<p>by Jeanie Donovan, MPA, MPH</p>
<p>When JSRI released the inaugural edition of the JustSouth Index on March 17, 2016, we were grateful to receive coverage by various local, state, and national news outlets. With media coverage, however, comes the opportunity for online readers to post their thoughts, comments and feedback without filter. The online comments related to the JustSouth Index included the usual array of submissions ranging from insightful to incendiary to incoherent. While most were not particularly notable, one provocative comment gave me pause. &nbsp;It made the claim that social justice is a &ldquo;meaningless term.&rdquo; While initially I was angered by the comment, I soon realized that it was a teachable moment.</p>
<p>I suspect the author of the comment may have meant that social justice is an ambiguous term; and one that they have seen the term applied in a wide variety of contexts. While social justice is in fact a conceptual term, it does have very specific meaning, especially in the context of Catholic social teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that a society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and vocation. This includes having the material, cultural, and spiritual resources needed to achieve full development and contribute to society.&nbsp;</p>
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