Practice of Justice
Excerpted Texts from JW“ … in the sphere of social and political conflicts … Christians bear witness to the Gospel by pointing out that in history there are sources of progress other than conflict, namely love and right … to prefer the way of non-violent action …” (no. 39)
“ … Church recognizes that anyone who ventures to speak to people about justice must first be just in their eyes…” (no. 40) “Church recognizes everyone’s right to suitable freedom of expression and thought. This includes the right of everyone to be heard in a spirit of dialogue…” (no. 44) “ … justice should include speed in its procedure (judicial)…” (no. 45) Comments (1) JW commits its authors to practice justice within the church. That commitment is given expression in no. 40 (2) The document mentions various ways in which the rights of people within the Church have to be respected. These include respect for economic rights (wages), juridical rights, and the right to participate in responsibility and decision-making – with special mention being made of the rights of women (lay and religious) and of the laity in general. (3) The bishops address themselves to the question of the image of the Church in the world: If the Church appears to be among the rich and the powerful of this world its credibility is diminished. This leads the bishops to say that the possessions, privileges, and lifestyle of the Church and of its ministers and members must be looked at; they must be judged not simply in terms of efficiency but to see whether they hinder the Church in its proclamation and witness of the Gospel to the poor. (4) The lifestyle of the institutional Church and all its members must allow it to preach the good news to the poor. |
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