Brandon Vogt, in this interview with The Anchoress, talks about his new book and what motivated him to write it:
Elizabeth Scalia: Glenn Beck famously said to his listeners: “Look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church website. If you find it, run as fast as you can.” Did the politicization of those words — particularly as they apply to Catholic Social Teaching — have anything to do with your
writing this book? Brandon Vogt: Definitely. Beck gave voice to an intuition many people share, and it did serve as an impetus for my book. Yet, as I note in the Introduction, I don’t fault Glenn Beck. I get where he’s coming from. It’s true that “social justice” and “economic justice” have been twisted, misunderstood, and co-opted for troubling purposes. Most of us are aware of that. But as the ancient dictum goes, abusus non tollit usum (abuse does not preclude proper use).
Just because people have distorted the words, or the concepts behind them, we shouldn’t avoid them. Rather, we should clarify and redeem them.
The fact that these terms are politicized shouldn’t worry us, either. Catholic social teaching is political. It deals extensively with governments, social relationships, and structures of power. Yet while political, it’s not partisan. It transcends any party, ideology, or political grid. That’s why it’s Catholic social teaching and not Republican/Democrat social teaching.
ES: How do you think the phrase “Social Justice” has been distorted since the Second Vatican Council and an era of still-reverberating social upheaval?
BV: To put it simply, many people have reduced the Gospel to social justice. After the Council, Catholics tended to downplay practices like apologetics, evangelization, and missionary work in favor of “making the world a better place.” We were convinced that feeding the hungry and serving the poor would win people to Christ. Now that sometimes happens, but that’s not the fullest expression of the Gospel. People are saved by Jesus Christ, not works of justice. When “social justice” becomes code for helping people without evangelizing, we have problems, and that’s what worries many people today.
Also, the phrase became sullied as liberation theology took off in Central America around the time of the Council. Many proponents used “social justice” as a cloak to smuggle Marxist ideology into the Christian faith, often leading to warped theology and violent rebellion. This has led many to associate “social justice” with communistic, socialist, or politically aggressive ideologies.
But again, while it’s true that some people use the phrase this way, it’s not how the Church has used it for hundreds of years. We can’t eschew it just because some circles have abused it. We need to reclaim it, clarify it, and redeem it as we build a culture of authentic social justice.
More at The Anchoress' place, including a link to get yourself the book.
Check it out.