From Comfortable Christianity to Radical Solidarity: Addressing the Crisis of Our Time: When the World Hurts: A Catholic Blueprint for Courage and Change
Insights from Cardijn, Merton, and Adler
The Cardijn method of See-Judge-Act, with insights from Mortimer Adler and Thomas Merton, grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, offers a distinct lens through which to address humanity’s most pressing and interconnected challenges—including environmental, economic, and social crises—by examining their roots, evaluating them through faith-based principles, and guiding us toward meaningful, transformative action.
SEE: Observing the Signs of Our Times
Today, when we look honestly at our world, we see interconnected crises that challenge human dignity and creation itself. Recognizing Pope Francis’s call in Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum can inspire hope that our faith guides us toward moral urgency and collective action.
Turning to the social dimensions, we observe economic systems concentrating wealth while leaving billions in poverty. Even as technology advances at breathtaking speed, human relationships are fracturing. Meanwhile, migrations of desperate people, seemingly intractable wars, and a culture that increasingly treats human life as disposable—through wars, euthanasia, poverty, homelessness, or the abandonment of the elderly and poor—are all pressing realities from the womb to the tomb.
In light of these realities, Thomas Merton, writing about poverty and social justice, observed that the oppression of marginalized peoples is systemic, and that those who benefit from existing structures often fail to challenge the racism and injustice embedded in society. His words about hypocrisy cut to the heart of our comfortable Christianity: the reality that we can speak of solidarity while living in ways that perpetuate injustice.
Mortimer Adler reminds us that “Political democracy cannot flourish under all economic conditions. Democracy requires an economic system that supports the political ideals of liberty and equality for all. People cannot exercise freedom in the political sphere when they are deprived of it in the economic sphere.” We see this truth playing out globally, where economic inequality undermines democratic participation and human flourishing.
We also observe what Benedict XVI called a “dictatorship of relativism”—the loss of shared moral truths that makes it nearly impossible to ground claims about human dignity and the common good. As Adler warned, “Television, radio, and all the sources of amusement and information that surround us in our daily lives are also artificial props... Eventually, they have little or no effect. Then, if we lack resources within ourselves, we cease to grow intellectually, morally, and spiritually.”
JUDGE: Discerning Through the Lens of Faith
Faced with these intertwined realities, Catholic social teaching calls us to judge not by worldly standards but by the Gospel and the moral principles given through Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. Several key tenets illuminate our discernment:
Human Dignity: Every person, from conception to natural death, possesses inherent dignity—meaning intrinsic worth and value—because they are made in the image and likeness of God. Any system, ideology, or practice that treats persons as mere commodities, tools of production, or obstacles to convenience violates this fundamental truth.
The Common Good: Adler articulated that “Government is just if it acts to serve the common good or general welfare of the community and not the private or special interests of those who happen to wield political power,” Our current crises reveal how far we’ve strayed from this principle—prioritizing short-term profit over long-term flourishing, individual autonomy over solidarity, and national interests over global responsibility.
The Church’s preferential option for the poor isn’t sentimentality—it’s justice. God shows special concern for the vulnerable, and we’re called to the same. Merton’s words challenge us to feel morally responsible and empowered to genuinely share in the struggles of those we claim to serve.
Integral Ecology: Pope Francis teaches that environmental destruction, economic injustice, and disregard for life stem from similar roots in our “throwaway culture” and consumerism, with the developed world’s indifference to planetary destruction driven by short-term economic growth. We cannot address environmental concerns without addressing human concerns, or vice versa. Everything is connected.
Subsidiarity and Participation: Families and intermediate associations are being undermined by both excessive individualism and excessive state control. Subsidiarity is the principle that decisions should be made at the most local level capable of addressing an issue, rather than by a central authority. People need the ability to participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives, and communities closest to problems are often best positioned to address them.
Think contemplative wisdom for this moment: Do not depend on the hope of worldly results. You start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. Our judgment rooted in fidelity to truth and love can inspire moral courage and hope in our efforts.
Adler reminds us: “The ultimate end of education is happiness or a good human life, a life enriched by every kind of good, by the enjoyment of all types of satisfaction.” Yet our current systems reduce education to workforce preparation and reduce persons to economic units. Proper judgment requires us to ask: Are our systems serving true human flourishing, or just perpetuating unjust structures?
ACT: Responding with Courage and Hope
Catholic social teaching doesn’t allow us the luxury of mere analysis. We’re called to concrete action—but action rooted in truth, animated by love, and oriented toward fundamental transformation.
Personal Conversion: Before we can change systems, we must examine our own hearts. Do we live simply so others may live? Do we recognize Christ in the poor, the immigrant, the unborn child, the older adult? Merton wrote: “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” Our action must begin with hearts transformed by this radical love.
Work for Economic Justice: We must advocate for just wages and workers’ rights to organize. Economic systems should serve human dignity, not treat people as means to profit. This includes supporting policies that reduce poverty, provide healthcare as a human right, and enable everyone to participate in economic life. John Paul II taught that labor takes priority over capital.
Environmental Stewardship: The Church now addresses artificial intelligence and new autonomous/industrial revolutions as posing challenges for defending human dignity, justice, and labor. We must engage these technological challenges while simultaneously working to reduce our environmental footprint, transition to sustainable energy, and hold corporations and governments accountable for creation care.
Defend Life: Build a culture of life that protects the vulnerable at every stage—advocating against poverty, homelessness, and euthanasia while also working to eliminate the death penalty, provide robust healthcare, address hunger, and create conditions where families can thrive.
Welcome the Stranger: Support comprehensive immigration reform that respects both nations’ legitimate interests and migrants’ human dignity. Volunteer with refugee resettlement. Advocate for policies that address the root causes of migration—violence, poverty, and climate change.
Educate for Democracy: As Adler insisted, “We acknowledge but one motive - to follow the truth as we know it, whithersoever it may lead us; but in our heart of hearts we are well assured that the truth which has made us free, will in the end make us glad also.” A democratic society requires educated citizens capable of critical thinking, moral reasoning, and genuine dialogue. Support education that forms the whole person, not just job training.
Build Community: Strengthen families, parishes, and local associations. Practice subsidiarity by solving problems at the most local level possible. Resist both radical individualism and excessive statism by creating spaces where authentic human relationships and solidarity can flourish.
Engage Politically: Exercise your citizenship responsibly. Vote with Catholic social teaching in mind—there is no perfect party. Still, we can support candidates and policies that best protect human dignity and promote the common good. No one should advocate for a state religion, but we should advocate for the greater good and ethical principles. Write letters, attend town halls, and hold elected officials accountable.
Live Contemplatively: Merton’s wisdom is essential here: focus on “the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself”rather than measurable results. Our activism must be grounded in prayer, sustained by community, and animated by hope in God’s providence rather than anxiety about outcomes we cannot control.
Adler’s vision of education applies to our entire lives: “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.” We must commit to lifelong formation in Catholic social teaching, continually deepening our understanding and refining our practice.
Conclusion
In summary, the challenges we face are immense, interconnected, and urgent. Yet Catholic social teaching provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing them—one rooted in timeless truths about human dignity, the common good, and our interconnectedness with all creation. The Cardijn method of See-Judge-Act grounds us in reality while calling us to transformative action.
We cannot do everything, but each of us must do something. Our response must be both personal and political, both immediate and long-term, both local and global. Above all, it must be rooted in love—the love that moves the world, the love that makes justice possible, the love that gives us hope even in dark times.