love and justice
I'll admit I still haven't gotten around to reading all of the Pope's Encyclical. However, in the social justice circles in which I run, I keep hearing people lamenting the fact that he seems to put an emphasis on charity, not justice. I suspect these are also people who haven't yet read the encyclical. However, I was able this weekend at my weekend groovy sister pad to read an excellent article on this subject in The Tablet by Peter Henriot, SJ. Much of the reaction to Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical has dwelt on the practice of personal love and less on the practice of charity and social action. But both are crucial to the Pope’s powerful message, particularly amid the poverty of rural Africa.
Worth the read. As is no doubt the heftier Deus Caritas Est, which I will get to one of these days!Omis - did you catch the part about Africa? You should read this - if you haven't frozen to death that is!
1 comment:
The encyclical is really wonderful--I wrote a post about it here.
As for the question of justice vs. charity, I think your suspicion is right that these folks didn't read it. Benedict's point is that if we fail in our call to love, fighting for justice is an empty gesture that doesn't serve the deepest needs of other people. That isn't to say that we shouldn't work for justice, but we should always strive to share love as well, and where doing both isn't possible, it is more important to love.
He also points out the importance of prayer to those who are fighting for justice, which I think is also important. Obviously that's nothing new to you given the community you're joining! :-)
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