Post on 14-Jan-2015
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In faithfulness to the gospel and in the context of a growing responsiveness to the challenge
of human development in the world today, the Church has thus committed herself to a
mission of integral evangelization, one in which “(action) on behalf of justice and
participation in the transformation of the world... (are a) constitutive dimension of the
preaching of the Gospel, or in other words, of the Church’s redemption of the human
race...” There are three essential aspects to integral evangelization: evangelizing presence,
building a community of dialogue, and authentic efforts for human development and
liberation through charitable, developmental, and liberationist approaches.
Integral Evangelization
The proclaiming of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament to bring about a personal
conversion that impels one to active involvement in the process of human development
and liberation.
Three aspects:
o Evangelizing Presence
God created us with restless hearts that yearn for him, but many people are
oblivious and focus on his creatures instead.
A conversion experience is necessary to bring them back to God.
Often takes place by encountering the mysterious God through
symbols that manifest His presence
Greatest symbol – human person committed to the Lord; we
become living symbols to evoke a response to God from those
around us.
o Building a Community of Dialogue
Active involvement in both religious and human concerns
comprises/demands interaction and building bridges of dialogue
Communities are important to make people feel like they belong.
o Authentic Efforts for Human Development and Liberation
If the Church does not act out what she preaches, then she preaches an
empty word.
Church’s mission: foster and proclaim the Kingdom of God, to promote
justice, peace and community in a world full of injustices, violence and
alienation
Church is called to be involved in the socio-economic, political realities of
her people precisely to safeguard and uphold the human
Evangelized laity’s active involvement will transform many aspects of
society: family, community, business and politics.
Three approaches of the Church in promoting its social mission:
1. Charitable Approach
Giving donations (ex. Ondoy)
Band-Aid approach; does not last
2. Developmental Approach
Teaching skills to people so that they can help themselves
3. Liberationist Approach
Transforming unjust social structures
Church
A community of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ who are committed to carry out
His mission to foster and proclaim the Kingdom of God
Beyond its being a social and political resource, is first and foremost a light that
illumines, a spiritual force that needs to critique the social, political and cultural fields in
order to affirm, denounce, purify, or reinforce in the light of the Word of God
Kingdom of God
Where God reigns
A state wherein justice, brotherhood, family, peace and love is present.
It is here but not fully alive because of the social structures present within society. It is
thus our responsibility to work towards the Kingdom of God. It is not merely in the
future, we are obliged as Christians and as human beings to make it a reality for
everyone.
God also brings about the Kingdom of God through the men and women who have
fought towards the realization of God’s kingdom.
God inspires us through the Holy Spirit and we become active in the Kingdom of
God.
Eight Principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church:
1. Integral Development – Human Dignity and Solidarity
Develop the whole person, not just economically, but culturally, socially
and most importantly, spiritually.
Human Dignity: given by God; persons are created in the image of God
We are brothers and sisters to all; we must care for one another and go
beyond the family
2. Universal Purpose of Earthly Goods and Private Property
The rights of every person to acquire property and plan for the future; take
care of the family
Private property has a social dimension:
Use it to create jobs
Use it to help people who do not have enough goods to survive
3. Social Justice and Love
Development cannot be achieved unless imbued with social justice and
love.
Justice: to give each person his/her due
4. Peace and Active Non-violence
Peace is a harmony in human heart and social order brought about by
justice and the promotion of common good.
Active non-violence can be peaceful persuasive rallies, demonstrations
and the like. Active non-violence requires solidarity of spirit as well as
action.
5. Love of Preference for the Poor
Preferential option for the poor
5. The Value of Human Work
Human work has an ethical value of its own, because the one who works
is the human person
Stewardship over the earth – people labour not only to make the earth
productive but to renew the face of the earth with the Holy Spirit.
There is a spirituality to work because work is a way of sanctification, a
way of discipleship and following one’s vocation as a gift of God.
Labour should be above capital. The person has primacy over things.
Subjective dimension (good working condition, right to union, living
wage) over the objective dimension.
7. Integrity of Creation
Passionate care for our earth and environment
We are stewards but not absolute masters of God’s creation.
8. People Empowerment
Persons are the active and responsible subjects of social life.
The poor must have a sense of victory that they can achieve something.
Three types of justice [part of Social Justice and Love]:
1. Commutative justice
Individuals individuals
Fundamental fairness in all dealings between individuals and groups
2. Distributive justice
State individuals
Allocation of resources by the government so that the basic material needs
of all are met
3. Social justice
Individuals state
Individuals being active in society to promote the common good
Five principles of the Filipino national tradition (p.105):
1. Pagsasarili
The principle of self-reliance
To own oneself
The burning ambition of every Filipino to be his own man; to be a person
in his own right; to make up his own mind
The will to secure for every Filipino the means to develop himself as a
responsible human being.
Brought about by the Spanish colonialism
Implications:
Ownership of that sufficiency of this world’s goods whereby one
can be one’s own man
Pagsasarili rejects the abolition of private property
Pagsasarili rejects the concept of private property as an absolute
right; a right to use, to abuse and not to use
Pagsasarili demands wider distribution of private property
(not to abuse and deprive the majority of the economic base of
human dignity)
Demands the development of the quality of self-reliance
2. Pakikisama
The equitable sharing of goods and services among all who help to
produce those goods or render those services, in the spirit of partnership
The willingness to share with one another the burdens as well as the
rewards of living together.
Helpfulness is expected of everyone but is never forced on anyone
Makisama (helping) and makialam (meddling) – help should be offered
but should wait acceptance
3. Pagkakaisa
National unity
One for all
The building up of an articulated national community through forms of
social organization that are understood, accepted and undertaken by the
people themselves.
Cannot be imposed; we should arrive at it ourselves through a process of
discussion and reasonableness
Freedom means we ought to obey not anyone, but only and always that
person whom we ourselves have chosen and acknowledged as the most
capable of leading us, because we are obeying our own reason
4. Pagkabayani
Patriotism
Total dedication to the nation
The readiness to put the common good of the nation above the private
interest, whether of one’s own person, group or class.
We wish to build up a nation that can make its own distinctive
contribution to the general advancement of the human race.
Ideal of a people united by national consensus (pagkakaisa) to build
together by a neighborly sharing of goods and services (pakikisama) a
society in which every man can develop himself fully as a person self-
possessed (pagsasarili)
5. Pakikipagkapwa-tao
To be a fellow, a friend, of every man provided it be on a basis of equality
Human solidarity
Dedication to the development of one’s own nation, so as to enable it to
participate on free and equal terms in the total development of mankind
No man is an island; he is part of the main
The theology of liberation begins from the viewpoint of the poor and oppressed and calls
for a triple liberation: a total liberation in Christ.
Differentiate the Theology of Liberation from Traditional Theology (p 39):
Traditional theology – one act only: the critical reflection of God’s revelation
Liberation theology – two acts: the first act is the commitment to poor and oppressed,
the second act is the critical reflection of God’s revelation
Explain the messages of the Medellin and Puebla Conferences.
Medellin Conference of 1968
o First conference in 1968
o It was a much more radical conference influenced by Gustavo Gutierrez (father of
Liberation Theology)
o Poverty is an “institutional violence”
o Focus: Option for the Poor (this was an exclusive focus)
o Four points:
Structural injustice
Institutionalized violence
Internal colonialism and neo-colonialism
Church of the poor
The Church denounces material poverty caused by injustice and
sin, and preaches and lives spiritual poverty.
Awakening from the sleep of inhumanity
Conscientization
People become responsible for injustice by remaining passive, by
failing to take courageous and effective action, for fear of sacrifice
and personal risk in doing so.
Triple liberation
Sharpened the issues related to social justice and option for the
poor.
Puebla Conference of 1979
o Focus: Preferential Option for the Poor (this was an inclusive focus)
o A balanced approach to liberating evangelization
Three dimensions of liberation:
Liberation from sinful social structures
Liberation from personal sin
Liberation from human weakness
Conscientization:
To become aware
Paolo Friere’s “Pedadogy of the Oppressed” talks about conscientization coming from:
o Above – the elite must know the situation of the poor
o Below – the poor must be made aware of what it means to be fully human,
because when they get power, they become oppressors themselves.
Difference between orthodoxy and orthopraxis:
Orthodoxy
o Right doctrine and learning and adhering to it
Orthopraxis
o Right action – to liberate people
Difference between “option for the poor” and “preferential option for the poor”:
Option for the poor
o Exclusive
o Help the poor alone
Preferential option for the poor
o Inclusive
o Involves everyone. We love everyone, but the poor need our love the most.
Three groundings of the “option for the poor” (p 71):
Ethical
o Recognition of human solidarity
o When one confronts a situation and a lot of the poor, we cannot help but have a
negative experience of contrast.
Negative experience of contrast – an immediate response to a situation
and a judgment that should not be or is an outrage.
One must have a higher positive ideal of the way things should be.
A negative experience of contrast is always accompanied by a desire to
resist the negativity, even if one does not have the power to change
things.
Scriptural
o The preferential option for the poor comes from the prophets in Jewish writings
and what we know of Jesus’ behavior and message in the New Testament.
o Prophets place concern for the poor ahead of all other religious concerns. Their
message was twofold:
Remember the covenant. Be true to the terms of the covenant.
A message of social justice: a people is only as good as they treat the
weakest in their midst.
Widows
Orphans
Aliens
Theological
o God loves all wholly, even sinners. This is the grounds for the value for every
single human being.
o God’s concern reaches out to those who are deprived.
o God’s love is egalitarian (for everyone) and so we should have that kind of love.
The poor need God’s love more because they are most in need.
Describe each of these characters from the film “Romero.”
Archbishop Romero
o Main character of the story; was first a bookish person who tried his best to stay
away from the social realities of El Salvador; when his best friend Fr. Grande was
killed, it was a turning point for him to promote liberation theology and take
social action against the present social system in El Salvador; was killed in the
end in the heart while giving communion.
Fr. Rutilio Grande SJ
o Archbishop Romero’s close friend; preached God’s word towards the poor and
fought against the social injustices from the beginning; witnessed a massacre
while giving communion but didn’t stop him from preaching the Word and
helping the poor
Fr. Alfonso Osuna SJ
o Never got involved in violence; advocate of liberation; became a victim of
violence by being tortured after the death of Zelada
Fr. Manuel Morantes SJ
o A coward Jesuit who had a conflict between violence and peace; first avoided
getting caught; cared for his people but succumbed to violence to defend his
people
Lucia
o Active in social involvement; posed as a threat to the military so she kidnapped
and killed
Rafael Zelada
o Agricultural minister; was for land reform; was kidnapped by rebels to free
political prisoners; but was eventually killed
Lieutenant Columa – fierce and violent; arrests Romero and tortures Osuna; sticks to his
orders and does not care about anything that goes against his orders
In the mission of integral evangelization, the “pastoral circle” provides a framework for
Christian action and reflection. The “pastoral circle” includes the moments of experience
(insertion), social analysis, theological reflection and action (pastoral planning) – and has
for its goal the deepening of the Christian faith life and spirituality in the context of
liberating Christian praxis in solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
Explain the four parts of the Pastoral Circle (p. 85):
1. Insertion
o Students leave their comfort zones and enter into the lives of poor families in
order to see Christ in them. Students experience with these poor Filipino families
the deprivations of material poverty and have their eyes opened to the experience
of their lives.
2. Social analysis
o The most important part of the pastoral circle
o Students use what they know of their communities that they lived with to
understand and analyze what social structures allowed for the situation that they
lived in.
o Students need to be clear about their own values to do social analysis.
3. Theological reflection
o Reflecting on the socially analyzed situation (second moment) from the point of
view of God’s self-revelation and the Christians’ faith-response.
o What do God’s Word and the Teachings of the Church say about this situation of
social injustice, which in turn also sheds light on this Revelation-Faith?
o Theology of Liberation can be discerned here as the critical reflection on
Christian praxis. “Faith seeking understanding” is no longer enough.
4. Pastoral planning
o Put into action what could be done to change the socially analyzed and
theologically reflected situation of injustice and immerse themselves again in the
community to avoid the “paralysis of analysis.”
o Only a faith that does justice is a true one.
Circle – to avoid forgetting the experience and to avoid becoming detached
Define Consensus and Coercion theories of society. How do they differ? Which theory is
presented in the film “Romero”?
Consensus Theory
o The members of society are seen as united by a common culture, a common
understanding of what the world and society are all about, of what is important
and unimportant in life, of what are the goods and values which the society should
be pursuing.
o The organization of the key institutions of society is seen as society’s attempt to
realize its key values and achieve its major goals.
o Power is exercised in the name of society and in order to promote and protect the
key values of society.
o Power is a tool to defend the status quo.
o Power is the servant of society and its values.
Coercion Theory
o Society is a structure of power and inequality arises from power struggle between
poor and rich.
o Society’s values are ideologies or legitimations imposed upon society by the elite,
propagated through cultural institutions such as the church and schools, enacted
into law, and serving fundamentally to justify the positions of those who hold
wealth and power.
o Institutions are made to enforce the abuse of power and equality.
o Power is a tool to attack the status quo.
o Values are the servants of power.
Why should the rich help the poor, according to Pope Paul VI’s encyclical?
If the rich do not help the poor, the poor will rise up and destroy them.
God will condemn the rich for not helping the poor.
The rich need the poor to become human beings. The poor will save them from becoming
dehumanized.
o Principle of Gratuitousness
Giftedness, graciousness by the poor to the rich
Ex. During immersion, the poor gift us with awareness
Reciprocal – poor and rich help each other to become more human
SECOND LONG TEST
Creation means that everything pertaining to the world has its origin, ground and final
goal in God. Creation is not simply a once-upon-a-time-event but God’s continuing
involvement in the world and its history. As co-creators, we have the responsibility of
cooperating with God’s work of creating a new human person and community. The
doctrine of creation provides a basic faith vision of human dignity, work, development and
liberation.
Discuss Creation in the Old Testament.
The difference between the First and Second Account of Creation in the Book of Genesis,
with specific passages:
The Five Points of a Theology of Creation:
The Four Points for a Faith Value of Creation:
Cite 4 specific environmental problems in the Philippines, and what should be done to solve
these?
Original sin is not only revealed in the Scripture and taught by the Church, but is universal
human experience. The doctrine of original sin includes four dimensions: 1) “the sin of the
world” describing our sinful situation, 2) the “heart of darkness” in us which we experience
in concupiscence, 3) the close relation between original sin and personal sins, and 4) the
shadow side of the universal need of humanity for Jesus Christ as Savior and Liberator.
Original Sin in the Old Testament (specific passages from Genesis 3-11)
Fall of Adam and Eve
Killing of Abel by Cain
The Tower of Babel
Original Sin in the New Testament
St. Paul to the Romans
St. Paul to the Romans
Contemporary understanding of Original Sin
Four components of sinful situations:
Five implications of the contemporary understanding of original sin for a social theology in
the Philippines:
Social sin can be traced back to the personal sin of individuals, the result of the interrelated
actions of many people, not just one person, and its roots are the all consuming desire for
profit and the thirst for power, selfishness. The fundamental option of a community is
being expressed through values by actualizing the redemptive activity of the Lord Jesus
Christ especially through sharing in the Paschal Mystery.
Gregory Baum’s identification of Four Levels of Social Sin that blinds persons to value,
and give concrete examples for each level:
Hormis Mynatty’s “concept of social sin” and relate it to Philippine society. Give concrete
examples:
Pope John Paul’s definition of social sin which he calls “structures of sin”:
How did Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, demonstrate how Jesus
Christ is essential for a full realization of humanity?
Freedom of Excellence
Its being essential to counteract the effects of original sin and to live a fully moral life:
The Sacred Scriptures offer guidance so that we may enter into full communion with God
and with each other and witness to God’s saving acts: Created in God’s Image; A People of
the Covenant; The Reign of God and Justice; Called to be Disciples in Community; Poverty,
Riches, and the Challenge of Discipleship; and A Community of Hope.
Cite and explain 2 specific bible passages for each of the six Biblical Perspectives, and show
how they promote the theme of justice:
Because in human society there are three basic relationships: of the members to each other,
of the community to the members, and of the members to the community, there are three
species of justice: commutative, distributive and social justice.
Three types of justice and a concrete example from Philippine society:
Commutative / contractual justice
o Fundamental fairness in relationships between individuals or groups
o Individual individual
o Example: Employer/employee relationship
Distributive
o Society individuals
o Society must allocate its resources so that the basic material needs of all are met
o Do NOT write that the society will make people equal. This is not possible.
o The Philippine government is too poor and corrupt to effectively handle
distributive justice.
Social
o Individuals society
o Individuals contribute to society to promote the common good
o 1st part: Common good – let everyone can be everything that they can be
o 2nd part: Society has to allow individuals to get this involvement (many Southeast
Asian countries do not allow this)
o Example: Governments allowing NGOs to do this
Catholic social teaching spells out the basic demands of justice in the human rights of every
person. These fundamental rights: civil and political as well as social and economic, are
prerequisites for a dignified life in the community. These rights are bestowed on human
beings by God and grounded in the nature and dignity of human persons.
Many people are marginalized and powerless. We get our human rights from human dignity
because we are created in the image and likeness of God.
Civil and Political Rights: (Social Justice)
Freedom of speech
o Do not worry about anything you say as long as you say the truth
o Good freedom of speech in the Philippines, except for the journalists that get
killed for speaking the truth
Freedom of worship
o Our choice to worship or not
Freedom of assembly
o Even foreigners can join in rallies
Social and Economic Rights: (Distributive Justice)
Basic material needs
o Rights to life, food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, basic education
o Many people cannot afford to eat three times a day.
o When poor people get sick, they just wait until they cannot wait any more,
because they do not have money to afford a doctor. Then they are brought to the
government hospital.
o Efforts: Pondo ng Pinoy, donations
Right to earn a living
Right to security in the event of sickness, unemployment and sold age
Freedom of speech and immunity from interference on the part of both other people and the
government
Downward cycle of poverty
Less-developed countries are excluded from sharing the riches available in the homeland
How does Philippine Society promote these rights?
Catholic social teaching rests on ten basic principles: Human Dignity, Respect for Human
Life, Association, Participation, Preferential Protection for the Poor and Vulnerable,
Solidarity, Stewardship, Subsidiarity, Human Equality, and the Common Good. These
principles have their counterpart in Filipino national tradition: Pagsasarili, Pakikisama,
Pagkakaisa, Pagkabayani, Pakikipagkapwa-tao. These principles can be the basis for the
renewal and transformation of Filipino culture and society.
10 building blocks of Catholic social teaching and examples in the Philippine context:
Human dignity
Respect for human life
Association
Participation
Stewardship
Subsidiarity
Human equality
Common good
Five principles of Filipino national tradition, and their strengths and weaknesses in Phil
society: (explain each and give examples)
Pagsasarili
o Willingness of the Filipino to develop himself as a responsible human being
o Example: developing ourselves so we can help society
Pakikisama
o Willingness to share with one another both the burdens and rewards of living
together
o Example: treating employees right
Pagkakaisa
o Building up of an articulated national community through forms of social
organizations understood, accepted and undertaken by the people themselves
o Example: NGOs that have feeding programs, medical missions
Pakikipagkapwa-tao
o Human solidarity: Treating the other person as an equal, giving him or her equal
importance as you give yourself that would eventually lead to the total
development of mankind
Pagkabayani
o The readiness to put the common good of the nation above the private interest
o Example: non-corrupt government officials, people who sacrificed to save others
during Ondoy
How are the 5 principles of Filipino national tradition related to the 10 building blocks of
Catholic social teaching? How can they be used to transform Philippine society?