(via Opportunity Lives)
When Pope Francis visited the United States in September, it may have been the first time that some Americans heard about the Jesuits, an order of Catholic priests renowned as educators and social justice advocates. Francis the first Jesuit ever elected to the papacy. For graduates of a Jesuit high school or college, the pope’s roots in social justice are familiar and endearing. Some Catholics, however, aren’t comfortable with his pronouncements on capitalism and markets, and associate the term “social justice” with progressivism or even Marxism.
A new book by renowned Catholic scholar Michael Novak and Paul Adams, emeritus professor of social work at the University of Hawaii, seeks to clarify the true meaning of social justice and to rescue it from those who have co-opted the term. In “Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is,” Novak and Adams, with their collaborator Elizabeth Shaw, argue that social justice is not a synonym for “progressive” government, as so many have come to believe. The book masterfully examines several historical figures, including Antonio Rosmini, Abraham Lincoln, Fredrich Hayek, and Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, and Francis to give readers a deeper understanding of “social justice” as a powerful platform for empowering communities and associations, while encouraging personal responsibility.
Read the full article HERE.
