Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action

by Thomas Massaro, SJ Professor of Moral Theology, Fordham University; author of Living Justice

Overview

This book introduces readers to Catholic social teaching, the Church’s long tradition of reflection on the meaning of social justice and how to enact it. The Church derives its faith-based principles for promoting justice and peace from rich sources in scripture, theology, reason, and human experience. These teachings, as contained in papal encyclicals and documents from global gatherings of bishops, have inspired broad efforts to advocate for so many important goals—including human rights, the common good, equitable international development, disarmament, healthy family life, and labor justice.

Readers will be led step-by-step to a deeper understanding of the demands of social justice in the world today. They will also examine the building blocks of Catholic social teaching, including its key themes, sources, and methods for clarifying values and reaching firm conclusions, always in ways appropriate to pluralistic modern societies. Along the way, readers will encounter great heroes of social change and prophets of peace and justice. This new fourth edition includes expanded coverage of such topics as global migration and climate change, new case studies applying ethical principles to currently pressing social issues, and the major social teaching of Pope Francis.

The book culminates with a description of the social justice advocacy of Pope Francis who has renewed Catholic social teaching in many distinctive ways. He has provided new resources that empower the church to navigate the many crises facing the world today. These include the refugee and environmental crises, profound challenges to family life and economic justice, and the desperate need for more effective diplomacy and global peacebuilding. A number of helpful resources contained in this volume, including eight tables, discussion questions, topics for further study, and an annotated list of print and web resources on Catholic social teaching, make this volume a perfect text for college-level courses on social justice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538182222
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/29/2023
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	258
Sales rank:	700,840
Product dimensions:	5.95(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas Massaro, SJ, is professor of moral theology at Fordham University. Previously he was dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, where he was also professor of moral theology. He is a regular contributor to America magazine and often leads parish and community workshops on social justice and Catholic social teaching. He is the author of several books, including Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis (R&L, 2018), U.S. Welfare Policy: A Catholic Response and coeditor of American Catholic Social Teaching.

Table of Contents

List of Tables     vii
Preface     ix
Social Justice and the Mission of the Church     1
The Religious Motivation for Social Justice Efforts     3
Social Mission and Church Morale     7
Sharing "Our Best-Kept Secret"     8
From "Charity Alone" to a Justice Orientation     9
Looking Ahead     14
Questions for Reflection     14
Topics for Further Research     15
Going Public with Your Faith     17
Bridging Two Distinct Worlds     17
Tertullian's Question     19
The Perils of the Crusading Spirit     22
Religious Idealism: Its Contribution to Politics     25
Maintaining a Delicate Balance     27
Together on Pilgrimage     29
Questions for Reflection     30
Topics for Further Research     31
Inheriting the Tradition of Catholic Social Teaching     33
The Documentary Heritage     34
A Look Back to the Nineteenth Century     40
Pioneers of Social Catholicism     43
The Writing of the Social Encyclicals     46
Questions for Relfection     52
Topics for Further Research     52
TheSources and Methods of Catholic Social Teaching     55
The Four Sources of Christian Ethics     56
Universal Principles and Local Applications     75
Questions for Reflection     76
Topics for Further Research     77
Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching     79
The Dignity of Every Person and Human Rights     80
Solidarity, Common Good, and Participation     84
Family Life     87
Subsidiarity and the Proper Role of Government     89
Property Ownership in Modern Society: Rights and Responsibilities     91
The Dignity of Work, Rights of Workers, and Support for Labor Unions     95
Colonialism and Economic Development     97
Peace and Disarmament     103
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable     112
Questions for Reflection     116
Topics for Further Research     117
The Role of Catholic Social Teaching Today     119
A Blueprint? An Ideology? A "Third Way"?     119
The Catholic Critique of Communism     126
The Catholic Critique of Capitalism     129
Applying Catholic Social Teaching in the Real World     134
Commitments to Social Justice: Heroic and Ordinary      140
Questions for Reflection     142
Topics for Further Research     144
Future Directions for Catholic Social Teaching     145
Four Continuities: Further Shifts in Emphasis     145
Two New Challenges: The Environment and Globalization     158
Spreading the Word about Catholic Social Teaching     171
The Surprising Future     175
Questions for Reflection     176
Topics for Further Research     177
Annotated List of Resources for Further Study     179
Index     185
About the Author     191

Editorial Reviews

Fr. Massaro’s Living Justice is the go-to book for teaching about social justice in a Catholic context. An accessible text that’s found favor with professors, high school teachers, and adult education facilitators, this fourth edition adds new attention to environmental justice and the teaching of Pope Francis. Having taught the book since its first edition, I appreciate Massaro’s down-to-earth language, his thoughtful guidance on how to reason ethically, and his attention to concerns about the credibility of the Catholic Church’s engagement with political and economic debates. I can’t wait to teach this new edition!

Brian Stiltner

I know of no better single volume on the history and principles of Catholic Social Teaching that also brings readers up-to-date on that tradition's most recent developments and contemporary, global relevance. With an extensive new chapter on the contributions of Pope Francis to CST, neophytes and seasoned theologians alike will find something to appreciate in this eminently readable 4th edition. As a secondary and postsecondary classroom text, Living Justice will prove indispensable in introducing a new generation to the Church's ongoing concerns with social justice.

AJ DeBonis

Accessible and comprehensive, Living Justice is a go-to textbook for my introductory courses on Catholic Social Teaching. Massaro brings the book up to date with the social teaching of Pope Francis and illustrates the significance of his contribution to the Catholic social tradition.

Fr. Massaro's Living Justice is the go-to book for teaching about social justice in a Catholic context. An accessible text that's found favor with professors, high school teachers, and adult education facilitators, this fourth edition adds new attention to environmental justice and the teaching of Pope Francis. Having taught the book since its first edition, I appreciate Massaro's down-to-earth language, his thoughtful guidance on how to reason ethically, and his attention to concerns about the credibility of the Catholic Church's engagement with political and economic debates. I can't wait to teach this new edition!

I know of no better single volume on the history and principles of Catholic Social Teaching that also brings readers up-to-date on that tradition's most recent developments and contemporary, global relevance. With an extensive new chapter on the contributions of Pope Francis to CST, neophytes and seasoned theologians alike will find something to appreciate in this eminently readable 4th edition. As a secondary and postsecondary classroom text, Living Justice will prove indispensable in introducing a new generation to the Church's ongoing concerns with social justice.

Thomas Massaro provides a path to the lifelong quest of how faith calls us to justice. He not only introduces the reader to the narrative of Catholic Social Teaching but also links its importance to the life of the Church today. This text invites the reader to dialogue with the best forces of secular society to create a better world. It offers a vision, methods of analysis, tools of discernment and principles of proceeding, a toolbox of supports and clarifications, which make the whys and ways of the Social Tradition, available to the reader. An excellent resource for the classroom and a tool for those who want to introduce or support those seeking to make a difference.

From the Publisher

Accessible and comprehensive, Living Justice is a go-to textbook for my introductory courses on Catholic Social Teaching. Massaro brings the book up to date with the social teaching of Pope Francis and illustrates the significance of his contribution to the Catholic social tradition.

Erin Brigham

[A] splendid little book. Massaro achieves his aims well in this very readable resource, useful not only for the general Catholic population, but also for Church leaders, educators, and activists.

New Theology Review

Thomas Massaro provides a path to the lifelong quest of how faith calls us to justice. He not only introduces the reader to the narrative of Catholic Social Teaching but also links its importance to the life of the Church today. This text invites the reader to dialogue with the best forces of secular society to create a better world. It offers a vision, methods of analysis, tools of discernment and principles of proceeding, a toolbox of supports and clarifications, which make the whys and ways of the Social Tradition, available to the reader. An excellent resource for the classroom and a tool for those who want to introduce or support those seeking to make a difference.

Judith A. Merkle

This new, updated edition of Living Justice will be enthusiastically welcomed by all who want to give their students an accurate, comprehensive, and reader-friendly introduction to Catholic social teaching.

Jon Nilson

I am grateful for this updated edition of Massaro's Living Justice. I have used the earlier edition for several years now, and my students have found it a clear and accessible presentation. However, as Fr. Massaro notes, Pope Francis has changed Catholic social teaching forever, not only with his writing but especially in his action. This new edition nicely integrates reflections on the Pope’s personal way of ‘living justice,’ as well as exploring his written contributions in Evangelii Gaudium and Laudato Si’. I continue to find particularly helpful the questions for reflection provided at the end of each chapter, as well as the quite useful section on ‘Applying Catholic Social Teaching in the Real World,’ always the challenge for my students and for all of us in the Church.

James R. Stormes

I enthusiastically endorse the text for the following reasons:1. The text balances and integrates very well the historical development of Catholic Social Teaching, the core values of CST, and its application to present day and future societal issues.2. The “Questions for Reflection” at the end of chapters is an excellent pedagogical feature. I will recommend to my students that they read the questions first in order to provide them a context in which to read the specific chapter. 3. For courses and programs that require a strong writing component, Massaro's suggestions contained in the 'Topics for Further Research' provide a valuable assistance for both students and instructor.4. The interdisciplinary nature of the text would be an excellent requirement for a 'Learning-Community”'project which links a Catholic Social Teaching course with an appropriate course in Political Science, Sociology or History or as a supplemental text in any course exploring Social Justice regardless of the discipline.5. The text is extremely accessible to undergraduates, parish adult education programs and at the same time quite appropriate for the graduate level course.

Peter H. Beisheim

I like the updated sections that serve to make the text more relevant and current and real!

Mary Ann Baran

Massaro provides a necessary companion text to any course that deals with issues of social justice, the role of the Church in the modern world, or the relationship between religion and public policy. It is simultaneously academically rigorous and easily accessible to students. Broad, honest, and practical, it serves a variety of courses and invites much needed dialogue between religion that has become increasingly privatized in the public square.

Brian Scott