Social Justice

Social Justice

The importance of promoting Social Justice is at the core of the Church's mission. Anyone who has a familiarity with Christ's teaching knows that He emphasized the importance of caring for those around us who have been marginalized.

Read the excerpt from the Charleston Synod document, below;

"The sacred dignity of the human person is the basis for the Church's social teachings. The Church teaches that each person has fundamental rights to freedom, food, housing, health care, a living wage, family and community relationships."

If you have questions about this topic, you may reach Sr. Carol Gnau at the Parish Office.

International Outreach Effort

In the past year, we launched a new outreach effort. The Sakthi Cultural Centre in Tamil, Nadu, India is an inspiring ministry designed and directed by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM).

The center seeks to help the Dalit people of India by promoting equality, social justice and human compassion by training young Dalit girls to become strong social leaders. The creativity and wisdom displayed by the ICM Sisters is noteworthy. To read more about this new ministry, click the link to the Sakthi Centre.

Health Care Reform

One social justice issue which dominated the national debate in 2011 and early 2012 is the issue of Health Care Reform. The outcome of this discussion could have far reaching ramifications, and is therefore of critical interest to Catholics everywhere.

Please take a moment to read Bishop Guglielmone's Statement on Health Care Reform.

As Catholics, we bear a responsibility to remain active in voicing The Catholic perspective on matters of morality in society. We are providing the contact information for our elected officials, so that you can easily reach them should you feel called to do so.

Contact info for elected officials:

The Honorable Lindsey Graham 290 Russell Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510

The Honorable Jim DeMint 340 Russell Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510

The Honorable Henry Brown 103 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Joe Wilson 212 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable J. Gresham Barrett 439 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Bob Inglis 100 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Spratt 1401 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515

The Honorable James E. Clyburn 2135 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515

The Church is also concerned about the care for the elderly, especially where end-of-life issues for the terminally ill are concerned. This is a core concern, and for many years the Catholic church has been a leading advocate for Respect Life issues. Please take time to visit our Respect Life Page.

Several of the ministries we support and promote here at St. John the Beloved work to advance Social Justice. One of the first among them is the St. Vincent de Paul Ministry, which provides direct financial aid to people in crisis situations. If you want to read about our efforts at feeding the poor, please visit our page about Outreach for the Hungry.

If you would like to know more about the Catholic Church's teaching on the topic of Social Justice, take a moment to read the U.S. Catholic Bishops Document entitled "Economic Justice For All."

We also work to help the homeless. Visit our page on Homelessness to read about how we approach this challenge. Thank you for your interest in our parish's efforts at caring for the marginalized among us.

God Bless you.

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