 Social Justice
We, here at the Church of St. William, take this
mandate of the Church very seriously and have clearly
stated our call as baptized Christians in our Parish
Statement of Mission. Catholic social teaching is a
central and essential element of our faith. Its
roots are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's
special love for the poor and called God's people to a
covenant of love and justice. It is a teaching
founded on the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came
"to bring glad tidings to the poor -- liberty to
captives -- recovery of sight to the blind" (Luke 4:18 -
19), and who identified himself with "the least of
these," the hungry and the stranger (Matthew 25:35).
Catholic social teaching is built on a commitment to
the poor. This experience arises from our
experiences of Christ in the Eucharist. As the
Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "To receive
in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us,
we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren"
(no. 1397). |
