Christianity and Justice

Christianity and Justice (CJ) is a study center in Barcelona, Spain. It was created by the Jesuits of Catalonia in 1981. It is dedicated to social and theological reflection. It brings together an interdisciplinary team of more than 80 professors of social sciences and theology, and professionals and experts who are in direct contact with social realities. It is a part of the Lluís Espinal Foundation, a private and non-profit organization created in 1989 with the mission of promoting dialogue between the social sciences and theology.

The Center is part of the Catalan Federation of NGOs for Peace, Human Rights, and Development. It participates in the Catalan Social Forum, the Catalan Forum of Theology and Liberation and the Christian Platform for immigrants. It is promoted by the Society of Jesus in Catalonia, in response to the priority task entrusted by Superior General Pedro Arrupe in the General Congregation 32 of the "service of faith and the promotion of justice" advanced by the provincial of the Jesuits in Catalonia, Fr. Ignasi Salvat, S.J.

Activity

The objective of the center is to contribute to the resolution of the causes of global injustice through social and theological reflection that analyzes with rigour, denounces with commitment and proposes alternatives to advance towards a more humane and just world. It would foster a Church more at the service of the poor. It works in collaboration with other like-minded persons and organizations. The center operates through study and interdisciplinary reflection via internal seminars and working groups; courses, conferences, social networks and publishing. It has acted as a publisher for over 30 years, reaching more than 45,000 readers around the world.

Thought

Rafael Díaz-Salazar, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the Complutense University of Madrid, describes the message of Christianity and Justice as: " Without a fight against injustice, faith in God is dead, though God be proclaimed everywhere."

One of the main cornerstones of theology of CJ is to see Christianity from the perspective of indignation against injustice and praise of the impoverished God who is always on the side of the excluded and the oppressed. CJ's basic theological principles have been summarized by the priest and Basque theologian Javier Vitoria in the book Una agenollada y indulgencia theology, which shows that the faith-justice option gives substantial form to the theological task.

Notable members

Among the more prominent members are Antoni Comín and Xavier Melloni, and seminar member Llorenç Puig.