Social Justice
A Major Theme of Hill Connections

Introduction

Throughout various faith traditions, three major threads of these spiritualities are:

• Love the Creator with one's whole heart, mind, and soul
• Love one's neighbor as oneself
• All of creation is one, connected by the Source of all Being.

Reflecting on God's presence and love leads one to be and to act in many ways...such as, celebrating and giving praise and thanksgiving.

Solidarity is a virtue, the habit of the heart, that binds us emotionally and practically to the world. Solidarity combines a sense of justice with active compassion. It makes us aware that the quality of our lives is intrinsically linked with the quality of the lives of others,especially those who are most threatened or left out.... This means that educating the whole person necessarily includes educating for social justice (emphasis HC) because none of us can truly flourish while others are being shattered or excluded. This is the ethical bottomline: I cannot be whole if most of the world is broken. "Education for Globalization," by Paul L. Locatelli, America, May 20, 2002.

Another core response is to put one's faith into action by working for social justice and by helping create a sustainable and peaceful world.

Social Justice Issues introduces issues such as global debt relief, the death penalty, disarmament, and genetic engineering. Links to organizations working on the issue are included in each one, as well as timely "Action Alerts."

Teachings, Documents, and more includes links to major social justice documents, principles, codes of conduct, etc., in these groupings:

Roman Catholic
Other Christian Traditions
Other Religions
Interfaith Groups
United Nations
Business-related

Gratitude to the Institute for Peace and Justice
for use of their Pope Paul VIth graphic.