outreach in justice and love - archdiocese of toronto...reflection: catholic social teaching...

Outreach in Justice and LoveParish Ministry Conference 2019

Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.

Coordinator of Ignite Young Adult MinistryRedemptorist Youth &Vocation Ministrywww.redemptorists.ca

Outreach in Justice and Love

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon

me, because the Lord has anointed

me; he has sent me to bring good

news to the oppressed, to bind up

the broken-hearted, to proclaim

liberty to the captives, and release

to the prisoners.”

– Isaiah 61:1


Our pastoral plan challenges us to witness and serve in diverse ways and to be

advocates where injustice occurs: through pastoral care to those who are poor and

marginalized, to students on campus, to those who are imprisoned, seeking refuge

or suffering physically or spiritually. We can do all of this by working with our

parishes, lay movements, Catholic institutions, chaplaincies and various pastoral

services. We are grateful for the good works accomplished through Catholic

Charities and ShareLife, yet we need to do more. We hear the words at Mass, “Go in

peace, glorifying the Lord by your life”. How can we be the hands and face of Jesus

in our community?

Goals1.Ensure effective outreach initiatives of justice and love through catholic charities

2.Provide effective pastoral services, chaplaincies and pastoral care ministry

3.Promote effective social justice advocacy

4.Strengthen the outreach initiatives of parishes through greater collaboration with

the archdiocese.

Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan, “Outreach in Justice and Love”


Our Work Today......

First Hour: Theoretical

Second Hour: Practical


What’s the Difference?

Justice & Service

Why Justice and Service?

• ‘Justice and Service’ is absolutely integral to our

faith as Christians

• ‘Justice and Service’ is a non-negotiable

consequence of our discipleship and our

commitment to evangelization.

• In reaching out to others in justice and service we

encounter Christ.

• As disciples and ministers we are called to “smell

the sheep” (Pope Francis)

What Justice and Service is Not

• A guilt trip

• Without hope

• An exercise in powerlessness

• Immune to having fun!

Catholic Social Teaching

Collection of Church Teaching written over the last

135 years that have addressed social matters in the

world.

Beginning in 1891 – Rerum Novarum

“On the condition of Labour and Working Classes”

Pope Leo XIII


Rerum Novarum 1891

Quadragesimo anno 1931

Mater et magistra 1961 (Christianity and Social Progress)

Pacem in terris 1963 (addressed to entire world)

Gaudium et spes 1965 (Dogmatic Constitution Church in Modern World)

Populorum progressio 1967 (Development of Peoples)

Laborem exercens 1981

Sollicitudo rei socialis 1987

Centesimus annus 1991

Caritas in veritate 2009 (Charity and Truth)

Evangelii gaudium 2013 (promoting common good)

Laudato si’ 2015 (Creation)

Principles or Themes

of Catholic Social Teaching

• The Life and Dignity of the Human Person

• The Call to Family, Community and Participation

• Rights and Responsibilities

• Preferential Option (Commitment) for the Poor and Vulnerable

• The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

• Solidarity

• Care for God’s Creation

Other Principles or Themes

of Catholic Social Teaching

• Role of Government and Subsidiarity

• Economic Justice

• Promotion of Peace and Disarmament

• Global Solidarity and Development

Biblical Justice

• is about living in right relationship with God,

ourselves, each other and creation

• is judged by how we treat the weakest in our

society (widows, orphans, foreigners)

• gives birth to a state of ‘shalom’

Biblical Justice

In Scripture we encounter a God who:

• liberates slaves

• hears the cry of the poor

• makes a preferential option for the poor

The Pastoral Circle Process

Involvement

Exploration

Reflection

Action


Affective

Cognitive

Spiritual

Physical

Step One: Involvement

How am I connected to this injustice?

• Make connections between an injustice and daily life.

• Helps us connect an issue with our personal

experiences, and to reflect on the experiences of the

wider community.

• Through involvement activities, participants begin to see

how the issue touches their lives.

• It becomes more personal or intimate

• They make a connection

• Motivation to act for change begins

Step Two: Exploration

What can we learn about this injustice?

• Look closer. Ask HOW and WHY injustice exists

• Widen reflection to explore underlying elements that give rise

to an injustice and help sustain it.

• Begin to explore relationships between values, events,

structures, systems, ideologies, etc that help to sustain the

injustice.

• Examine causes and consequences of injustice (ie. Structural

realities)

• Explore assumptions that allow for continued injustice and

social structures that resist change.

•Social Analysis is key

Step Three: Reflection

What does our Faith say about this injustice?

• Explore issues through the lens of faith. Use Scripture,

Catholic Social Teaching, Tradition and the Experience of

the Community.

• Offer an alternative vision of how life can and should be.

• What does our faith SAY and DO about the issue?

• Why is faith motivated to respond in this way?

• This stage calls forth an intellectual assent to faith and a

commitment to incorporate it within one’s life.

Step Four: Action

What can we do about this injustice?

•Respond to the injustice:

•ie. Through witness, partnership with community

organizations, individuals and shared action.

•Identify one’s role in eliminating injustice

•“What can I do on the local, regional, national and

global levels to effect change?”

Involvement

Volunteer at a Shelter,

Food Bank,

or Drop-In Centre

** Gives us an experience of

Exploration

Research on issue

Education

Social Analysis

Justice Web Chart

Justice Web Chart

HOMELESSNESS

Reflection: Scripture

Rich Man and Lazarus

(Luke 16:19-31)

Reflection:


• Themes: – Human Dignity,

– Rights of Workers,

– Preferential Option for the Poor

• Documents: – Solicitudo Rei Socialis “On Social Concern” – John

Paul II

– Rerum Novarum “On the condition of Labour and

Working Classes” Leo XIII

Action

• What works of Service can

you undertake?

• What works of Justice can you

undertake?


Involvement

Exploration

Reflection

Action

Task

• What justice issues do you notice over lunch?

Outreach in Justice and LoveParish Ministry Conference 2019

Session II: Let’s Get Practical.....

Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.

Coordinator of IgniteRedemptorist Youth &Vocation Ministrywww.redemptorists.ca

Realities of a Parish Today....

• Busy Pastor and Pastoral Staff

• Sacraments

• Sacramental Preparation

• Fewer Volunteers to draw on

• Volunteer Burnout

• Lack of Time

• Lots of other realities...

Making Justice and Service

happen at the Parish

• Committed Team to vision and bring vision to birth

• Take an honest and hard look at the needs in your

community, neighbourhood

• Take an honest and hard look at the abilities and

commitment potential of parishioners

• Invite Volunteers through interest and support to

share in vision of change

• Education of the parish

• Supportive and involved Pastor and Pastoral Team

Examples from St. Patrick’s

• Out of the Cold – 30 year tradition

– Example of Pastoral Circle in Action

• Justice and Service Commission

– Ashadeep School and Orphanage in India

– Catholic Conscience

– Development and Peace

– Mini Courses on Catholic Social Teaching

– Collaborate with Pax Christi

– Refugee Resettlement Committee

Examples from St. Patrick’s

• High School Retreat Ministry Team

– “Called to be a People of Justice”

• Summer Street Patrol

• Open Door Lunch Program

• Kolping Society (German Knights of Columbus)

• Walk-In Ministry

• Hands4Christ (H4C)

• Mission Bazaar for Redemptorist Missions

Resources...

Making it Practical for You


Involvement

Exploration

Reflection

Action

Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent

enterprise that is God's work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of

saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church's mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an

opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master

builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Written by: Bishop Ken Untener for Cardinal John Dearden, November 1979