Maryann Rulapaugh

Religion in Society Essay

Faith, Religion, and Society
December 8, 2014
The Hunger for Justice
Approximately 20% of people in many countries do not have
enough to eat. Along with this, at least 100 million children risk death
from diseases by not receiving enough vitamins and minerals in their
diet. World hunger is a serious issue that many organizations are
working towards battling. Among these, establishments like the St.
Vincent De Paul Society and Heifer International, are currently
providing much aid locally and globally to aid in supporting people in
need. With about 870 million people around the world without enough
to eat, this is a growing issue that can be applied to various themes of
Catholic social teaching, as well as the triangle of justice.
In terms of Catholic social teaching, the first theme that came to
mind was the dignity of every person and human rights. As the
Catholic charities resource suggests, ...this Council lays stress on
reverence for the human person; everyone must consider one's every
neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of
all life and the means necessary to living it with dignity, so as not
to imitate the rich man who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus
(The Church and the Modern World, #27). Found in the beginnings of
my research, this quote shows that, just as we all as individuals have
dignity, we all as individuals are principle in recognizing the difficulties
of those in hunger and how their human dignity is just as important as
our own. Within the triangle of justice, we discussed how the common
good we all individually work toward only turns out to be as good as
the individuals on top of it. This quote also ties into common good and
participation in that with participation and social justice, everyone is

meant to have the right and responsibility to participate in giving to

the overall common good.
One of the main organizations working towards ending poverty is
the Saint Vincent De Paul Society, which offers person-to-person
services to those in need. Members of the society have an awareness
that their blessings and talents are to be shared with others in need.
This corresponds to one of the sources for Catholic social teaching,
reason, which is based on the idea that we are given a fine mind and
we should continue to build on it and use it. As a member of the Saint
Vincent De Paul Society at my home parish, we work together about
once a month to prepare meals for the hungry in our surrounding
community. In terms of charity, we maintain an immediate process and
necessary service to people who need aid. This could even apply to
justice too by hoping to make a structural change to help a community
flourish. Working as an agent of the common good within the triangle
of justice, Saint Vincent De Paul Society functions by individuals (on the
top of the triangle) giving to the overall common good through social
justice (by giving a need like food to what we as humans owe to
ourselves and each other. In another theme of Catholic social teaching,
solidarity, common good and participation tie into the goals of this
organization. Through solidarity, these people come together with a
mutual agreement to support the rest of the community and give back
to the cycle of the common good through distributive justice.
Another organization, Heifer International, stands by the belief
that all people deserve dignity and has the goal to demonstrate and
provide positive transformation. They provide aid by giving people in
need tools and resources like animals and farming in order to imply
and encourage positive change. By giving animals such as cows to
countries like Zambia, this organization is providing resources for

things such as milk, wool, or cheese. In the theme of Catholic social

teaching, colonialism and economic development, this organization can
be part of world triangles to interact with other nations and be part of a
bigger encompassing justice triangle of the whole world. In the social
justice side of the triangle, Heifer International suggests, Imagine if
every woman, child and family had the opportunity to build a
promising future, a future that affected the world in a positive way.
We're addressing these challenges We are fueling the social change
that will help us end poverty and hunger (International Charity). This
powerful statement proves that providing these needs of the world
work toward the common good (even internationally) and distribute
this positive change throughout those individuals in need. It would
even be fitting to tie this into the theme of family life by suggesting
that locally (or in the smaller justice triangles of family), families would
grow and further be able to learn more about functioning in society and
giving back on a larger level.
In terms of conflict, the only possible issue would be giving
excessive aid incorrectly to the people who need or do not really need
it. This would be an example within Saint Vincent De Paul Society, by
someone maybe taking advantage of the good resources that can be
given to them. To avoid this, this specific organization can set rules and
regulations of how aid can be evenly distributed between those who
need it.
In the religious tradition of Islam, Muslims approach this hunger
issue by partaking in Ramadan, which entails fasting from dawn until
sunset. This tradition is impactful for many Muslims by allowing
themselves to be put into the same shoes as those suffering from
hunger throughout the world. By participating in this fasting mode,
they can further understand larger problems of the world like hunger

and how they could act towards being part of a larger triangle than
their life. Muslims also are required to give zakat or taxation that is for
the common good that is then redistributed to individuals like the poor.
By doing this, Muslims relate to subsidiarity and the role of government
by connecting their small family justice triangles to a bigger triangle in
order to balance the power of the small units.
As the Catholic Charities of St. Paul explain, The common good
embraces the sum total of all those conditions of social life which
enable individuals, families, and
organizations to achieve complete an effective fulfillment (Mother and
Teacher, #74). This quote clearly exemplifies how us as individuals, as
well as combining into organizations like St. Vincent De Paul or Heifer
International, give to the common good in order to achieve a greater
good. While this struggle of local and global hunger seems to continue,
we as individuals have the power of seeking justice all around us to
provide stronger structures of our world.
Works Cited
"Catholic Social Teaching." Office for Social Justice. Catholic Charities of
St. Paul &

Minneapolis, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.

"International Charity For World Hunger | Heifer International | Charity

Ending

Hunger And Poverty." International Charity For World

Hunger. Heifer

International, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.