Final term paper concepts and applications

Bishop Justice

Social Justice and the U.S. Economy: The Views of the U.S. Bishops

The Catholic Church has had a long and complex relationship with the economy of the world and with many of the individual nations that have held global sway in the world since the Church's inception. This relationship and the perspectives and values that govern it have evolved and changed greatly over the Church's history, especially during the centuries of the modern era, and currently the United States bishops as well as many other religious leaders throughout the world have shown an increased attention to the economy and the way it affects issues of social justice. For the Catholic bishops of the United States, in order for an economy to be just it must first and foremost be in the service of the people, rather than vice-versa (U.S. Catholic Bishops 1986, par. 13). An economy that does this will by definition ensure that people are not exploited, and that everyone will have access to the opportunities and resources that will ensure them the dignity and continuation of human life that they deserve.

This necessarily creates a sort of preferential treatment of the poor, where there is a conscious effort to divert resources way from where free-market capitalism and profits would direct them and towards groups of impoverished and/or underprivileged individuals. This does not preclude the possibility of a capitalist economy, and indeed the U.S. bishops specifically and explicitly avoid making any determination about the direct economic frameworks or theories that ought to be used, but instead they demand that the perspective of any economic action be the betterment of humanity, no matter what economic theory is used to make this determination (USCB 1986, par. 12). This preferential treatment of the poor is essential to economic and social justice.

The need for this type of preferential treatment of the poor has a basis both in the Bible and in the founding and ongoing principles of the United States, according to at least one U.S. Bishop, and the establishment of an economy that supports such principles and efforts to bring them about in a practical and direct manner is not only an issue of social importance but also of religious merit (Mahony 2007). For immigrants, minority groups, and other disadvantaged populations, the social justice that is demanded by Catholic theology must be built on a solid economic foundation. If people are used in service to the economy, they will necessarily be exploited and issues of social justice will only worsen; if instead the economy is used to serve the people that comprise it, the needs of social justice will almost automatically be met, and greater equality will prevail (USCB 1986; Mahony 2007).