Can the Church advocate for the poor, uphold human rights, lobby to remove the causes of poverty and injustice, fight corruption and other social evils without encroaching? Biblical prophets can usher in such reflection. Their approach to religion and politics is still relevant for societies with either great religiosity and inequality as ours. They preached a message of social justice and challenged the wealthy and powerful to share with the most vulnerable in society. They railed against oppression and repeatedly stated that God takes no pleasure in worship that is belied by injustices to the poor. In short, they refused to separate religion and morality, worship and social concern.
Amos is a precursor. He exercised his prophetic ministry in a time of great prosperity, but also of division between rich and poor, increasing social corruption and oppression of the weak and helpless. At the same time, there was a great outward show of religious observance. Through Amos, God expresses his disgust with religiosity devoid of righteousness (See Amos 5: 21.24).
The prophets’ quest for social justice keeps its pertinence as we tend to have a lopsided understanding of morality – as referring almost exclusively to people’s sexual-related behavior and relegating to second plan the perversion of truth and justice. Therefore, it is not rare seeing Church people taking a strong stand against abortion, for instance, while they are far less passionate in denouncing graft and corruption and decry the economic crimes that put at stake the survival of many families.
Pastors who have the prophetic courage of defending the poor and upholding justice and human rights are likely to enter in a collision route with officials of self-serving regimes. The former are often accused of being leftists and meddling in politics. The late Archbishop Dom Hélder Câmara of Recife, Brazil, had a famous dictum that still rings true: “When I feed the poor, I am called a saint. But when I ask why many are poor, I am called a communist.” Was he going overboard in his commitment? His answer was: “Denunciation of injustice is an absolutely essential chapter in the proclamation of the Gospel. And not merely a duty for the few. It is a human duty for everyone, a Christian duty for all Christians, and an absolute duty for the shepherds.”
In dealing with politics, the Church has to avoid two dangers: let itself be exploited for political ends and seek politicians’ support to further its mission. In both cases its freedom is compromised. But can the Church be neutral in the face of injustice? South Africa’s Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu answered: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
There’s no place for silence and indifference when there’s abuse by the powers that be. It would be either cowardice – a sin of omission – or connivance. Who has a voice has the moral duty to speak up for those who cannot make their pleas heard. And to act, so that evil will not prevail. Edmund Burke said, more than two centuries ago: “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
An unswerving commitment to justice and truth has often a high price. Many have paid it with their lives. San Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero and pacifist Franz Jägerstätter, recalled in this issue, are just two examples. Both gave their lives for their faith – opposing injustice.
