The Truth About Social Justice and the Moral Life, by James Kalb

By James Kalb, Catholic World Report, September 5, 2023

James Kalb is a lawyer, independent scholar, and Catholic convert who lives in Brooklyn, New York. …

Prudence advises against trying to transform the world by allying ourselves with people who want a self-sufficient world with no place for Christianity.

The point of Catholic morality is to tell us how best to live.

Some are inclined to make it mostly about social justice. When the bishops issue a statement condemning pornography, they say it should have been about economics instead. They say that would do more to promote a good way of life.

Such views line up with public discussion today, which finds traditional conceptions of individual morality interfering, unforgiving, and judgmental. Situations are said to differ too much to talk about in the abstract, so many favor a sort of lifestyle ecumenism that looks for the good in all ways of life. …