Social Justice
53 results
Document
Chapter K: Let Your Voice Be Heard: Synod on Cyberbullying
Students are challenged to write a speech as if they were a member of Pope Francis’ synod addressing the problem of cyberbullying.
Document
Dear Millie and Mike
This handout provides several real-life situations that teens might encounter. Students are challenged to respond to the situations and give advice to other teens.
Document
I Pray
This prayer for a large group asks for our eyes to be opened to the injustices in the world and our souls to be strengthened by Christ’s presence.
Document
What Can a Person Do?
This article gives several suggestions of how an individual can bring about distributive justice.
Document
The Scriptures and Concern for Justice
A list of justice-centered biblical passages that can be used for preparing class prayers and liturgies, as a resource for assignments, and for your own reflection and prayer.
Document
Human Rights
Several articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Document
Being versus Doing
A scripture passage from the Gospel of Luke about Martha and Mary is read along with a commentary, and is followed by large group discussion questions.
Document
Sr. Thea: Her Own Story
A list of discussion questions from the video Sr. Thea: Her Own Story.
Document
What Will God Call Me to Do
A reflection worksheet and class discussion on the video Gang Busters: One Man’s Mission to Stop Bullets by Creating Jobs.
Document
"You Have Heard…But I Say"
An article about Jesus’ command to love everyone, even those who society has deemed unlovable.
Document
Living God's Call
A reading, with reflection questions, on living out God’s Call of unconditional love, agape, for all.
Document
War and Peace in Catholic Social Teaching
An article on war and peace in Catholic social teaching.
Document
Socratic Seminar Observation Form - Student
A student observation form for the Socratic seminar.
Document
Student Evaluation of the Socratic Seminar
A student evaluation sheet for the Socratic seminar.
Document
The Challenge of Peace
An article on the foundations for a justified war and the just war doctrine.
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 5 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
A grading rubric for the final performance task options for Unit 5 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
Document
Principles of Catholic Social Teaching for Business Ethics
An article on the principles of Catholic social teaching for business ethics.
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 6 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
A grading rubric for the final performance task options for Unit 6 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 4 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
A grading rubric for several final performance task options for Unit 4 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 7 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
A grading rubric for several final performance task options for Unit 7 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
Document
Living the Life of a Disciple: Prayer Service
A small-group planning sheet for a classroom prayer service on living the life of a disciple.
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Task for Unit 8 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
A grading rubric for the final performance task options for Unit 8 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 3 of "Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society."
A grading rubric for the final performance task options for Unit 3 of "Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society."
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 2 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
A grading rubric for the final performance task options for Unit 2 of “Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society.”
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 1
A grading rubric for the final performance task options for Unit 1 of "Catholic Social Teaching: Christian Life in Society."
Document
The Strengths of Catholic Social Teaching
A document highlighting the strengths of Catholic Social Teaching, from "Christian Morality: Our Response to God's Love."
Document
The Church, Social Ethics, and Politics
This article is part of the Living in Christ Series. It is a great introduction to the Church, social ethics and politics in the United States.
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 8
This rubric is part of the Living in Christ Series. It serves as a guide for assessing students on projects about the Paschal Mystery, especially the role of community and member of the Church to live out their call to …
Document
Service and Justice: A Conversion of Heart
This article is part of the Living in Christ Series. It discusses 5 stages in introducing service learning to a classrooom setting.
Document
Called to Holiness: Holiness in Modern Church Teaching
This article from the Living in Christ Series discusses holiness: what it is, who is called, and how to live it out. Both the Church and the people in it are holy.
Document
Rubric for Final Performance Tasks for Unit 8
This rubric is part of the Living in Christ Series. It serves as a guide for assessing students on projects about the person of Jesus Christ, especially what it means to be his disciple.
Article
A Friend for Life
Editor's note: The names of the minors in this story have been changed to preserve confidentiality, in accordance with the wishes of Holy Cross Children's Services. DETROIT--When Tonya entered a youth detention home of the Holy Cross Children's Services …
Article
Highlights of Catholic Documents on Justice and Peace
Highlights of Catholic Documents on Justice and Peace The following link will take you to a PDF document that sumarizes many of the key points from Church documents addressing the social teachings of the Catholic Church. http://www.smp.org/Images/Complementary/Highlights.pdf
Article
Back to School: Intentions for the Start of the School Year
Please respond "Lord hear our prayer" Let us pray for all Believers around the world and those who seek Christ, that they may receive blessings and open their hearts to God's word… We pray to the Lord For all experiencing …
Article
A Letter to Young People from the President of Saint Marys Press
Dear young friends, The recent, tragic events continue to leave us all shocked, confused, scared, and sorrowful. At this time, nothing is more important than to turn our hearts to Jesus. Perhaps, we can find comfort in the words of …
Article
A Christian Response to Violence, Part 2:
Pacifism: "We No Longer Learn War" How can we apply Jesus command to love our enemies when our whole nation has been attacked? Over the centuries, how Christians have attempted to apply Jesus teachings on violence to their lives has …
Article
A Christian Response to Violence, Part 1:
In the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks, many people are calling for military retaliation against whatever group or country is ultimately found to be responsible. The desire to strike back at those who hurt us is understandable, but …
Article
Every Day Things Occur in This World That Shake My Faith
Every day things occur in this world that shake my faith and test my beliefs. I see things happening like famine and civil wars, and things that hit close to home like cancer and AIDS. I find myself constantly questioning …
Article
Adonai Shalom
Adonai Shalom “Lord of Peace” Adonai Shalom Lord, let there be peace in my heart, so that it may be open to feel love, kindness, and goodness. Adonai Shalom Lord, let there be peace in my life, so that I …
Article
Scenes from a Mexican Village
The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration sponsor a program called Global Awareness Through Experience. The GATE program offers a rich opportunity to get to know the realities of Mexico, something I have wanted to do for years. At a point …
Article
Curriculum Integration in Service Programs
How can you begin working toward curriculum integration with your service program? Consider the following principles as a good guide. Connections Get to know the curriculum in other content areas. Study the program of studies of your school. Look at …
Article
Following the Spirit Down the (Yellow?) Brick Road
The road is really a five-foot wide path. The bricks are more dappled browns than yellow. But the journey does have a wizard and feisty little black terrier. And along the way we found our hearts, our minds, and our …
Article
The Death Penalty and the Catholic Conscience
Some proponents say the death penalty is biblical: "an eye for an eye." This moral theologian shows how they are misreading the Bible. If someone murdered your child or closest friend, what punishment would you want for the criminal? If …
Article
The Spirituality of Work
Teachers who structure justice into their workday lives model a moral vision for their students. I requested a review copy of all religion textbooks used in Catholic high schools some years ago and scoured over 30 books looking for references …
Article
Peace: The Countercultural Value
Ours is a violent society. Furthermore, evidence strongly suggests that we are learning to accept violence as normal behavior. As a people, we appear to be increasingly indifferent to daily images of warfare, racial hatred and ethnic cleansing. Murder and …
Article
The Community Service Dimension
A high school senior leans over the shoulders of two 9-year-olds struggling with math homework in a tutoring program at the community center. Two students carry food baskets up the narrow flight of stairs to the residents of a housing …
Article
Dance: An Awakening
Ms. Sawaya Lamb teaches dance at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Wagoner, a former technical director at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, is now assistant principal at Saint Vincent School in Salt Lake City. …
Article
Service and Justice
We are standing on the brink, and our bishops are urging us to jump. Many of us don't know where we'll end up, and we aren't sure whether we'll land in one piece. Yet the sense of urgency is building, …
Article
A One-Day Retreat on Service in the Inner City
Our sophomore class day retreat focuses on finding spirituality in the inner city. It is a kind of "urban plunge" experience within a spiritual framework, and students go on this retreat during the same semester that they take a social …
Article
The Harvest Is Abundant: Reflections on a Spirituality of Service
Service is a golden word these days. Everybody's doing it: governmental bodies, schools, churches, even neighborhoods and families. Court sentencing frequently includes community service, the federal government holds service up as a value in programs such as Americorps, and state …
Article
Expect Much, Praise Much, Be Present to Them
Course materials, such as the high school religion textbooks and teacher's manuals published by Saint Mary's Press, are a significant ingredient in the education of our young people. But we all know that the most important factor in a student's …
Article
Curriculum Offerings of Theology Departments
For a couple of years, Saint Marys Press sponsored a listserv discussion group online. Discussions on a variety of topics were pursued via e-mail. In this section of the web site, I summarize some of the highlights from these old …