The document discusses the Catholic Church's social doctrine on justice. It defines justice as a virtue concerned with treating others well through respecting their rights and contributing to the common good. There are different types of justice, including commutative, legal, distributive, and social justice. Rights are seen as preceding justice and stemming from natural law, though they are limited to avoid harming others. The Bible also emphasizes pursuing justice and defending the vulnerable.

1. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church

2. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
JUSTICE AND LAW
• People desire justice
in life:
– We want good things
distributed evenly
– We want antisocial
behavior to have
consequences

3. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
JUSTICE AND LAW (continued)
• Rights:
– Certain goods that have been given to us by nature
– They cannot be unjustly taken from us
• Societies reflect our innate desire for justice
– Systems and structures are established—laws, courts, and law
enforcement
• Jesus condemned those who were not just

4. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
DEFINING JUSTICE
• What exactly is justice?
– A virtue of having a constant inclination to do good
– A measure of how well we treat others
– One of the four Cardinal Virtues
• Considered by some to be the most important virtue as it has a
social dimension
• “Cardinal” comes from Latin cardo, meaning “hinge”
• Cardinal virtues are the hinges upon which the door of the moral
life opens and closes

5. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
DEFINING JUSTICE (continued)
• Almost every act of virtue or
vice will involve justice or
injustice
• St. Thomas spoke of the
primacy of justice among the
moral virtues

6. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
JUSTICE IS PERSONAL
• Justice
– Is a “social virtue”
– Begins with a personal act
• Social justice begins with the
personal moral decisions of
individuals
• Likewise, all injustice is
brought about by the
personal decisions of man

7. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
RIGHTS PRECEDE JUSTICE
• “Justice” comes from Latin, jus,
meaning “right”
• Justice presumes the existence of
rights
– When we borrow something
belonging to another, we must
return it to the owner
– If we damage property of another,
we must restore it to its former,
undamaged condition

8. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
RIGHTS PRECEDE JUSTICE (continued)
• Some rights, called natural rights, belong to us simply because
we are persons created by God
– Right to life
– Right to bodily integrity
– Right to personal and vocational freedom
– Right to hold property
• Some rights may be limited for the good of the whole
– In times of shortages, the government may ration food or fuel

9. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
TYPES OF JUSTICE
• Catholic moral teaching
distinguishes different types of
justice
1. Commutative Justice
– Governs normal mutual transactions of
daily life
– Honor promises and contracts, pay for
products and services that we want, do
what we are paid to
– Forbids homicide, theft, fraud, gossip,
exploit, bearing false witness

10. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
TYPES OF JUSTICE (continued)
2. Legal Justice
– Measures the response of individuals to the obligations in a
society/state
– Concerned with the common good of the society
– Dictates that we must obey the law and do what is our duty for the
common good
– Leads us to give of ourselves to the community, by placing our time,
money, and talents at the service of others

11. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
TYPES OF JUSTICE (continued)
3. Distributive Justice
– This measures the ways and means by which authority distributes the
goods and obligations of social life among the members of society
– People should receive goods according to their needs and contribution
to society
– These vary in each individual, so inequality is inevitable but not always
unjust as long as the inequality does not lead to exclusion

12. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
TYPES OF JUSTICE (continued)
4. Social Justice
– Examines the cultural, economic, and
political aspects of society
– Has particular concern for structural
problems and solutions
– Depends on proper understanding of
human nature
– Personal virtue leads to individual
initiatives, which can attract many to an
important cause
– A movement can change the world

13. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
WHAT RIGHTS DO WE HAVE?
• Many national constitutions promise the protection of certain
rights, such as the ten amendments known as the “Bill of
Rights”
• The idea of freedom is based mainly on the protection of rights
• Saint John Paul II said that, apart from religious faith, it is
difficult to determine what rights are and who determines
what they are
• The Declaration of Independence asserts that rights come from
the Creator

14. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
WHAT RIGHTS DO WE HAVE? (continued)
• Government is their custodian and their guarantor—but not
their origin
• John Humphrey, the man who prepared the first draft of the
Declaration, later recalled that Catholics, such as Jacques
Maritain, provided the theoretical foundation for the
document:
– Introducing the notion of the natural law that dictates natural rights
– Catholicism’s conceptual framework enabled people from vastly
different perspectives to converge and come to an agreement

15. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
WHAT RIGHTS DO WE HAVE? (continued)
• Natural Law, in Catholic
thought:
– An objective order
established by God that
determines the
requirements for people to
thrive and reach fulfillment
– Natural Rights come from
Natural Law

16. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
WHAT RIGHTS DO WE HAVE? (continued)
– Natural Rights are also necessarily limited for the common good
• Freedom of expression (a natural right) doesn't protect libel,
slander, treason, pornography
• An individual’s misuse of rights often violates the rights of others
• Rights can be destructive to society and to others’ rights
– Abortion
» Considered a “right”
» Considered “healthcare,” however, it kills the unborn baby and
the mother can be damaged both physically and psychologically
– Rights precede justice; therefore justice requires the protection
and preservation of rights

17. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
JUSTICE IN THE BIBLE
– The Old Testament, we see
how peace and prosperity
may be gained through
injustice
• Israel was once thriving
because of exploitation,
cheating, and other
injustices
– Amos and Isaiah were
sent to warn them

18. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
JUSTICE IN THE BIBLE (continued)
– Justice is an essential
component of
Christianity
• Jesus promised great
rewards for those who
seek justice, correct
oppression, defend the
helpless, plead for the
poor
• He also promised to
punish those who
neglect such just deeds

19. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
JUSTICE IN THE BIBLE (continued)
– Quotes from the Bible
about Justice:
• Amos 2:6-8
• Isaiah 1:13-17
• Matthew 5:1-11
• Matthew 25:34-45

20. CHAPTER 2 – The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church
CONCLUSION
• All human beings have rights because they possess inherent
dignity
• Although rights have come to be more recognized and
respected in modern times, an increased movement to
eradicate God from society makes it difficult to establish what
our natural rights are
• Rights come with corresponding duties
– We must respect, protect, and preserve the rights of others