Social Justice

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week I wrote about some of our dedicated parishioners who work quietly but faithfully in various ministries around the parish. This week I would like to focus on a ministry that has not been operating fully in the past year, social justice. First, let’s examine why the Church wants us to be active in this area.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines social justice as providing “the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation”(no. 1928). It flows from the Lord’s commandment to love our neighbor. When we respect the rights and dignity of others, regardless of race, creed, nationality, or religion we are practicing social justice. We are called to be a neighbor to those in need in the spirit of the Good Samaritan.

The Popes for more than 120 years have written extensively about social justice. Their encyclicals have covered questions about labor relations, economic policies, poverty in undeveloped lands, migration of peoples, and many other topics. The fact that most people in the world live in poverty should prompt us to ask not so much what is being done about it but what are we doing about it. Right here in our area there are opportunities to promote justice. We just need to be more aware of them.

The Diocese of Orange has an Office for Respect Life, Justice, and Peace which coordinates events and provides educational opportunities to raise awareness of social justice issues. At present our parish has a respect life representative, but we do not have a social justice representative.

Please ask yourself if you feel God’s call for this important ministry to His people. If you are interested or know of someone who would be ideal for the position, please contact me, and I will put you in contact with other representatives in our area. The Diocesan Office provides regular meetings of social justice representatives who network on events throughout Orange County.

May the Lord bless you all for the love you show to the least of His brothers and sisters.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand