Advocate/Educate
Catholic Social Teaching calls upon all of us to not only perform good, charitable works, but to learn about and advocate against societal and economic structures that oppress the poor, the immigrant, the refugee, the physically and mentally ill. (Read the story below.)
Resurrection's Social Justice Committee is committed to providing education of social issues such as racial justice, healthcare and immigration reforms, climate change, abortion, end of life options, etc. in forums that allow for varied opinions and fruitful discussions.
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We provide education through our newsletters, movies, documentaries, and AGift forums at the parish. We also maintain the Lending Library with new releases on current issues, as well as the old classics.
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As we expand into the area of sustainability, we hope to provide information sessions and forums to find ways in which we, as individuals and a parish community to do more to preserve our earth.
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We welcome you to join us!
Relevant links
"There’s a fictitious story about a little river town. Life is peaceful until one day, the townspeople discover a corpse that has washed downstream. They retrieve the body and give the deceased a proper burial. Two days later, another corpse appears and again, they take care to bury this body as well. The people are sad but feel good about doing this difficult, but charitable task.
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Suddenly, several bodies are washing downstream every day and all the townsfolk are scrambling to perform the merciful work of burying the dead. All but one young man. As he is walking away, the townspeople cry, “Where are you going? We need your help to recover all these bodies!” The young man replies, “I am going upstream to see why all these people are drowning and what I can do to stop it.”
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This story explains the difference between charity and social justice. Burying the dead is an important work of mercy, as is feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. But until we address the societal causes behind things like oppression, genocide, and poverty, the bodies will continue to pile up and the ranks of the hungry will swell. Our capacity for charity will never be enough.
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Mercy is more than charity. Justice is more than punishment. To be just and merciful means we are called to look deep into our hearts, to root out beliefs and actions that tacitly support an oppressive status quo."
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