Reconciliation & Social Justice

This is the time of year when most parishes celebrate the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation) as a parish. For most Catholics, it is easy to recall the sins that they actively committed, such as acts of lying, cheating, or stealing. For most of us, though, it is far more difficult to see some of the bigger-picture sins, such as cooperating with unjust systems like discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, or ethnicity, or a lack of concern for the common. During the celebration of the sacrament, a good examination of conscience should call those things to our minds. In fact, the model examination of conscience in the Rite of Penance include several, including these two: 

• "Do I do my best to help the victims of oppression, misfortune, and poverty? Or do I look down on my neighbor, especially the poor, the sick, the elderly, strangers, and people of other races?
• "Am I concerned for the good and prosperity of the human community in which I live, or do I spend my life caring only for myself? Do I share to the best of my ability in the work of promoting justice, morality, harmony, and love in human relations? Have I done my duty as a citizen? Have I paid my taxes?" (Rite of Penanace, Appendix III)

One pastor even added "Do I reduce, reuse, and recycle out of respect for God's creation?" to his parish's examination of conscience!
       The US bishops have published "Supplementary Questions to Examine Conscience in Light of Catholic Social Teaching." They can be found at http://bit.ly/aOAukv. Also on that page is a downloadable two-page version that can be inserted in a bulletin or laminated and placed in a Reconciliation Room.
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.