The truth about Catholic social teaching...

     Many Catholics appear to lack a basic understanding of Catholic social teaching, which I believe has led to widespread support for the most progressive, radical political agenda America has ever seen.  Catholics seem to accept socialism in the name of "social justice."

     Maybe they should read up on true Catholic social teaching, which endorses subsidiarity, and absolutely condemns socialism. Subsidiarity says that a need should be fulfilled on the most local level, rather than some ineffective, far-away, centrally planned bureaucracy that cannot possibly understand the needs of the individuals it claims to serve.  Subsidiarity advocates personal freedom and limited government.  The right order is individual responsibility, then family, then neighborhood and church community, then city, then county, then state, then federal and then global...  Not the other way around.

     It is summed up quite well in an article I found from Mark Henry, over at Catholic Online...

"Pope John Paul II harshly criticized the welfare state in his 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus wherein he stated that the welfare state undermined this core principle of subsidiarity. This Catholic teaching states that when something can be done locally by a smaller simpler organization, this is better than central planning type action by a larger and more complex organization. This tenet safeguards the ideals of limited government and personal freedom and stands squarely opposed to the welfare state’s goals of centralization and bureaucracy.        

John Paul II warned us that the welfare state discourages human initiative and results in an excessive increase of public bureaucracies. This results in an enormous increase in spending by a government whose goal is to achieve its own statist agenda rather than to serve the public."

     This modern day social justice (aka redistribution of the wealth... aka Marxism) has become just a more palatable way to say... You have too much.  The State is now going to take what belongs to you... and give it to that guy... whether you like it or not.  There is nothing just about the Statist's plans for redistributive justice.  In fact, there seem to be a couple of broken commandments in there somewhere...  having to do with coveting your neighbor's goods, and stealing.  Charity, when given freely from the heart, is noble and moral...  forced charity is not.
     Jesus never said... If you see your brother in need... give your money to Rome... and they will best decide how to spend it.  The government is increasingly a Godless institution... insisting that we "spread the wealth around" in the name of social justice... focusing solely on material needs without regard for the spirit.  It is necessary to address both.  Christians should be very careful when they turn over their responsibilities to the State.  In the secular world of the Statist, one of them... either the Church or the State... becomes unnecessary.