Decrees of General Congregation 34:
3. Our Mission and Justice

54/5. The struggle for justice has a progressive and gradually unfolding historic character, as it confronts the changing needs of specific peoples, cultures and times. Previous Congregations have called attention to the need to work for structural changes in the socio-economic and political orders as an important dimension of the promotion of justice. They also urged: working for peace and reconciliation through nonviolence; working to end discrimination against people based on race, religion, gender, ethnic background or social class; working to counter growing poverty and hunger while material prosperity becomes ever more concentrated. Each of us may focus our efforts in only one or other of these dimensions, but all of them are of continuing importance in the Society's overall mission of the promotion of justice.

55/6. More recently we have become increasingly aware of other dimensions of this struggle for justice. Respect for the dignity of the human person created in the image of God underlies the growing international consciousness of the full range of human rights. These include economic and social rights to the basic necessities of life and well-being; personal rights such as freedom of conscience and expression and the right to practise and share one's faith; civil and political rights to participate fully and freely in the processes of society; and rights such as development, peace and a healthy environment. Since persons and communities are intertwined, there are important analogies between the rights of persons and what are sometimes called the "rights of peoples," such as cultural integrity and preservation, and control of their own destiny and resources. The Society, as an international apostolic body, must work with communities of solidarity in supporting these rights.

56/7. In our times there is a growing consciousness of the interde pen-deuce of all peoples in one common heritage. The globalization of the world economy and society proceeds at a rapid pace, fed by developments in technology, communication, and business. While this phenomenon can produce many benefits, it can also result in injustices on a massive scale: economic adjustmdnt programmes and market forces unfettered by concern for their social impact, especially on the poor; the homogeneous "modernization" of cultures in ways that destroy traditional cultures and values; a growing inequality among nations and - within nations - between rich and poor, between the powerful and the marginalized. In justice, we must counter this by working to build up a world order of genuine solidarity, where all can have a rightful place at the banquet of the Kingdom.

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