Justice in Religion
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Gerry O'Hanlon SJ is asked: What is the role of the Catholic Church in promoting social Justice? |
Justice is a value that is shared across religions, cultures and even time. A sense of justice can lead us to make right decisions on current problems.
“Let there be men and women who will bend their energies not to strengthen positions of privilege, but, to the extent possible, reduce privilege in favour of the underprivileged.
…evil is overcome only by good, hate by love, egoism by generosity. It is thus that we must sow justice in our world. To be just, it is not enough to refrain from injustice. One must go further and refuse to play its game, substituting love for self-interest as the driving force of society” - Pedro Arrupe SJ
A basic principle of Buddhism is being compassionate towards others. Equality and dignity for all people is thought to be very important. The Buddha proclaimed that everyone has the right to a fair share of the resources of the earth.
Justice is also at the heart of Islamic faith. According to the faith, any society that exploits the weak and oppresses those in need cannot be called an Islamic society.
“Say: My Lord enjoineth justice”; “Lo! Allah loveth those who act in justice; “Do justice, it is nearer to piety” – The Qu’ran, (7:20, 49:9, 5:8)
The concept of Dharma is at the heart of Hinduism. The law of Dharma involves being just in your actions towards others, through compassion (daya) and liberality (dan).
“He…is said to know what morality or righteousness is who is always the friend of all creatures and engaged in their good, in thought, word and deed.” – Mahabharatha, (12.254.9)
In the Christian faith, harmony between our relationship with God, people and the world around us is important. The link between faith and justice is the dignity of people. Commitment to justice through faith seeks to make that dignity a reality for every human being. Justice seeks to bring meaning to words such as dignity by making our lives reflect what we believe. Faith can inspire us to act for change.
And so compassion is the beginning, the middle and the end of our commitment to justice. Reaching out to those whose dignity is being denied or threatened is the meaning and the content of our struggle for justice.
“(Solidarity) is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortune of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual because we are all really responsible for all”. - Pope John Paul II
Ireland and Global Justice
We also need to commit to social justice at a global level.
Let us take development aid, for example.
Irish Aid is our government’s official overseas development programme. The government says this programme is our way of showing commitment to human rights and fairness, in order to achieve peace and justice internationally.
In recent years the budget for this programme has been cut, but Ireland continues to provide a high quality of aid to countries overseas.
In 2013 Ireland spent almost €640 million on overseas development aid.
Given that we have a small population, we make a big contribution. The most recent OECD survey says that per person in the population, Ireland makes the seventh highest contribution to overseas development in the world.
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Poverty Focus
The Irish Aid programme’s priority is the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries. Irish Aid helps to promote social justice through the kind of support it provides. The programme’s activities are designed to tackle the basic issues surrounding poverty, in order to stop the problems appearing in the first place.
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Geographic Focus
Irish Aid operates its African programmes in Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Malawi. In Asia, Irish Aid operates in Vietnam.
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Partnership
Irish Aid works closely with people in the countries who receive their assistance. It is important that there is co-operation and sharing of responsibilities between Irish Aid and the local people. In this way, the good work of the programme will last and be strengthened.
The UN Millennium Development Goals are a set of development targets for the international community to reach.
Irish Aid uses these goals as a basis for planning its overseas development activities.
These activities relate to; education, health, agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, infrastructure and roads, trade, and good governance. Each represents a way of addressing a core cause of poverty, and many are linked.
The Goals
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
- Achieve universal primary education;
- Promote gender equality and empower women;
- Reduce child mortality;
- Improve maternal health;
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
- Ensure environmental sustainability;
- Develop a global partnership for development.
If we introduce legislation to guarantee a minimum level of spending on overseas development, it would enable Irish Aid to plan its programmes for a number of years without worrying about cuts to its budget. Trócaire, for example, has called for such legislation a number of times.
Absence of Political Will Continued
Politicians, here as elsewhere, are engaged in an exercise of balancing self-interest with the interests of others, and balancing it also with the interest of the common good. In Ireland, as in many other modern democracies, the political focus is the battle for the ‘middle ground’ – for the support of that large section of the community which includes the people most likely to vote, the people most able to voice their demands, and the people most likely to be ‘floating voters’. Inevitably, parties shape their policies with this in mind. Given this fact, the concerns and needs of those who are most vulnerable, or who have little influence, or who for one reason or another do not use their voice or their vote can easily be overlooked. The task of bringing such groups into the mainstream of political concern is a central concern in any talk about social justice.
Social Justice and Me
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth." - Muhammad Ali
But while we know that social injustice exists, we often consider it something distant from us, something that ‘happens to other people’.
Many of us hear about injustice and feel that something should change to make it better. But in the end, when we turn off the news, our thoughts return to our everyday lives.
But I give money to charity, is that the same as social justice?
When we are sick with a sore throat, we might take some medicine to make us well. This is similar to the good work of charity - there is a need in society, so charity is there to help make the situation better.
Whereas, achieving social justice has a much broader meaning. It involves looking at why the need exists and preventing problem from occurring in the first place.
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others" - Nelson Mandela
So how can we act for social justice in our lives?
By understanding the reasons why our society is unequal and the disadvantages some people are faced with, we can act by making just choices in our own lives. This can be as simple as deciding what to inform ourselves about or what to spend our money on.
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."