‘Whether believers or not, we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. For believers, this becomes a question of fidelity to the Creator, since God created the world for everyone.’
Laudato Si’, #93, 2015
The Catholic social teaching principle of Distributive Justice reminds us that God intended all people to share in the world's resources. All should have necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and access to what is needed for full development.
Distributive justice requires that the allocation of income, wealth, and power in society be evaluated in light of its effects on those whose basic material needs are unmet.
God intended all people to share in the world’s resources so that everyone can access what they need for their full development.
Distributive justice, also known as the universal destination of goods, requires that the allocation of income, wealth, and power in society be evaluated ensuring that everyone’s basic material needs are met. Resources should not be exploited now at the expense of future generations.
Social Justice teaching is founded on firm scriptural foundations.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth. Then God said, “I’ve given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.” And there it was.
Genesis 1:28-30
The company of those who believed were of the one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.
Acts 4:32