Catholic Social Teaching 5 & 6 (blog #18)

I really enjoy reading this article about Catholic social teaching; I feel like they focus their teachings around very important factors of society life that are intended for the betterment of all members of a society. I completely agree with John XXIII’s idea of socialization, I believe we are all interconnected and have a moral obligation to help those around us that are in need. I am not surprised that his idea was met with such an uproar from his peers, as we have discussed in class nobody wants to have their “stuff” taken away from them to be “given” to someone else, but it’s not like John XXIII was saying that all private property is subject to be expropriated, there were certain conditions that had to be met, “if these tracts of land are “extensive, unused or poorly used” and if these ownership patterns “bring hardship to peoples or are detrimental to the interests of the country, the common good sometimes demands their expropriation” (no. 24)” (92). There is no reason to hoard land or property that you don’t need or use when it can be detrimental to the survival of someone else; it reminds me of a child who has a doll that it’s not playing with but as soon as another kid wants to play with it the first kid throws a tantrum because now all of a sudden they want it. I think this theology about private property is a legitimate way of thinking and it makes sense in society, especially in areas where resources are scarce, as long as it is used with reason.  I also didn’t realize that the Church was so adamant and concerned with labor unions and worker’s rights. I found section six to be very enlightening into why the Church believes proper and efficient workers unions are so vital to the society as a whole, “Work represents a positive opportunity to collaborate with others, to develop particular skills, and to contribute distinctive individual talents to the wider society” (97). I also liked how they compared labor and work to being co-creators with God, it just adds an extra benefit to working.