Page 4 - Michael Journal 2019 August

The Virtue of Justice principle of coexistence of the Church and the vari- edly to these matters. In today’s brief exposition, all
ous social structures; in particular of the state, as
that can be done is to draw attention to this vast and
According to well as of international organizations. In this wide differentiated area.
and differentiated area, man and mankind are con-
Each of us, then, must be able to live in a con-
tinually seeking justice: this is a perennial process
St. John Paul II and it is a task of supreme importance. text of justice and, even more, each of us must be
just and act justly with regard to those near us and
those who are far away with regard to the commun-
According to the different relationships and dif-
ferent aspects, justice has obtained more appro- ity, to the society of which one is a member... and
Giving to Each One priate definitions throughout the centuries. Hence with regard to God.
the concept of justice: communicative, distributive,
Justice has many references and many forms.
What Is Due to Him legal and social. All this testifies what a fundamental There is also a form of justice which regards what
significance justice has for the moral order among
man “owes” God. This is a vast subject in itself. I
men, in social and international relations. It can be
said that the very meaning of man’s existence on will not develop it now, although I cannot abstain
from indicating it.
earth is bound up with justice. To define correctly
What is justice? The dictionary defines it as be- Let us give our attention, meanwhile, to men.
ing in accordance with the law (“jus” in Latin). But “how much is due” to each one from all and at the Christ left us the commandment to love our neigh-
who decides what is legal, what is right or wrong? same time to all from each one, “what is due” (deb- bour. In this commandment, everything that con-
Governments pass laws to ensure the good order of itum) to man from man in different systems and cerns justice is also contained. There can be no
society. But very often, these laws are imperfect or relationships—to define, and above all to put into love without justice. Love “surpasses” justice, but
arbitrary, or even contrary to the divine law, the Ten practice!—is a great thing, at the same time it finds its
Commandments of God. (One has only to think of through which every man verification in justice. Even a
the laws legalizing abortion, the killing of innocent lives, and thanks to which father and a mother, loving
children in their mother’s womb.) in fact, induces us to fix our gaze on the life of every his life has a meaning. their own child, must be just
So ultimately, what is right is what is in conform- man and, at the same time, on the life of the whole of Therefore there remains, in his regard. If justice is un-
ity with God’s will. And the justice of God is per- mankind, in the perspective of final justice. We are during the centuries of hu- certain, love, too, runs a risk.
fect, exceeding the justice of men infinitely. “Seek all aware, somehow, that in this transitory world, it man existence on earth, a To be just means giv-
ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his jus- is not possible to achieve the full measure of justice. continual effort and a con- ing each one what is due
tice, and all these things shall be added unto you” The words so often heard: “There is no justice in tinuous struggle to organize to him. This concerns tem-
(Matthew 6:33). Justice is one of the four cardinal this world” are, perhaps, the fruit of an oversimplifi- in accordance with justice poral goods, of a material
virtues, as cited in the “Catechism of the Catholic cation that is too facile. But they contain a principle the whole of social life in its nature. The best example
Church” (see page 6). At the very beginning of his of deep truth all the same. various aspects. It is neces- here can be remuneration
pontificate, St. John Paul II presented the following Justice is, in a certain way, greater than man, sary to view with respect the for work or the so-called
thoughts on the virtue of justice during a general than the dimensions of his earthly life, than the pos- multiple programmes and right to the fruits of one’s
audience on Wednesday, November 8, 1978: sibilities of establishing in this life fully just relations the activity, sometimes ref- Pope John Paul I with Cardinal own work or of one’s own
ormative, of various trends
by Saint John Paul II among men, environments, societies and social and systems. It is necessary, Karol Wojtyla, who, one month later, was land. But to man is due also
groups, nations, and so on. Every man lives and his good name, respect, con-
During these first audiences in which I have the dies with a certain sense of an insatiable hunger for at the same time, to be aware elected to succeed John Paul I and took sideration, the reputation he
fortune to meet you, who come here from Rome, justice, since the world is not able to satisfy fully that here it is not a question the name Pope John Paul II. has deserved. The more we
Italy, and from so many other countries, I wish, as I a being created in the image of God, either in the in the first place of systems, know a man, the more his
said already on October 25, to continue to develop depths of his person or in the various aspects of but of justice and of man. The system must be for personality, his character, his intellect and his heart
the subjects chosen by John Paul I, my Predeces- his human life. And thus, by means of this hunger man, not man for the system. are revealed to us. And the more we realize—and
sor. He wished to speak not only of the three theo- for justice, man turns to God who “is justice itself”. Therefore defence is necessary against the hard- we must realize!—with what criterion to “measure
logical virtues: faith, hope and charity, but also of Jesus expressed this very clearly and concisely in ening of the system. I am thinking of social, eco- him” and what it means to be just towards him.
the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, forti- the Sermon on the Mount when he said: “Blessed nomic, political and cultural systems which must be It is necessary, therefore, to deepen our know-
tude and temperance. He saw in them—all togeth- are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, sensitive to man, to his complete good. They must ledge of justice continually. It is not a theoretical sci-
er—seven lamps, as it were, of sanctification. God for they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6). be able to reform themselves, their own structures, ence. It is virtue, it is [a]capacity of the human spirit,
called him to eternity, and he was able to speak only according to what the full truth about man requires. of the human will and also of the heart. It is also
of the three principal ones: faith, hope and charity, Having this evangelical sense of justice before The great effort of our times, which aims at defin- necessary to pray in order to be just and to know
which illuminate the Christian’s whole life. His un- our eyes, we must consider it at the same time a fun- ing and consolidating “human rights” in the life of how to be just.
worthy Successor, in meeting with you to reflect, damental dimension of man’s life on earth: the life present-day mankind, peoples, and states, must be
in the spirit of his late Predecessor, on the cardinal of man, of society, of humanity. This is the ethical evaluated from this point of view. We cannot forget Our Lord’s words: “The meas-
virtues, wishes to light, in a certain sense, the other dimension. Justice is the fundamental principle of The Church of our century remains in continual ure you give will be the measure you get” (Mt 7:2).
lamps at his tomb. the existence and the coexistence of men, as well dialogue on the great front of the modern world, A just man is a man of a “just measure”. May we
Today, it falls to me to speak of justice. It is per- as of human communities, societies and peoples. as is testified to by many encyclicals of the Popes all be so! May we all strive constantly to become
haps well that this should be the subject of the first Furthermore, justice is the principle of the exist- and the doctrine of the Second Vatican Council. The so! My blessing to all. v
catechesis in the month of November. This month, ence of the Church, as the People of God, and the present Pope will certainly have to return repeat- Saint John Paul II

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