SETTING OUT

In the previous chapter we suggested a basic framework for the social analysis of the causes of injustices and the ways in which they are structured in enduring institutions, structures of power and domination, and pervasive cultural attitudes and values. The next step is to review the theological resources available to Christians in order that they might make a considered action response. In the three chapters of Part II we will outline recent understandings from scripture scholars and theologians, and the developing tradition of Catholic social thought, often in response to developments in secular thinking, especially since the onset of industrialization and Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891).

We will commence our reflections by considering two key passages from the Sermon on the Mount. Firstly, St Matthew recounts that Jesus urged people to trust in providence, stop worrying about everyday concerns and seek the kingdom of God first, and God's saving justice (Mt. 6: 33). The importance of seeking the kingdom was affirmed strongly in the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes: 72): ‘Whoever in obedience to Christ seeks first the kingdom of God, will as a consequence receive a stronger and purer love for helping all his brothers (and sisters) and for perfecting the work of justice under the inspiration of charity’.

Yet traditional Catholic piety has often been very individualistic and focused on personal salvation.