To our friends in LSO:

On Tuesday Pope Benedict XVI issued an “Exhortation” summarizing several points of social interest.  The media has already seized upon several phrases in the Exhortation with the inevitable attending controversies.

We understand that our friends in LSO might find some of the perspectives taken by the Holy Father to be personally difficult.  The Catholic Student Association truly seeks to keep dialogue open and our lines of communication clear and compassionate.

In this spirit we would like to share the “rest of the document” with you – the portions that the media (trying to sell air time and ad space) have overlooked.  The Exhortation was issued in Italian (the official language of external communication for the Vatican).  Our chaplain, Dr. Scheibler, translated the text specifically for you.  If you would take a few minutes and read this portion of the Exhortation it becomes clear just how much we have in common on issues of justice, peace, poverty-relief, and other crucial challenges facing our world.

It is our hope that LSO and CSA can work together on our points of common interests in ever increasing cooperation in the months ahead.

The Catholic Student Association

Nick Norppa, President

Mary Barber, Secretary

Grace Bolanos, Program Director

Dr. Samuel Scheibler, Chaplain

The Papal Exhortation – “the rest of the document” 13 March, 2007

The Social Implications of the Mystery of our Communion with Christ

Our union with Christ brought about by our Communion should bring renew our focus in our social relations: "this sacramental mystery (the union of God with humankind) is social in character." Indeed, "our union with Christ is also union with all those to whom He gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to Him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own." The relationship between the sacramental mystery and our social commitment must be made explicit. The sacrament of Communion is between brothers and sisters who are being reconciled in Christ – the same Christ who made one people out of Jews and pagans by tearing down the wall of hostility which divided them ( Eph 2:14). Only the constant call towards reconciliation enables us to partake worthily of the Body and Blood of Christ (Mt 5:23-24). In the memorial of His sacrifice, the Lord strengthens our fraternal/sororal communion and, in a very particular way, urges those in conflict to accelerate their reconciliation by opening themselves to dialogue and a commitment to justice. Certainly, the restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness are the conditions for building true peace. Recognizing this fact leads us to a determination to transform unjust structures and to restore respect for the dignity of all men and women – men and women created in God's image and likeness.  [The Church] cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the struggle for justice. The Church "has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper." I therefore urge all the faithful to be true promoters of peace and justice: "All who partake of the Communion must commit themselves to peacemaking in our world scarred by violence and war, and today in particular, by terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation."  All these problems give rise to others no less troubling and disheartening. We know that there can be no simple or superficial solutions to these issues. Precisely because of the Mystery we celebrate, we must denounce situations contrary to human dignity since Christ shed His blood for all, and in so doing, affirmed the inestimable value of each individual person.

The Food of Truth and Human Need

We cannot remain passive before the processes of globalization which constantly increase the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide. We must denounce those who squander the earth's riches, provoking inequalities that cry out to heaven ( Jas 5:4). For example, it is impossible to remain silent before the "distressing images of huge camps throughout the world of displaced persons and refugees living in dire need in makeshift conditions forced upon them in order to escape a worse fate. Are these human beings not our brothers and sisters? Do their children not come into the world with the same legitimate expectations of happiness as other children?" The Lord Jesus, the Bread of eternal life, spurs us to be mindful of the situations of extreme poverty in which a great part of humanity still lives: these are situations for which human beings bear a clear and disquieting responsibility. Indeed, "on the basis of available statistical data, it can be said that less than half of the huge sums spent worldwide on armaments would be more than sufficient to liberate the immense masses of the poor from destitution. This should be a clear challenge to humanity's conscience. To peoples living below the poverty level, as a result of international political, commercial and cultural relations rather than as a result of circumstances within their own control, our common commitment to truth can and must give new hope"

The Food of Truth demands that we denounce inhumane situations in which people starve to death because of injustice and exploitation, and it gives us renewed strength and courage to work tirelessly in the service of a civilization of love. From the beginning, Christians were concerned to share their goods (Acts 4:32) and to help the poor (Rom 15:26). The alms collected in our liturgical celebrations are an eloquent reminder of this, and they are also necessary for meeting today's needs.

The Church's Social Teaching

The Mystery of Communion inspires and compels us to work courageously within our world to bring about that renewal of relationships which has its inexhaustible source in God's gift. The prayer which we repeat at every Mass: "Give us this day our daily bread," obliges us to do everything possible, in cooperation with international, state and private institutions, to end or at least reduce the scandal of hunger and malnutrition afflicting so many millions of people in our world - especially in developing countries.

The Sanctification of the World and the Protection of Creation

Finally, to develop a profound spirituality that is also capable of significantly affecting the fabric of society, the Christian people, in giving thanks to God through our Communion, should be conscious that they do so in the name of all creation, aspiring to the sanctification of the world and working intensely to that end. Our rite not only includes in our offering to God all human efforts and activity, but also leads us to see the world as God's creation, which brings forth everything we need for our sustenance. The world is not something indifferent, raw material to be utilized simply as we see fit. Rather, it is part of God's good plan, in which all of us are called to be sons and daughters in the one Son of God, Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4-12). The justified concern about threats to the environment present in so many parts of the world is reinforced by Christian hope, which commits us to working responsibly for the protection of creation .