This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
What exactly is “Social Justice”? Isn’t that political? Why is the Church involved in worldly affairs? Shouldn’t we only concern ourselves with getting to heaven? Join Mike Creavey for this Didache Series course on the social teaching of the Catholic Church where you’ll learn how to navigate these challenging waters with faith, hope, and love!
Special Notes: This course includes a writing component.
Total classes: 12
Duration per class: 55 minutes
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th grade
Suggested credit: One full semester Catholic Social Teaching or Theology
Description
“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). The phrase “social justice” can be found almost everywhere: from classrooms to concert halls to political campaign platforms. After all, who would be opposed to a just society? But more often than not, this crucial question is never asked: “What is social justice?” The purpose of this course is to introduce students to Catholic social teaching (CST). In this course, students will learn how Christ’s concern for others, especially the poor and needy, is present today in the Church’s social teaching and mission. Additionally, students will consider how to navigate the complicated issues that arise when social justice is invoked in promotion of things like abortion, oppressive economic systems, and the marginalization of the family. We will explore Catholic social teaching not through political or economic lenses, but through the lens of the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Outline
Class 1 — Course Introduction
Class 2 — Didache Intro: Our Social Nature
Class 3 — The Heavenly Model for Earthly Society (Ch. 1)
Class 4 — Justice and Rights: The Foundation of All Order in the World (Ch. 2)
Class 5 — The Church Teaches Us How to Live (Ch. 3)
Class 6 — Discussion: What is (& is NOT) “Justice”?
Class 7 — The Principles of Catholic Social Doctrine (Ch. 4)
Class 8 — Major Themes in Catholic Social Doctrine (Ch. 5)
Class 9 — Law, Love, Sin, and Virtue (Ch. 6)
Class 10 — Today’s Challenges (Ch. 7)
Class 11 — Discussion: Essays
Class 12 — Course Conclusion
Materials and Homework
Course materials:
Required:
– The Holy Bible, preferably the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE) or the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). NOTE: Both can be accessed online for free through bible.com/“YouVersion” phone app or by visiting biblegateway.com and selecting the desired translation from the drop box menu. Students may use their own bibles if they choose, but course material will always reference one of the above translations.
– Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2nd Edition (ISBN-13: 978-1601376497); also free online at http://ccc.usccb.org/flipbooks/catechism/index.html)
– The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church by Mike Aquilina – Didache Series (ISBN: 978-1936045969)
– Various free online articles, PDFs, video and audio links may be shared by the instructor throughout the course
Other great resources (i.e., NOT required or expected, but all are insightful for the student (or parent!) who would like to go deeper into the subject.)
– Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is by Michael Novak and Paul Adams (ISBN: 978-1594038273)
– Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World by Brandon Vogt (ISBN: 978-1612786902)
– Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching by Anthony Esolen (ISBN: 978-1622821822)
– In Defense of Nature: The Catholic Unity of Environmental, Economic, and Moral Ecology by Benjamin Wiker (ISBN: 978-1945125416)
– Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church by USCCB Publishing (ISBN: 978-1574556926)
Homework: Students will be expected to read approximately 25-35 pages between each recorded class session (primarily from the Didache text and occasionally from web-based readings). Other web-based readings and some video/audio material may be occasionally required as well. Assessments will consist of five vocabulary quizzes (70% of grade) and one culminating essay (30% of grade). An essay rubric is provided for this course (see essay instructions PDF), but quiz answer keys are not provided. Quizzes are entirely based on textbook chapter vocab banks.
