“Economic Justice for All”, the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral on the economy is celebrating its 20^th year. The document continues to serve as an effective and, in many ways, prophetic commentary on the American economic scene. This is an opportunity for us as Catholics to revisit the document and its clarion call for a new economic justice. One of its defining statements occurs in an early paragraph:

“The challenge of this pastoral letter is not merely to think differently but also to act differently. A renewal of economic life depends on the conscious choices and commitments of individual believers who practice their faith in the world… We need a spirituality that calls forth and supports lay initiative and witness not just in our churches but also in business, in the labor movement, in the professions, in education, and in public life. Our faith is not just a weekend obligation, a mystery to be celebrated around the altar on Sunday. It is a pervasive reality to be practiced every day in homes, offices, factories, schools and businesses across the land. We cannot separate what we believe from how we act in the marketplace and the broader community. For this is where we make our primary contribution to the pursuit of economic justice.”

May we make it so.