Dr. Patrick O’Riordan S.J. ‘This should not be’, is a perfectly legitimate response to injustice in society, according to one Jesuit priest.
Catholic social teaching is an area of doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. Many gathered in Whitefriar Street Church community hall to discuss how Catholic social teaching should be implemented in society. There was a particular focus on how to usher this into a society that practises the faith much less than previously. Dr. Patrick O’Riordan S.J. stressed the idea that ‘there is a realisation that not everyone in this society has the same vision as we have of getting to heaven and building a community of saints in the resurrection. People have other visions. So how do we work with people from other visions of the common good? Well, the Second Vatican Council says that we may not agree with what the ultimate common good is but we can agree on what are the conditions that will enable people to flourish.. and those conditions can range over the full gambit of economic, social, cultural and political conditions.’
However, Dr. Maria Power advocated for a more aggressive approach by suggesting that ‘deep structural changes had to be made. This allows us to overcome the abuses of power. This is the deep seated transformation that will take generations to achieve but will also be necessary to figure out God’s plan for humanity. The approach should involve working with the marginalised to figure out solutions rather than making decisions for them. If our expression of Catholic social teaching would take such a form, it would mean that the teachings that the preferential options for the poor, solidarity and subsidiarity can actually work to create a tension to bring about the transformation necessary for the Kingdom of God to start becoming a reality in our society,’ she said.