Social Justice Quotes 2008

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for August 31, 2008

"I have always opposed the death penalty, although both my husband and mother-in-law were murdered… Forgiving violence does not mean condoning violence…. For too long we have treated violence with violence and that’s why it never seems to end."
(26) Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jnr

for August 24, 2008

All human beings ought to have ready access to all that is necessary for living a genuinely human life: for example, food, clothing, housing, the right freely to choose their state of life and set up a family, the right to education, work, to their good name, to respect, to proper knowledge, the right to act according to the dictates of conscience and to safeguard their privacy, and rightful freedom, including freedom of religion.
(26) Gaudium et Spes: The Church in the Modern World: Vatican Council II

for August 17, 2008

It is up to the Christian communities to analyse with objectivity the situation proper to their own country, to shed on it the light of the Gospel’s unalterable words and to draw principles of reflection, norms of judgement and directives for action from the social teaching of the Church.
(4) A Call to Action, Pope Paul V1, 1971

for August 10, 2008

“May people look to us, not just for charitable handouts, but for support in their legitimate struggle against all forms of injustice and oppression.”
(17) Justice and Peace in a New Caribbean, The Roman Catholic Bishops of the Antilles

for August 3, 2008

“The equal application of the law, community policing, rehabilitation programmes in prisons, the abolition of the death penalty, police reform, the decommissioning of the military are all proposals designed to reduce state violence as a contributing factor to a generalised culture of violence.”
(32) Pastoral Letter on Crime and Violence: Antilles Episcopal Conference

for July 27, 2008

“The Church is ready to collaborate and offer her support to all persons whose main concern is to establish a society that respects the most elementary rights of man and to build a society for man.”
Pope Benedict XVI (2008)- No Peace Without Justice.

for July 20, 2008

“Without justice, without struggling against all forms of corruption, without respect for the rule of law, it is impossible to build true peace.” Without these conditions, “it will be hard for citizens to trust their leaders; moreover, without respect for the liberty of every individual, there can be no peace.”
No Peace Without Justice, Pope Benedict XVI (2008)

for July 13, 2008

“I make an appeal today for an ever more prophetic courage, reminding that peace and justice advance together and that all this must be made concrete through respect for legality in all realms.”
No Peace Without Justice, Pope Tells African Envoy - Pope Benedict XVI (2008)

for July 6, 2008

“The establishment of peace …, can only come with justice and respect for human rights.”
No Peace Without Justice, Pope Tells African Envoy,
Pope Benedict XVI (2008)

for June 29, 2008

The Church has the right, indeed the duty, to proclaim justice on the social, national and international level, and to denounce instances of injustice, when the fundamental rights of people and their very salvation demand it.
(36) World Synod of Bishops, 1971

for June 22, 2008

People living in poverty do not belong on the sidelines, in a marginalised position. Everything must be done to prevent this. They must be placed at the very centre of our concerns, at the centre of the human family. It is there the poor can play a unique role within the community.
World hunger a challenge for all: development in solidarity.
Pope John Paul II

for June 15, 2008

“Every group must take into account the needs and legitimate aspirations of every other group, and even those of the human family as a whole.”
(26) Gaudium et Spes: The Church in the Modern World, Vatican Council II

for June 8, 2008

It is our duty ‘to defend and promote the dignity and fundamental rights of the human person.’
(9) Justice and Peace in a new Caribbean: The Roman Catholic Bishops of the Antilles.

for June 1, 2008

Our society should not flinch from contemplating the suffering that violent crime brings. Recognition of this suffering should not lead to demands for vengeance.
Statement on Capital punishment, US Bishops, 1980

for May 25, 2008

When I give bread to the hungry, they call me a saint: but when I ask why the hungry have no bread, they call me a communist.
Bishop Helder Camara

for May 18, 2008

Unemployment almost always wounds its victim’s dignity and threatens the equilibrium of his life. Besides the harm done to him personally, it entails many risks for his family
Catechism of the Catholic Church #243

for May 11, 2008

Whatever, the progress in technology and economic life, there can be neither justice nor peace in the world, so long as people fail to realise how great is their dignity; for they have been created by God and are His children.
Mother and Teacher, Pope John XXIII

for May 4, 2008

May our Church become known as a fearless defender of human rights and justice whatever this may cost in material or political terms.’ 
(17) Justice and Peace in a New Caribbean:  The Roman Catholic Bishops of the Antilles