Saturday, March 29, 2014
Matthew 25, 41-46 + CSDC and CV
(CV 40c) Even if
the ethical considerations that currently inform debate on the social
responsibility of the corporate world are not all acceptable from the
perspective of the Church's social doctrine, there is nevertheless a growing
conviction that business management cannot concern itself only with the
interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the
other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers,
the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of
reference.
CSDC 185a. This is the realm of civil society,
understood as the sum of the relationships between individuals and intermediate
social groupings, which are the first relationships to arise and which come
about thanks to “the creative subjectivity of the citizen”[397]. This network
of relationships strengthens the social fabric and constitutes the basis of a
true community of persons, making possible the recognition of higher forms of
social activity[398].
Notes: [397] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis, 15: AAS 80 (1988), 529; cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter
Quadragesimo Anno: AAS 23 (1931), 203; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter
Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 439; Second Vatican Ecumenical
Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 65: AAS 58
(1966), 1086-1087; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Libertatis
Conscientia, 73, 85-86: AAS 79 (1987), 586, 592-593; John Paul II,
Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 48: AAS 83 (1991), 852-854; Catechism
of the Catholic Church, 1883-1885. [398] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical
Letter Centesimus Annus, 49: AAS 83 (1991), 854-856; John Paul
II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 15: AAS 80
(1988), 528-530.
[41] Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from
me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
[42] For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no
drink, [43] a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no
clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' [44] Then they will
answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' [45] He will answer
them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you
did not do for me.' [46] And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life."
CSDC 183. Human
misery is a clear sign of man's natural condition of frailty and of his need
for salvation[386]. Christ the Saviour showed compassion in this regard,
identifying himself with the “least” among men (cf. Mt 25:40,45). “It is
by what they have done for the poor that Jesus Christ will recognize his chosen
ones. When ‘the poor have the good news preached to them' (Mt 11:5), it
is a sign of Christ's presence”[387]. Jesus says: “You always have the poor
with you, but you will not always have me” (Mt 26:11; cf. Mk 14:7;
Jn 12:8). He makes this statement not to contrast the attention due to him
with service of the poor. Christian realism, while appreciating on the one hand
the praiseworthy efforts being made to defeat poverty, is cautious on the other
hand regarding ideological positions and Messianistic beliefs that sustain the
illusion that it is possible to eliminate the problem of poverty completely from
this world. This will happen only upon Christ's return, when he will be with us
once more, for ever. In the meantime, the poor remain entrusted to us and it
is this responsibility upon which we shall be judged at the end of time
(cf. Mt 25:31-46): “Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from
him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who
are his brethren”[388].
Notes: [386] Cf. Catechism
of the Catholic Church, 2448. [387] Catechism of the Catholic Church,
2443. [388] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033.
[Initials and
Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church; - SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]
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