UNIT II Lesson 1: The Social Mission

of the Church
 WHAT IS THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE
CHURCH?

instrument or systematic procedure to denounce

injustice/
to proclaim JUSTICE.
THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH

• In her work of evangelization, the

Church cannot play deaf to the great
problems of the world.

• Part of her evangelizing mission is to

teach and spread the Social Doctrine
of the Church.
 THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH

• The core of the Church’s social mission is to save man

in his totality.
 THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH

• The Church aims to correctly form the people’s

conscience

• The Church offers values and principles that must be

respected in a humane society.
 THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH

• The Church examines the signs of times and interprets them in the light of
the Gospel and makes moral judgments on economic and social matters

• She condemns abuses, injustices and attacks against freedom

• She struggles for the defense and advancement of the rights of mankind,
esp. of the poor and the oppressed
The Church and the Questions of ‘Just
Relations’ among People
a. Respect versus Discrimination
• The Church in the Philippines is
expected to be the advocate of
impartiality that shuns any form of
discrimination, conflict and
political animosity.
• The Church is also called to
promote respect for races,
genders, religions and point of
views so that national unity and
healing are attainable.
 The Church and the Questions of ‘Just
Relations’ among People
a. Respect versus Discrimination
• Discrimination and neglect are obstacles to the full development of
persons and of society as a whole.
• Everyone has a role and needs to have the opportunity to improve
themselves so that they can take their place in society and
participate fully in the community they find themselves in.
• This aspiration can only be achieved through the recognition of
people’s capacities, potentials, and rights as well as in ensuring that
the structures in the communities and in society as a whole support
this goal.
The Church and the Questions of ‘Just
Relations’ among People
b. As Agent of Hope and Transformation
• It is through baptism that members of the Christian community
“are called to a holiness of life in the world befitting disciples of
Jesus.”
• “Discipleship is the fundamental vocation in which the Church's
mission and ministry find full meaning.”
• As disciples of Jesus, we are called into communion with both God
and others and are sent in mission to proclaim the Good News of
the Kingdom.
• As disciples, all members of the Church “should everywhere on
earth bear witness to Christ and give an answer to everyone who
asks a reason for hope.
Responding to the Demands of our
Contemporary Communities
a. The Fact of Religious Pluralism
• The Church recognizes and
defends the fundamental dignity
of man to be free from coercion in
matters religious.
• “All men are called in freedom to
Jesus Christ and to his Church,
which has a divine mission…to
evangelize the whole world… so
that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bend…and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord…” (Phil 2:10–11).
 Responding to the Demands of our
Contemporary Communities
b. Truthful Tolerance
• Dignitatis Humanae states: “… the human person has a right to
religious freedom. This freedom means that
• all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or social
groups and of any human power
• no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs
• Not to be restrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether
privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due
limits.
• The right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of
the human person, as this dignity is known through the revealed
word of God and by reason itself.”
 Responding to the Demands of our
Contemporary Communities
c. Fidelity to Proclaim the Kingdom of God
• The Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully
observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, received
the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the
Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is, on earth, the seed and the
beginning of that Kingdom.”
• The Church’s mission is the same as it was yesterday, today, and
tomorrow: to evangelize the whole world. “It is the duty of the
Church, therefore, in her preaching to proclaim the Cross of Christ as
the sign of God’s universal love and the source of all grace