1971: Synod of Bishops’ Statement “Justice in the World”

The Post Synodal Statement of the 1971 Synod of Bishops contains some of the most quoted words in the body of modern Catholic Social Teaching:

“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.”

Synod of Bishops, Justice in the World, Introduction,1971.

Action

Remember or research what the world was like in 1971. What were the most important messages of Justice in the World at that time, and what does it say to us today?

Read this introduction to Justice in the World. Identify and reflect on what struck you or surprised you.