good read for conservatives not clear on how “social justice” is actually unjust.
And here’s a sample:
“To remedy these wrongs the socialists, working on the poor man’s envy of the rich, are striving to do away with private property, and contend that individual possessions should become the common property of all, to be administered by the State or by municipal bodies. They hold that by thus transferring property from private individuals to the community, the present mischievous state of things will be set to rights, inasmuch as each citizen will then get his fair share of whatever there is to enjoy. But their contentions are so clearly powerless to end the controversy that were they carried into effect the working man himself would be among the first to suffer. They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community.”
Envy, jealousy, coveting other people’s wealth, bitterness and hatred. I’m not quite a cardinal or a theologian-Catholic or otherwise-but I’m pretty sure this is not what Jesus was about or any church should pursue.
John Calvin would have been in the Occupy Wall Street movement
The cause of demonstrators involved in the “Occupy Wall Street” movement would have been supported by John Calvin, the 16th century church reformer who helped shape modern-day Protestantism, says the general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)“I am sure he would have been in the streets of New York or London with a placard,” says WCRC’s Setri Nyomi of the French lawyer and theologian who wrote extensively about social and economic justice.
...“Calvin expressed opposition to all forms of social oppression resulting from money,” Nyomi says. “Today, it is the global economic systems and practices that have more sophisticated forms of effects.”
...The WCRC endorses economic justice as an expression of Christian faith. The Accra Confession, a foundational document for the organization, declares: “We believe the economy exists to serve the dignity and well-being of people … Therefore we reject the unregulated accumulation of wealth and limitless growth that has already cost the lives of millions and destroyed much of God’s creation.”
I'm sure any theological differences between this bunch is for show only. Behind close doors I'm sure they all pick and choose the same passages to obey and ignore in their respective holy books.
Now, it is possible that the teaching of the Church has changed since I was in Catholic school, but back then the message was "Even if someone is richer than you are, stealing from him is still stealing, and is still a sin."
He also told Moses to tell them to not steal or covet. Did you forget that, Rabbi? The instructions to feed the hungry and clothe the poor are to individuals, free to choose to obey or not. When one has government take from the rich and distribute to the poor, not only do you take the free will from that person, you also take the blessings that the person would have received from their freely giving. You also instill a sense of entitlement to the person receiving the largesse because it comes from government or society instead of an individual or group of volunteers. Taking care of our neighbors is a good thing and something we are instructed to do, but not by force. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He does not kick it down with a SWAT team, shoot your dog and steal your soul.
What!?
So when I grew up going to Catholic school and we prayed every day on our knees for the conversion of Communist Russia,that really didn’t mean anything.
When we learned about the horrors of Communism and Nazism...
Why is it different now? Huh?