Social Justice: See, Judge and Act

by Editor · July 23, 2017

In some circles, the term “social justice warrior” is being applied as a derogative term for people who campaign for the welfare of the disempowered and for the protection of the environment.

For Catholics, being called a social justice warrior must be considered a badge of honour. Indeed, successive popes — certainly all since Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labour) — have advocated for social justice. Jesus was a “social justice warrior”. We are called to emulate him.

Of course, the Church’s engagement for the poor draws from the very source: the Gospel. Jesus never ceased to respond to the needs of the poor. We witness this in the feedings of the hungry multitudes, in the miracles worked for the vulnerable (think, for example, of the widow in Nain), in the overturning of the tables in the temple which was partly a strike against the exploitation of the poor.

Jesus was a “social justice warrior”. We are called to emulate him.

On July 24 we will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of a considerably influential social justice warrior, Belgian Cardinal Joseph Cardijn.

Cardijn influenced the Catholic Church’s contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1960s and beyond through the Young Christian Workers (YCW) movement which he had founded in Belgium in 1919.

Archbishop Denis Hurley was a great admirer of Cardinal Cardijn — whom he called “a religious educational genius” — having been introduced to YCW’s work as a seminarian in Rome in the 1930s. As archbishop of Durban, Hurley was instrumental in establishing the movement in South Africa.

Many Catholic activists, and other Christians, engaged in the struggle through YCW.

Hurley saw a genuine Christian response to injustice in the “See, Judge, Act” method advocated by Cardinal Cardijn and YCW.

The first stage, “to see”, calls on us to observe and experience the lived reality of people and communities, then examining and defining the nature and causes of their struggles.

The second stage, “to judge”, requires a social analysis of the situation accompanied by a theological reflection — drawing from Scripture and Catholic Social Teachings in particular — to make an informed judgment about it.

The third stage, “to act”, concerns the planning and implementation of actions aimed at transforming the social structures that contribute to suffering and injustice.

This approach is a useful tool in broad arenas of struggles, but it also has application in smaller contexts: in parishes or families, and even in inter-personal relationships.

Respond to the Sign of the Times

The method was explicitly endorsed by Pope John XXIII, who in his 1961 encyclical Mater et Magistra proposed it as the ideal way to read and respond to the signs of the times. Pope Francis clearly draws inspiration from the See, Judge, Act methodology

Pope Francis clearly draws inspiration from the See, Judge, Act methodology — perhaps not surprisingly, since it was especially influential in the South American Church, even at episcopal levels.

Where his two predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, placed a higher emphasis on personal sin — albeit not without forcefully criticising the social and economic structures that cause poverty, suffering, war and so on — Pope Francis shines a particular light on areas of social justice as a way of witnessing Christ to the world.

While YCW is still active in 51 countries around the world, in South Africa it fizzled out. Attempts to create interest in reviving it have been met with muted enthusiasm. And yet, our country today needs just such a movement to harness the youth’s idealism, energy, courage and creativity in addressing social injustice.

Our history shows how much can be accomplished by a movement such as YCW. A concrete example: its intervention helped facilitate the first mass strike by black workers, in Durban in 1973.

To rejuvenate a youth movement dedicated to social justice requires institutional will. The impetus will need to come from committed priests, and they would need to be backed by the bishops, individually in their dioceses and collectively in conference. It would ideally complement and cooperate with Justice & Peace.

It would be a fitting tribute to Cardinal Cardijn, in the year of the 50th anniversary of his death, to initiate the revival of YCW in South Africa now. Let the young Catholic “social justice warriors” unite.