Catholic Social

Teaching Sunday, March 13, 2016

Father Kevin Queally, TOR

Saint Mary Our Lady of Grace

Saint Petersburg, Florida

Solidarity

We are one human family

whatever our national,

racial, ethnic, economic,

and ideological differences.

We are our brothers and

sisters keepers, wherever

they may be.

Solidarity

Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice.

Solidarity

The Gospel calls us to be

peacemakers. Our love for

all our sisters and brothers

demands that we promote

peace in a world surrounded

by violence and conflict.

Solidarity

[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague

compassion or shallow distress at

the misfortunes of so many people,

both near and far. On the contrary,

it is a firm and persevering

determination to commit oneself

to the common good;

Solidarity

that is to say, to the good of all and

of each individual, because we are

all really responsible for all. Saint

John Paul II,On Social

Concern (Sollicitudo rei

Socialis), 1988, #38

Solidarity

Interdependence must be transformed into solidarity, based upon the principle that the goods of creation are meant for all. That which human industry produces through the processing of raw materials, with the contribution of work, must serve equally for the good of all. . . -Saint John Paul II, On Social Concern (Sollicitudo rei Socialis), 1988, #39

Solidarity

The culture of selfishness and

individualism that often prevails in

our society is not owhat builds up

and leads to a more habitable

world: it is the culture of solidarity

that does so, seeing others not as

rivals or statistics, but as brothers

and sisters. -Pope Francis

Care for God’s Creation

We show our respect for

the Creator by our

stewardship of creation.

Care for the earth is not

just an Earth Day slogan,

it is a requirement of our

faith.

Care for God’s Creation

We are called to protect people

and the planet, living our faith

in relationship with all of Gods

creation. This environmental

challenge has fundamental

moral and ethical dimensions

that cannot be ignored.

Care for God’s Creation

The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole. . . Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), 2009, #48, 51

Care for God’s Creation

For this XLIII World Day of Peace I have chosen the theme: If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation. Respect for creation is of immense consequence, not least because “creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works”,[CCC, 198] and its preservation has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind.

Care for God’s Creation

…it is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen “that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”.[Message for 2008 World Day of Peace, #7] –Benedict XVI, Message for 2010 World Day of Peace, 2010, 1

Care for God’s Creation

Theological and philosophical reflections on the situation of humanity and the world can sound tiresome and abstract, unless they are grounded in a fresh analysis of our present situation, which is in many ways unprecedented in the history of humanity. So, before considering how faith brings new incentives and requirements with regard to the world of which we are a part, I will briefly turn to what is happening to our common home –Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, #17

Care for God’s Creation

But a sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly. We seem to think that we can substitute an irreplaceable and irretrievable beauty with something which we have created ourselves. –Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, #34