Leadership in Christian Service Final Paper

Brian Burt | Professor Griffin | Leadership in Christian Service 8 February 2010

'A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching' Kevin E. McKenna

Right now, my mind is racing. I have read and reread Kevin McKenna’s book, A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching. I have gone over all my notes from the various chapters. I have tried putting certain Papal and Pastoral writings into their historical context. I have been trying to figure out what to write now for several hours. I have started and restarted this paper and yet continue to derive the same conclusion, that Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is just some pie in the sky culmination of ideas. And yet, at the same time, I know it is more than that.

I guess to address CST; I need to go back a few days. It is quite funny actually, the other day my counselor asked me how I have been feeling. “Honestly,” I replied, “for the past several nights I have had this strange urge to just chuck my television out the bedroom window.” Strange, I know. When questioned why, the best answer I could find is because of all the stupid stuff, though I used a slightly different word, which is on television these days. Reality shows that make nobodies into the center of the universe, political commentary to the point you have no idea who to trust in office, commercials that make it out to be the end of the world if you do not purchase their product and sitcoms that are far from being family oriented. Turn on the news and what do you get – another child abuse case, a failing school system, another string of murders, a never ending war and a disproportionate amount of time devoted to sports commentary in comparison to world news.

So, where does this all fit in with CST? Well, I guess I am almost at similar point with CST; a host of great ideas and teachings, but where is the evidence of it? Sure, since the Condition of Labor, Rerum Novarum, by Pope Leo XIII we have in America child labor laws, a minimum wage, unions and organizations such as OSHA. Yet we still have child labor and trafficking in other nations. We have a federal minimum wage, but it is still not a just wage. We have certain classes of workers, especially seasonal workers that are being exploited. With regards to the arms race and weapons proliferation, we still have disproportionately large stock piles of weapons, we still have nuclear warheads, and most importantly we have a defense budget with a seemingly nonexistent cap.

I hate to say it, but at this point, I almost feel like what is the point of studying Catholic Social Teaching when so much of what has been said now for decades seems to be falling on deaf ears. Take for instance Pope John XXIII writing Mater et Magistra, On Christianity and Social Progress. The Pope calls for the collaboration of both private citizens and public authorities to ensure a prosperous and well-ordered society. Great idea; now if only that was possible. To me it seems that our government at all levels is so out of line with the voice of individual citizens that collaboration is no longer possible – they are just going to keep spending and passing bills, we are just going to keep getting stuck paying the check and obligated to adhere to the new legislation.

I mean, I am not trying to be cynical. I like CST and feel there is a lot of great stuff in CST, but at the same time feel like Gandhi’s expression – this Christian stuff is great, you Christians should give it a try some time. I will admit I may not have the quote perfect. But it does seem fitting. For being so important, my first exposure to CST was not until I was a junior in high school in theology and then again when I was a junior in college during Global Issues II. I strongly feel that CST must be addressed much sooner, even at the middle school level.

To this point, this paper has most likely taken a different direction than you expected. But regarding this particular book, I could not figure any other way to take this paper. In reference to particular sections, I enjoyed Evangelium Vitae by Pope John Paul II, but was a little struck by how little he focused on the topic of suicide from the perpetrator’s stance and how much attention was focused on assisted suicide. Of course with my involvement in Habitat for Humanity, I enjoyed several passages pertaining to the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, in particular Pope John XXIII Mater et Magistra and Pope John Paul II Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. Overall, I have to admit that I did enjoy Pope John Paul II writings the most.

In the end, I know I sound a little cynical. But I guess it also derives from the amount of material that CST covers and trying to make sense out of it all. I certainly wished I could have taken an entire course devoted to CST, thus enabling to breakdown the material further. Additionally, I guess the other difficulty derives from trying to figure out where I stand in light of CST. I try to be generous, yet I have my own bills to pay, which exceed my means. I see people on the street corner or on the sidewalk, but either not sure how to help them or hesitant because of a couple bad instances I had when I did try to help. I try not to be wasteful and especially since Ghana, am trying to live a less materialistic lifestyle, but there are still things I need in my life. With respect to the environment, I try to conserve and recycle, yet am constantly frustrated by the amount of recyclable goods that local municipalities will not accept or are cost prohibitive to properly dispose of. I know, in the end this may have not come across as intellectual as you would have liked to seen, but at this point it is the best I can offer.