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INTENTION : |
That those who administer justice may work with integrity, and that the injustice which prevails in the world may not have the last word.
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Determining what is right or wrong is not enough
Catholic moral theology should be understood not only as determining whether acts are right or wrong but also with the need to bring about change so that what is right becomes present in our society and justice replaces injustice.
Take, for example, the case of bribery that is an important part of the broader issue of corruption and is so present in all parts of the global society today. A bribe is an inducement improperly influencing the performance of a public function meant to be gratuitously exercised. Thus bribery violates a divine precept. Deuteronomy 10:17 maintains that God does not take bribes.
The Catholic tradition itself has not always recognized the important need to go beyond the morality of acts to attempt to bring about change in a concrete way with regard to existing practices. The manuals of moral theology had the narrow scope of declaring which acts are sinful and the degree of sinfulness. They express no interest in how to change practices such as corruption or bribery. It was enough just to point out what was the law of God about sinful acts.
Catholic Social Ethics and teaching by its very nature aims at making justice more present in society. Even here the emphasis for some time was heavily on teaching what is the right thing to do, but recently that has been changing. The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World decried the split between faith and daily life. There can be no false opposition between professional and social activities on the one hand and religious life and belief on the other (GS n. 43).
The International Synod of Bishops in 1971 insisted that "action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation." Therefore, Christians are called to change and eliminate structural sins in the world.
The Catholic tradition thus has to be concerned with the concrete ways of overcoming injustice and making justice, peace, and the integrity of creation more prevalent in our local, national, and global realities. Today moral theologians are more conscious of their responsibilities in bringing about such social change.
One example of this is the theological recognition of the role of community organizations to bring about change and greater justice in our society. Community organizations attempt to organize the poor and marginalized to show that they by their organized efforts can bring about change and make justice more present.
Community organization does not involve privileged people telling the underprivileged what to do. By definition such organizations try to find the local leadership within a community and encourage that leadership to discern among the people what are the primary problems of injustice they are facing. They then discern what are the best ways to try to bring about change. In the beginning it is very important for marginalized communities to have the experience that they too are empowered to bring about such a change. Small successful attempts encourage them to move towards the direction of overcoming sinful social structures and injustices thereby bringing about a just society.
One can readily see why Catholic social ethics should be concerned about the concrete ways of bringing about justice and overcoming sinful social structures.
God Needs Leaders of Integrity - Micah 3:5-12
God needs leaders with integrity, people filled with the Spirit, people with confidence who speak truth in His name, people who believe in Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation, people who seek to influence others with the message of hope and love of our Lord. God is calling you to live for Him and be available to impact others in His name! True prophets and leaders of God will be used to turn the world upside down!
Micah is an amazing leader because he contrasts his own calling as a prophet with the false prophets. God needs leaders of integrity who speak the truth. He needs people to step up in positions of influence so the message of Jesus Christ will penetrate into the confusion of people's lives and turn the world upside down.
Micah is willing to point to himself as a good example of what it means to be a leader of integrity? We need to be able to have confidence and boldness to declare God is with us. We bring a measure of wisdom from God, a spirit of peace, a smidgeon of sanity... Our prayer be that each one us is not a false prophet telling people only what the people want to hear, but unwilling to point out sin, misguided ideas, unfair goals... Micah says that unlike the false prophets, he does declare sin to be sin, wrong to be wrong, craziness to be craziness.
Micah is filled with power, but not his own: "I am filled with power with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might..." (Micah 3:8). I know right from wrong because God through His Spirit is in me. The world around us needs leaders of integrity who are focused on justice, right and wrong, leaders who represent God and the truth of Jesus Christ.
God will use leaders of integrity with truth and justice to turn the world upside down so that people will return to God and hearts will be right side up.
Be leaders of Integrity
Let's shed our passive ways in which we sit back waiting for others to risk and instead ask God to use us to speak truth, seek justice and love people.
God is calling every person to impact other people around them. Take on leadership roles, formally and informally. Our church needs leaders. Our community needs leaders. Pray for God to reveal where he wants you to serve, who he wants you to reach with the good news of salvation. God needs leaders of integrity in every area of society. Be a leader of integrity in your family. May you be able to say boldly with Micah, I am filled with power through the Spirit of the Lord, seeking justice, telling truth, and eyes wide open to sin." Amen.
Global programme against Corruption Conference - Dr Peter Langseth.
UN Centre for Crime Prevention, Vienna.
Pastor Carl Crpise. Sumas Church, Washington.
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