Social Sin1. To speak of 'social sin' means in the first place to recognize that, by virtue of human solidarity, which is as mysterious and intangible as it is real and concrete, each individual's sin in some way affects others . . . Some sins, however, by their very matter constitute a direct attack on one's neighbor and, more exactly, in the language of the Gospel, against one's brother or sister. They are an offense against God because they are offenses against one's neighbor. These sins are usually called 'social sins,' and this is the second meaning of the term . . . Likewise, the term 'social' applies to every sin against justice in interpersonal relationships, committed either by the individual against the community or by the community against the individual . . . Also social is every sin against the common good and its exigencies in relation to the whole broad spectrum of the rights and duties of citizens. (Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, n. 16)
2. If the present situation can be attributed to difficulties of various kinds, it is not out of place to speak of 'structures of sin' which, as I stated in my apostolic exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, are rooted in personal sin, and thus always linked to the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these structures, consolidate them and make them difficult to remove. And thus they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins, and so influence people's behavior. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 36) 3. . . . among the actions and attitudes opposed to the will of God, the good of neighbor and the 'structures' created by them, two are very typical: on the one hand, the all-consuming desire for profit, and on the other, the thirst for power, with the intention of imposing one's will upon others. In order to characterize better each of these attitudes, one can add the expression: 'at any price'. In other words, we are faced with the absolutizing of human attitudes with all its possible consequences . . . Since these attitudes can exist independently of each other, they can be separated; however, in today's world, both are indissolubly united, with one or the other predominating . . . Obviously, not only individuals fall victim to this double attitude of sin; nations and blocs can do so too. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 37) 4. [Solidarity], then, is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes 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. This determination is based on the solid conviction that what is hindering full development is that desire for profit and that thirst for power already mentioned. These attitudes and 'structures of sin' are only conquered-presupposing the help of divine grace-by a diametrically opposed attitude: a commitment to the good of one's neighbor with the readiness, in the gospel sense, to 'lose oneself for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him, and to 'serve him' instead of oppressing him for one's own advantage. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 38) 5. Sin externalizes itself in human interaction. When patterns of human interaction become habitual, a social structure develops. When the habitual patterns of human interaction are infected by sin— selfishness, injustice, pride, greed, hatred—then we have sinful social structures. These sinful social structures can harden into institutions, and result in a network or environment that effectively hinders growth in the Christian life. Sinful social structures perpetuate disvalues or the wrong hierarchy of values. They are inducements to sin and are a formidable obstacle to Christian living. We can see the terrible effects of sin and sinful structures in the many uncared for and malnourished children of our unjust society, the wretchedness of the jobless and the homeless, the proliferation of crimes, the pervasiveness of graft and corruption, the lack of peace and order, or the horrors of war. Sin shows itself in suffering, in the myriad suffering faces that demonstrate the degradation of the human person and human society, and in the destruction of our environment that lays bare the evil shortsightedness of human greed. (PCP II # 82) |
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