CHARITY AND JUSTICE

Charity and justice are two distinct components within social ministry that answer the call to new life in the world: two ends of a spectrum of living out our faith. Both encompass compassionate caring for the oppressed, the poor and the vulnerable. Both define our call to live out the Gospel of God’s love and reconciliation. Yet they differ in scope, in method, in goals. Complementary, yes. The same, no.

Charity, or outreach, responds to an immediate need. It provides direct service such as food, clothing or shelter. Often a private and individual act of caring, it is directed toward the effects of social injustice. Charity is satisfying and is generally non-controversial.

Charity alone, however, is only part of social mission of the Catholic church. We must go deeper to forge vibrant, healthy, and abundant new life. We must ask more questions. This is the work of justice.

While charity deals with immediate needs, justice addresses long-term conditions, promoting social change in institutions, policies and systems. Justice is public, political, and oriented to collective action for change. It directs us toward the causes of social injustice. This is exciting, yet sometimes controversial.