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Prot. N. 0117/2013 April 9 2013

Message

to the President of the National Commission

for Justice and Peace of Scotland

on the occasion of the “Faith and Economic Justice” Congress

April 2013

H. E. Bishop Peter A. Moran

Bishop Emeritus of AberdeenPresident of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of Scotland 

Excellency, please accept my most cordial and friendly greetings in the Lord. At the same time,

 please extend these warmest greetings, in the name of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

as well as my own, to the participants in the “Faith and Economic Justice” Congress that is taking

 place with the assistance of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, the Catholic Parliamentary

Office and the Justice and Peace Commission of Scotland over which you preside.

Given the recent history of the Church, it is especially gratifying to learn that initiatives are under 

way in local communities that seek to strengthen the faith of believers in Christ and enrich the

witness of salvation that He brought to our world.

 ______________________________ 

Rt Rev Peter A MORANBishop-Emeritus of Aberdeen

10 Cathedral Square

FORTROSEIV10 8TB

Scozia

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We feel certain that this Congress – bringing local communities together in response to the recent

Synod of Bishops on “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” – will

encourage all Christians in your nation, in communion with the Church and led by the ministry of 

our Holy Father Francis, to take up tasks of evangelizing; and to enrich the world with their own

testimony of a faith that collaboratively and fruitfully promotes the true common good as well as

respect for the dignity of every person.

Your Congress takes place while the Church is celebrating the Year of Faith. In this special Year,

responding to the call to love of God and neighbour that we have received in Christ,1 we are all

invited to deepen our understanding of the Word of God and the teaching of the Church.

I have no doubt that the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and the encyclicalCaritas in Veritate will have special value for the Congress participants. Both resources offer 

specific guidance regarding the contemporary challenges faced by evangelization and by different

human societies. They invite us to conversion and to effective solidarity founded on communion

with God and solidarity with our brothers and sisters.2 

As Catholic Social Teaching points out, the human person is the beginning, subject and end of all

social institutions.3 What flows from this fundamental principle is an effective recognition of 

everyone’s responsibility and of every human community to promote the common good of all. As a

consequence – and as an essential element of the current evangelization – all the faithful are called 

to reflect critically on whether the human family is making use of the most suitable means to

achieve the global common good.

As society becomes ever more globalized, bringing us closer as neighbours but not necessarily

making us more fraternal to one another,4 we find that “the present economic, social and cultural

structures are ill-equipped to meet the demands of genuine development.”5

So the Church is called 

to foster everyone’s desire to respond to the will of God by participating in the many initiatives to

 better the lives of all.

1Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 2401-2463. 

2Cf. Caritas in Veritate, n. 78. 

3

Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 25, 1. 4Cf. Caritas in Veritate, n. 19. 

5 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 564. 

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In the light of the social doctrine of the Church, we are asked to anchor true human development in

the dignity of the person and of peoples; to overcome “the lack of brotherhood among individuals

and peoples”;6 to seek better ways of coordinating political participation and promoting social

 justice; and to ensure that genuine solidarity animates the networks of economic, political and social

interdependence that are burgeoning during the current process of globalization.7 

Two recent publications of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace – Towards reforming the

international financial and monetary systems in the context of global public authority8  and Vocation

of the Business Leader: A Reflection9

– are addressed to leaders and organizations with significant

responsibility in the world, but they speak as well to all people of good will. They stimulate

reflection on the contemporary situation, and encourage the exercise of responsibility in pursuit of 

the good for all. May we achieve greater economic justice in our times and for future generations,

so that hope for a better future and confidence in the human capacity for good may never be

extinguished.

We pray for the Lord’s abundant blessings on all the participants in this Congress, and through

them His blessings on all the Church and people of Scotland. May our Lord Jesus Christ, the

 principal driving force of authentic development of every person and of all humanity,10 inspire you

to grow as witnesses in faith and as effective promoters of charity in truth.

Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson

President

6Cf. Caritas in Veritate, n. 19. 

7 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 563. 

8

http://www.pcgp.it/dati/2011-11/08-999999/Towards%20Reforming%20ENG.pdf  9http://www.stthomas.edu/cathstudies/cst/VocationBusinessLead/ 

10Cf. Caritas in Veritate, n. 1.