In his encyclical letter Centesimus Annus of 1991, Pope John Paul II wrote as follows:

We receive from God our essential dignity and with it the capacity to transcend every social order so as to move towards truth and goodness.  But we are also conditioned by the social structure in which we live, by the education we have received and by our environment. These elements can either help or hinder our living in accordance with the truth.

The decisions which create a human environment can give rise to specific structures of sin which impede the full realisation of those who are in any way oppressed by them.  To destroy such structures and replace them with more authentic forms of living in community is a task which demands courage and patience. (no. 38, my italics)

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Whereas reference is made to “structures of sin” as structures which impede human development, no explicit reference is made to “structures of grace” although it is implied in the phrase “authentic forms of living in community”.

I would like to suggest that perhaps it is time that we focused more explicitly on the need for structures of grace, or “grace-filled structures” to emphasise the need for social structures which positively condition and promote human development in community.  Indeed, the 34^th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus states very clearly:

Faith recognizes that God is acting, through Christ’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit, to destroy the structures of sin which afflict the bodies and hearts of his children. (no. 36)

The strong emphasis on social justice is not something with which everyone was comfortable at first.  Not only was it seen to be too closely identified with Marxist forms of social analysis but it seemed to pay little, or not enough attention to the need for personal conversion of heart.  Today,  by  and  large,  there  is  a more easy acceptance of the fact that social justice, understood as the justice of the Gospel, the justice of the Kingdom, is an essential part of true conversion of heart.  Nevertheless, there is still a reluctance in some quarters to accept the focus on social structures.

Emphasis on the need for personal spiritual conversion is something with which most people have little problem.  Every single human being is unique in the sight of God and our relationship with God is uniquely personal.  Conversion of the heart is at the center of Christian spirituality.  And yet, this is not the full picture.

Christian spirituality is essentially one which is located within Christian community.  Our relationship with others is an essential ingredient of our relationship to God.  We must love God and love our neighbour at the same time.  What this means is that the social dimension of our lives cannot be separated from the individual dimension.  The connection between personal sin and social structures is well expressed in The Catechism of the Catholic Church which states:

“Structures of sin” are the expression and effect of personal sins.  They lead their victims to do evil in their turn.  In an analogous sense, they constitute a “social sin” (no. 1869)

Similarly, in the “Justice and Peace” document of the 2^nd Synod of Bishops in 1971, we read that the desire for development “will not satisfy the expectations of our time if it ignores the objective obstacles which social structures place in the way of conversion of hearts.”  Indeed, without justice and a willingness to overcome sinful structures, there can be no genuine conversion of heart.

THE REALITY OF SOCIAL STRUCTURES

Once we focus on the social dimension, we are immediately faced with social structures.  Social structures are not just imaginary constructs of the mind but refer to what is real.  They somehow have a life of their own and they exercise pressure for good or for bad on all citizens.  However, while they are the products of human interaction and depend for their continued existence on human beings, they are not dependent on any particular human beings.

We are all born into societies in which social structures are already in existence with the result that we are not often conscious of the fact that they are not fixed or unchangeable as are features of our natural world.  Although we may not be the ones who put them in place, we can still change them.

The problem, however, is that we can live our lives without being conscious of the fact that we may be supporting social structures which are destructive.  Indeed, there have been many examples of such unjust structures such as, slavery, apartheid, the oppressed position of women, etc., operating in societies despite the presence of good people.

Social structures, like social systems and social institutions, are sociological categories and, for many, suggest an impersonal scaffolding which has little or nothing to do with human beings.  This is unfortunate.

Although reference to social "institutions" is more readily accepted than reference to social "structures", it is not always understood  that both - whether educational, medical, religious, etc. -  do not refer primarily to the buildings associated with them but rather to the forms of interaction that take place between people in these areas.

It is for this reason that reference can be made to '‘structures of sin'’ or '‘sinful structures'’ because it is people who give social structures their life.  And if such structures can be an embodiment of sin, surely they can also be an embodiment of grace!  As we read in Vatican II:

Human institutions themselves must be accommodated by degrees to the highest of all realities, spiritual ones …  (The Church Today, 29)

DIFFERENT SOCIAL STRUCTURES

It remains, however, that the notion of social structures is not easily understood, particularly as inseparable from people.  There are no social structures without human beings.  Social structures are established by human beings, kept alive by them and changed by them.  In this sense, human beings are primary.  But it is also true that human beings cannot live together without producing social   structures as the lived expression of their interaction.  Social structures are mainly the result of the ways in which people relate with one another in society.

Thus, as people relate with one another in different respects, we find the presence of different social structures such as the family structure, the religious structure, the political structure, the economic structure, the educational structure, the health structure, etc.  Indeed, with reference to the political arena in particular, Vatican II notes that such structures “are based on human nature and hence belong to an order of things divinely foreordained” (The Church Today, 74).

JUST SOCIAL STRUCTURES

Justice, as both Plato and Aristotle observed, is the social virtue that encompasses all of the other virtues.  In the Old Testament, the prophets were continually speaking out for justice against those who were oppressing their people.  Although they did not speak of social structures, this is in fact what they were referring to.  In the minds of many, however, morality and religion are seen as merely private affairs which only concern individuals and their personal relationship with God and with other individuals.

Let me use an analogy which may prove helpful in associating structures with people.  We are all familiar with the reality of virtuous habits, or habits of the heart.  These virtues are personally acquired habits which make it easier for a person to do the morally right thing.  It may be the virtue of generosity, kindness or compassion which enables a person to react almost spontaneously when generosity, kindness or compassion are called for.

These qualities have to be developed through repeated instances until a point is reached where they have become habitual ways of behaving.  This does not make them any the less praiseworthy or meritorious.

A virtuous habit, therefore, is a structured way of behaving which is good.  It is a structure which has become part of one’s moral behaviour.  On the other hand, a habit that results from the repeated instances of a vice, a vicious habit, can also become a structured part of one’s immoral behaviour.

Unlike the other virtues, however, which are personal by nature, the virtue of social justice essentially involves the relationships between citizens, organisations and the State.  The structures in question, therefore, are social structures.

They are vicious or '‘sinful'’ social structures if they condition, enable and promote immoral or unjust social behaviour.  They are virtuous or '‘grace-ful'’ social structures if they condition, enable and promote moral and just social behaviour.  If personal virtues are habits of the individual heart, social virtues might be referred to as habits of the heart of social relationships.

THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE

The fact is that politics is not morally neutral.  The way in which politics functions in society is either moral or immoral, just or unjust, or a mixture of both.  One often hears the phrase, ‘'politics is a dirty game!'’  Of course, it can hardly be denied that politics does, indeed, frequently involve practices that are immoral such as corruption and bribery.  However, this does not mean that politics as such must necessarily be immoral.  It means rather that structures have not been put in place to ensure that political practices remain at the service of the people they represent.

Consequently, whatever we might say about the complex notion of democracy, it must include in some way the active and free participation of all of the people to bring about a just society.  Hence, the  encouragement of Vatican II for all Christians to recognize politics as a Christian vocation:

Let all Christians appreciate their special and personal vocation in the political community….  Let those who are suited for it, or can become so, prepare themselves for the difficult but most honorable art of politics. (The Church Today, 75)

It remains sadly true, however, that unjust social structures can survive despite the presence of good people.  This is often due to ignorance on the part of people regarding the manner and extent to which these structures are having an effect on their society, or to a feeling of helplessness and powerlessness on their part to change them.

This means that not only is an awareness of the reality of social structures required but a concerted effort is needed to change unjust structures for the betterment of society.  Conversion of the heart must be accompanied by a social conscience.  This, in particular, means consciously targeting,  through  advocacy  and by other means, those who are more immediately responsible for perpetuating unjust social structures.

“GRACE-FUL” SOCIAL STRUCTURES

To the extent, then, that a political structure is unjust or immoral, we say that it is a ‘'structure of sin’', a structure which is '‘sinful’'.  But if social structures can be '‘sin-ful'’, then they can also be '‘grace-ful’', imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is very much the goal of what Vatican II has in mind when it says:

With respect to the fundamental rights of the person, every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, colour, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent. (The Church Today, No. 29).

It has been said that people get the type of government they deserve.  This is true to the extent that the people who uphold an unjust political structure may do little to change it.  The tragedy is that the majority, who are usually the victims of unjust social structures, are often the ones who accept their oppressed situation.

Paulo Freire’s insistence on the importance of ‘'conscientizing’' people towards an awareness of their personal human dignity and worth is, therefore, an important step in bringing about a change in social structures.  So are programmes such as Training for Transformation (used in Zambia's Development Education Programmes).

Whether we like it or not, we are all political animals, as Aristotle said.  We may not be involved in formal political positions, but we are nevertheless part and parcel of the political system within which we live.  The hard fact is that, as citizens, we are responsible for the social structures in our society.  We consciously or unconsciously either accept them or we challenge them.  Hence, the incisive observation of Vatican II:

It grows increasingly true that the obligations of justice and love are fulfilled only if each person, contributing to the common good, according to his [her] own abilities and the needs of others, also promotes and assists the public and private institutions, dedicated to bettering the conditions of human life. (The Church Today, No. 30)

PROMOTION OF JUSTICE

The 34^th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus states that a particular grace was given to the Society when GC32 spoke of our mission today as “the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.” (no. 32, my italics).  This is a very powerful statement.

Although this emphasis is by no means new in the teaching of the Church, nevertheless, it does bring out more explicitly the need to draw out the essential connection of faith with the promotion of the justice of the Kingdom.  Faith is not just a private practice.  It includes justice as an integral part of what faith is in practice - and this includes a focus on the extent to which social structures are functioning to promote the   values of Christian

belief and the development of the common good.  In this respect, the Synod of Bishops in 1971 was very explicit on the inseparable relationship between faith and justice:

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. (Justice in the World, my italics)

CONCLUSION

It is very important that we do not set up some form of opposition between the need for personal conversion of heart and the need to establish social structures of grace which embody and reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit.  It is the same Spirit who is at work removing both personal and social sin and the two are intimately related.

Personal conversion of heart is not enough.  It needs to be informed by the manner in which all of our actions affect the social domain.  The reference to removing “structures of sin” does not mean the removal of social structures as such, but rather their transformation so that they become “more authentic forms of living in community” as “structures of grace”. In this way, the social order will, as Vatican II reminds us, become more and more imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit:

This social order requires constant improvement.  It must be founded on truth, built on justice, and animated by love; in freedom it should grow every day toward a more humane balance .… God’s Spirit .… is not absent from this development. (The Church Today, 26)

Clive Dillon-Malone, S.J.
St. Ignatius Community
Lusaka