Social Justice

Ghana            Burkina Faso            Catholic Social Teaching            Prayers         Current Events

Welcome to the Regis Jesuit Social Justice webpage. These pages are dedicated to exploring social justice issues initially through the lens of two developing countries in Africa: Burkina Faso and Ghana. Inside you will find articles, analysis, photos, links and prayers relating to a wide spectrum of social justice issues including: poverty and economic development, food security, microfinance, fair trade, health, HIV/AIDS, malaria/unclean Water, orphans and malnourished children, education, social issues and the environment.

The purpose of these pages is to educate and advocate for social justice in these countries and all countries facing similar issues using first hand experience, research and the Catholic Social Teaching of the Church. Heeding our Lord’s exhortation in Matthew 25 to help the poor and marginalized, we hope to inspire Catholics and all Christians to help the least of our brothers and sisters.

The site is initially a joint effort between Mr. Jeffrey M. Goldsmith and his Senior Social Justice class. Mr. Goldsmith was selected by Catholic Relief Services and the National Catholic Education Association to visit Burkina Faso and Ghana in the summer of 2008 as part of the Frontiers of Justice Program.

The site will not be limited to Burkina Faso and Ghana. Regis Jesuit teachers may add to the site through activities and experiences in their own classes. Further, it is hoped that teachers and students returning from service trips abroad will share their experiences on this site. The goal of the site is to grow and address as many issues in as many countries as possible and provide a living resource for the application of Catholic Social Teaching in a variety of environments.

How to use the Social Justice section of the website

These pages of the website are organized by country and topic. Click on the country (Ghana and Burkina Faso) and topic you wish to examine. You will find one or more articles on the subject along with photographs. The material in the articles has been hyperlinked so that by clicking on the highlighted term, you will be able to access directly the source material used for the article.

Catholic Social Teaching contains links to basic social justice doctrines. The Diocese of St. Paul's Social Justice webpage, the Vatican website and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website are excellent resources for obtaining a collection of teachings on various subjects as well as access to the full text of the encyclical, letter or teaching document used as a resource. Keep following the links to the original documents.

Prayers contains prayers written by the students and others on particular subjects in the articles. There are a variety of prayers addressing various social justice issues.