Economic Justice

Argie R. Delizo
Instructor
Instructor
Father God, we ask for fairness,
justice and righteousness to come
into our supermarkets, our
industries and our hearts, for we
would worship you as you desire
– by defending the poor, and
giving labourers a fair wage for
their work.
Amen.
-thesanctuarycentre.org
Economy:
•Refers to the
system of
production,
distribution and
consumption of
goods and services.
Adam Smith (Father of
Economics)

- Claimed that free

markets optimize the
price and the amount
of production by itself.
Laissez-Faire
a French term that translates to
"leave alone" (literally, "let
you do")
is an economic theory from
the 18th century that
opposed any government
intervention in business
affairs.
the less the government is
involved in the economy,
the better off business will
be, and by extension,
society as a whole.
Reality: the market
showed problems of
the exclusion of people
from the market, the
large gap between the
poor and the rich, the
oppression of the rights
of the workers and so
on.
Industrial Revolution
(18th Century)

Those problems
became more
apparent.
Catholic Church:
Confronted those
problems and developed
its teachings on
economic justice.

Goal:
Economic activities may
pursue the increase of
common good.
Economic
Justice

The economic
activities to be
carried out for a
more humane
world.
Humane: One who shows great compassion
and caring for others, including animals, and
who tries whenever possible to alleviate
another's suffering. (Vocabulary.com)
 Interactions Factors that affects Interaction Individual level of
Economic Justice

Common good Attitudes on material goods

Problem: Consumerism people
consume too many resources.
Individual Families
Unregulated competition 3 Reasons:

Excessive power on the rich Material Acquisition= True

Societies, Nations, World happiness
Material Acquisition= Quick
Threats and opportunities of Satisfaction
Environment Globalization *Material Acquisition= Depleted
resources and increased wastes
from consumption
 Economic Justice

Starts from the Beatitudes: “Blessed

are the poor in spirit for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
Poor in Spirit:

-knows that the true owner of their

properties is God and manage and
share them as divine gifts.
- means people who recognize their
own spiritual poverty, their need for
God. (Church-poverty.org.uk)
Poor in Spirit: “It would be
easier to practice the
economic justice.”

“Christian salvation is an
integral liberation of man
which means being freed not
only from need but also in
respect to possessions.”
Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church no.
328.
Duties for Economic Justice:

Man is called to render justice to the poor releasing the

oppressed, consoling the afflicted actively seeking a new
social order in which adequate solutions to material
poverty are offered and in which the forces thwarting the
attempts of the weakest to free themselves from
conditions of misery and slavery are more effectively
controlled.” CSDC no. 325.
Responsibilities:

helping the poor both

bodily and spiritually.

helping them to be free

from poverty.
 Essential Questions:

1.Poor in spirit = material poverty?

2.Is it wrong to pursuit the success and the

wealth?

3.Why God allows inequality?

1.Poor in spirit = material
poverty?
–Idea from Saints:

–Lived in Poverty: St. Jerome, St. Martin de

Porres, St. Bernadette

–Royal or Rich: St. Louis IX or St. Elizabeth of

Hungrary.
Answer: The rich in materials can be
poor in spirit.

Evangelical Counsels:
Poverty, Chastity and
Obedience
Recommended (counselled) by Jesus in the
four accounts of the Gospel ('evangelium' in
Latin). Jesus Christ was poor in spirit, chaste
in heart, and obedient in love to the will of
his Father. (Carmelite.org)
“Not required to
give up all
possessions but
are invited to live
simply and in a “How could we ever do good to
our neighbor if none of us
spirit of poverty.” possessed anything.”-St. Clement
of Alexandria
Strive to live more simply, being not
excessively concerned with material
things.

Magis is a Latin word that means "more"

or "greater". It is related to ad majorem
Dei gloriam, a Latin phrase meaning "for
the greater glory of God", the motto of
the Society of Jesus. Magis refers to the
philosophy of doing more for Christ, and
therefore doing more for others.
Poverty is closely
linked to the notion
of vacare Deo;
leaving space for God
to act in our lives and
trusting in God’s
providence.

‘You cannot serve both God

and wealth’ (Luke 16:13)
Embracing voluntary
poverty condemns
possession of the poor
and the idolatry of
wealth and impels us to
seek justice and peace.
2. Is it wrong to pursuit the success
and the wealth?

–“It is easier for a camel to pass

through the eye of a needle than
for one who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for one who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)

Saints:
St. Francis of Assisi,
St. Anthony of Padua
and
St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Embracing poverty does
not mean that :

You can run away from your

duties of life

Living poor does not mean that

you can be lazy or dull.

“We all have the right to earn money

from our labor, but also have the
responsibility to contribute to the
world with our best capacity.”
“Good administration of the gifts
received and of material goods also,
is a work of justice towards oneself
and towards others. What has been
received should be used properly,
preserved and increase as suggested
by the parable of the talents.”
(CSDC no. 326)
It is good to increase our
properties.”

What matters:

How we use them.

Whether we love God above

our possessions
3.Why God allows inequality?

Some born rich and some born poor

Some with special talents and some are born

without them

Why do we all have different start and live

differently?
These differences belongs to God’s
plan, who will that each receive
what he needs from others, and that
those endowed with particular
“talents” share the benefit with
those who need them. However, the
equality of human persons requires
the effort to reduce excessive social
and economic inequalities.” (CCC
1936-1937, 1947)
“Riches belong to some people so that they
can gain merit by sharing them with others.”
-St. John Chrysostom

The rich has a big responsibility to

share what they have, even if we
are not rich each of us must share
our talents and time to the
community.
Gracious and Merciful God,
We ask that you give our leaders the
wisdom to guide our nation and the
world out of the current economic crisis.
Help us to protect the poor and all those
who are struggling during this difficult
time. Provide for their needs and give
them hope. Open new opportunities for
them and furnish the resources they need
to live with dignity. Encourage those
who have enough to share essential
resources with those who lack the
necessities of life, and to do so with
humble, grateful and loving hearts.
Apart from you we can do nothing.

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.