Social Doctrine of the Church

Given that the worldwide movement of migrants and refugees is a “sign of the times,” the situations that give rise to this reality cannot remain on the margins of theological reflection. Responding to this need is the theology of migrations, a new discipline grounded in biblical tradition and the magisterium. The author of the present booklet examines this pressing concern in depth, highlighting the five most important issues for our day and age: identity, dignity, justice, hospitality, and integration.

In the thirty-fifth year of its existence, Cristianisme i Justícia now issues its 200th booklet. We have always sought to kindle hope and feed a widely-shared desire for a world that is more just and more fraternal. In keeping with that desire and alert to the world around us, the present publication aims to provide a clear account of the teamwork in which our Centre is engaged, and a reliable guide to the challenges on which Cristianisme i Justícia reflects now and in the future. We also invite to join us all those engaged in dialogue between faith and the struggle for a juster world.

A few months ago in Madrid, I came across a Bolivian woman who had emigrated to Spain, where she was living without any documentation, and was therefore living outside the law in her new home. I askedher why she had abandoned Bolivia. “In Bolivia” –she told me– “nobodywas concerned about me. The State offered no sort of provisions for elderly citizens and if I had stayed, I would have spent the rest of mydays living in poverty and insecurity”.

In these pages, the author seeks to liberate the utopian potential of the gospel stories from the interpretative restraint of confessional reading.  Concretely, he studies the parable of the Good Samaritan because, in addition to its being known to everyone, it has condensed within itself the essential ethical teaching and pedagogy of the Christian message.

Gaudium et Spes is surely the most novel document produced by the Second Vatican Council. In this booklet the author offers a reading which delineates three spheres where the Church can offer her good news to a wounded world: justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. In this day and age we find it impossible to imagine a Church which fails to respond to these great questions that impinge on the lives of millions of human beings.