Sancho's Election Toolkit: Social Justice Teachings
Below are brief reflections on the issues from the perspective of faith based social justice teachings.
For YHWH is the God of gods, the Sovereign of sovereigns, the great God, powerful and awe-inspiring, who has no favorites and cannot be bribed; who brings justice to the orphan and the widowed, and who befriends the foreigner among you with food and clothing. In the same way, you too must befriend the foreigner, for you were once foreigners yourselves in the land of Egypt. - Deuteronomy, 10:17-19
Christian social teaching emphasizes the rights of the downtrodden and the oppressed. In the U.S., many immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, come in order to escape war or poverty in their countries of origin. Certainly the injunction in the Gospel of St. Matthew - "[what you do] for the least of my sisters or brothers, you did it for me" (25:40) - applies to people in such circumstances.
Christian social teaching calls us not only to extend mercy and justice to those who find themselves in such dire straits, but also to establish just relations between countries in order to ensure that "migration flows are driven by choice, not necessity". In the case of the United State's relationships with countries in Latin America in particular, and the developing world in general, following this principle would entail a serious revision of foreign policy with regard to trade, aid, debt, as well as war and militarism. In all of these cases, U.S. foreign policy is often made only in light of narrow self-interested concerns, and results in situations of increased poverty, war, and as a result, an increase in the flow of economic refugees seeking better futures in the U.S. or elsewhere.
Whether migration flows are driven by choice or necessity, the legal system in the U.S. should not add another layer of misery to what is often a tragic situation. Sometimes arbitrary and heavy-handed enforcement separates families and punishes the victim of oppression, not its perpetrators. Many U.S. companies have benefited from the flow of undocumented migrants willing to work at low wages - some would argue that the U.S. is dependent on such workers. Yet it is the workers and not the companies who are the victims of deportation and arbitrary detention.
Even the fields of the poor can yield rich harvests – but then injustice snatches it away from them – Proverbs 13:23
Christian social teaching is very clear on notions of commerce and trade. Trade and commerce require justice, especially to those who have least. When the rich make rules in their own interest by cheating or by forcing the poor into slavery for small debts or for over-inflating prices, these are among the most abhorrent acts. (Leviticus 19:35-36; Proverbs 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23; Hosea 12:7-8; Micah 6:11).
In 1967, Pope Paul VI wrote a reflection on issues around trade and poverty. Known as the “Development of Peoples”, the document is as relevant today as it was when it was written over 40 years ago. One paragraph reads:
In other words, the rule of free trade, taken by itself, is no longer able to govern international relations. Its advantages are certainly evident when the parties involved are not affected by any excessive inequalities of economic power: it is an incentive to progress and a reward for effort. That is why industrially developed countries see in it a law of justice. But the situation is no longer the same when economic conditions differ too widely from country to country: prices which are " freely” set in the market can produce unfair results. (58)
Here the Pope is agreeing with the view of Ha-Joon Chang, that free trade between nations that are unevenly developed makes as much sense as a little league baseball team playing against the New York Yankees. Thus talk of a “level playing field” should be seen in the context of who are the actors on the playing field.
The solution? The Pope suggests that “the superfluous wealth of rich countries should be placed at the service of poor nations” thereby acknowledging the Christian teaching that the earth and all within it are communal property.
In an age when property rights (and even intellectual property rights) are seen as the most important codes for developing countries, these kind of criticisms are important. They are powerful critiques of the status quo and deserve attention and consideration.
Reflection on International debt
Consecrate the [Sabbath] year and proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants. - Leviticus 25:10
Christian social teaching is very clear
on issues of debt and bondage. Because we are all "only foreigners
and tenants" on God's land (Lev 25:23), we have no claim of debt
over another, especially if those claims of debt were made through injustice.
Furthermore, the entire premise of debt - repayment of principle along with interest - is not in line with many interpretations of the Old Testament, which claim that interest is not allowed. Leviticus (25:36) is clear on this: "You must not charge interest on a loan, either by demanding it in advance or otherwise by adding it to the principal."
For more thoughts on Christian teachings and debt cancellation, see this reflection done for the Jubilee USA Network.
I brought you to the land of plenty to eat its fruits and other good things; but once you entered my land you defiled it and made my heritage an abomination. Jeremiah, 2:7
The principle of stewardship is at the heart of biblical teaching. At its essence, this stewardship is best explained through the religious teachings of the Iroquois, who believed that we are responsible for the impact of our actions on the present communities and for those that will exist in the next seven generations. That we are facing a a global climate change crisis at all belies the fact that we have failed in out Biblical duties to be stewards of this planet. In the words of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops:
At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God's creation and the one human family.