As part of a task time working on the educational priorities for the Public Policy Program of the Diocese of Rochesster, I helped develop a video to assist discussion groups in parishes during Lent 2012 and beyond.  The issues presented in this presentation continue to be salient to the United States today.  Economic inequality has increased since 2012 and it was even then at historic levels.  As of 2014, the top one percent of families account for twenty percent of all income.  Recent research strongly suggests that such inequality is not “natural” but is the result of public policy on taxation and transfer payments. 

 This video draws from the work I did on my masters thesis at St. Bernard’s and presents some challenging information on the context within which we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. While it might be comforting to think that Christian faith was simply about assenting to set of doctrines and beliefs, it surely much more about a relationship that calls us to conversion and to a life that reflects “the way of Jesus.” This “way of Jesus” has stayed the same for 2,000 years. All we have to do is read the Sermon on the Mount and we can get the unchanging message. However, because that sermon calls us to act in the world and because the world is constantly changing, we have to assess the social, political, cultural, and economic context within which we are called. Catholic social teaching is the result of this analysis and the application of the principles of Jesus.