Justice

Virtue Cardinal

Definition

Dictionary

Merriam-Webster 1

    • The process or result of using laws to fairly judge cases, redress wrongs, and punish crimes
    • Judge
    • The administration of law, the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity 2.
    • The quality of being just, impartial, or fair
    • The principle or ideal of fair treatment or right action
    • Conformity to this principle or ideal : righteousness 3.
    • Conformity to truth, fact, or reason : correctness

Lutheranism

Classical Lutheranism does not normally organize its moral theology around “justice” as a cardinal virtue in quite the same way Thomistic Catholic theology does. Instead, the relevant Lutheran concepts are righteousness, love of neighbor, vocation, the Ten Commandments, and civil righteousness.

Summary

A good concise Lutheran account of justice would be:

Justice is the Christian’s active righteousness toward the neighbor: seeking the neighbor’s good, protecting the neighbor’s rights, acting honestly and fairly within one’s vocations, and supporting just social and civil order. Such justice does not make a person righteous before God; rather, it is a good work that flows from faith and serves the neighbor.

Lutheran theology distinguishes righteousness before God (coram Deo) from righteousness before the world/neighbor (coram mundo). Before God, human beings are justified through Christ, received by faith not by acquiring moral virtues or performing acts of justice. But precisely because Christians have received righteousness in Christ, they are freed to live outwardly in love and justice toward their neighbors. Luther explicitly describes this second righteousness as involving living “justly (referring to one’s neighbor).”

Lutheran justice is characterized as:

faith → righteousness received from Christ → love of neighbor → just action within one’s vocations and society.

That is somewhat different structurally from the Thomistic movement of habit/virtue → stable disposition → rendering another his due → just acts.

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Expanded account with checked references

  1. The foundational Lutheran distinction: two kinds of righteousness

The most important starting point is Martin Luther’s “Two Kinds of Righteousness.”

Luther distinguishes:

  1. Alien righteousness — Christ’s righteousness, received through faith.
  2. Proper righteousness — the Christian life that follows from that gift.

Luther describes the second righteousness as consisting in three relationships:

  • discipline of oneself,
  • love toward the neighbor,
  • meekness and fear toward God.

Most importantly for our purposes, Luther interprets Titus 2:12 as: “justly (referring to one’s neighbor).” He then explains that Christ did not seek his own good but ours, and Christians likewise ought to seek the good of their neighbors. This gives us perhaps the strongest historical Lutheran basis for understanding justice as a virtue directed toward right relationship with one’s neighbor.

References

  • Two kinds of righteousness 2

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  1. Justice does NOT justify the person before God

This point distinguishes Lutheran moral theology sharply from any interpretation in which the cultivation of justice contributes to justification.

The Augsburg Confession, Article XX, says that good works are necessary because God wills them, but they do not merit grace or forgiveness. Instead, justification is received through faith in Christ. The Confession then says that faith and the Holy Spirit renew the heart so that good works follow. Therefore we can say that justice is a consequence of justification, not its cause.

Augsburg Confession XX:27–35, “Of Good Works.” Particularly important are §§27–29: good works are to be done because God wills them; forgiveness is received through faith; and the Holy Spirit renews the heart so that good works follow.

References:

  • Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration IV, “Good Works.” 3 ⁠- Augsburg Confession XX — Of Good Works 4

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  1. Lutheranism recognizes “civil righteousness”

This is especially interesting for our comparison. The Augsburg Confession XVIII explicitly teaches that human beings possess some natural ability to choose “civil righteousness” and perform things accessible to reason. But it immediately distinguishes this from “the righteousness of God,” or spiritual righteousness, which cannot be produced without the Holy Spirit.

So Lutheran theology does not say that unbelievers are incapable of justice.

A non-Christian can:

  • act honestly,
  • obey laws,
  • refrain from theft or murder,
  • administer government justly,
  • protect another’s property,
  • make fair agreements,
  • perform genuinely valuable civic actions.

Those things constitute real civil righteousness.

But civil righteousness must not be confused with the righteousness by which a sinner stands justified before God.

The Apology of the Augsburg Confession makes the distinction even stronger. It recognizes a genuine “righteousness of reason” and says that uprightness and virtue are a great good in earthly life. Nevertheless, this righteousness cannot merit forgiveness or make someone righteous before God.

This provides a very useful conceptual bridge between Lutheran theology and your secular sources.

References ⁠- Augsburg Confession XVIII — Of Free Will 5

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  1. Justice includes protecting the neighbor’s rights

From Luther’s Large Catechism, he provides an explanation of the Eighth Commandment; Luther goes beyond simply saying “don’t lie.” He says that the commandment requires people to: “help his neighbor to secure his rights” and to prevent those rights from being distorted or obstructed. He applies this explicitly to judges and witnesses and says that justice must not be corrupted because of someone’s money, possessions, honor, or power.

That is remarkably close to what we ordinarily mean by justice. It means Lutheran justice involves more than refraining from harming someone. There is a positive obligation to defend the neighbor’s rights.

Reference

  • Martin Luther, Large Catechism, First Part: The Ten Commandments, Eighth Commandment, especially §§260–261. 6

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  1. Justice operates through vocation

The Augsburg Confession XX specifically praises Christian teaching concerning the various “estates and duties of life” and the works appropriate to one’s calling. Justice therefore isn’t primarily an abstract moral achievement. It occurs when someone faithfully serves the neighbor through his or her actual calling: parent, teacher, employer, employee, judge, citizen, pastor, ruler, etc.

The Augsburg Confession makes this particularly concrete in Article XVI, “Civil Affairs.” It says Christians may legitimately:

  • hold civil office,
  • serve as judges,
  • judge according to law,
  • impose just punishments,
  • make legal contracts,
  • own property,
  • serve in legitimate civil institutions.

It actually calls lawful civil ordinances “good works of God.”

So justice has a strongly vocational and social dimension in Lutheran theology.

References:

  • Augsburg Confession XVI — Of Political Order 7 ⁠- Augsburg Confession XX — Of Good Works 4

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  1. Justice becomes an expression of love

This is where Lutheran terminology differs significantly from Aquinas. Rather than treating justice primarily as an independently analyzed cardinal virtue, Lutheran thought tends to place just action under love of neighbor. Luther’s “Two Kinds of Righteousness” already does this: active righteousness manifests itself in love directed toward one’s neighbor.

Contemporary Lutheran theology continues that trajectory. The ELCA’s officially adopted 2019 social statement Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action uses the term “neighbor justice.” It states: “In society, neighbor love takes the form of neighbor justice.”

It further says that acting justly in family, church, and society for the common good is central to human vocation. It also explicitly recognizes reason and knowledge as gifts of God that help human beings determine what policies and structures promote justice in particular circumstances.

This contemporary formulation is very useful:

Love of neighbor → neighbor justice.

References:

  • Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action: A Social Statement. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 8

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An important Catholic–Lutheran distinction

This is where I think your Virtues Map can become particularly interesting.

Aquinas gives us the classic definition: justice is the habit by which a person renders to each one his due with a constant and perpetual will.

That makes justice itself a virtue/habit, with an identifiable object: ius — what is right or due to another.

Lutheranism doesn’t reject the behavior Aquinas describes. Quite the contrary: Luther speaks explicitly about protecting another’s rights, just judgment, honest dealings, care for one’s neighbor, civic righteousness, etc.

The difference is the theological architecture around it.

Catholic Thomistic Lutheran
Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues. Justice is more commonly discussed through righteousness, vocation, commandments, and neighbor-love.
Justice is a stable moral habit. Just action is a fruit/expression of faith active in love.
Its object is what is due to another. Its orientation is the good and rights of the neighbor.
Natural virtue can genuinely perfect human action. Civil righteousness is genuinely possible through reason.
Grace perfects nature and elevates virtue. Spiritual righteousness comes from Christ and is received through faith.
Justice belongs within the Christian moral life. Justice follows justification; it never produces justification.

There is therefore considerable overlap at the level of moral action, but a substantial difference in the theological account of why and how that action relates to righteousness before God.

A working definition:

Lutheranism understands justice primarily as active righteousness toward the neighbor: seeking the neighbor’s good, protecting the neighbor’s rights, acting honestly and fairly within one’s vocation, and sustaining just civil and social order. Such justice does not justify a person before God, since righteousness before God is received through Christ by faith; rather, just works flow from faith and express love of neighbor in the world.

Contrast with Aquinas

Topic Thomas Aquinas Classical Lutheranism [^luther_justice]
Basic understanding of justice Justice is a moral virtue by which a person, with a constant and perpetual will, renders to each person what is due to him or her. Its distinctive concern is the right (ius) in relation to another. (ST II-II, q.58, aa.1, 10–11.) Classical Lutheranism more commonly treats the relevant moral reality through righteousness toward the neighbor, the commandments, love, and good works rather than by developing justice as a cardinal virtue in the Thomistic manner. Luther describes the Christian’s “proper righteousness” as including living justly toward one’s neighbor and seeking the neighbor’s good. (Two Kinds of Righteousness, LW 31:297–306.)
Justice and the neighbor Justice is intrinsically directed toward another: unlike virtues concerned primarily with the agent’s passions, justice regulates a person’s actions in relation to others. (ST II-II, q.58, a.2.) Active Christian righteousness is directed outward toward the neighbor. Luther interprets living “justly” as referring to one’s neighbor and teaches that Christians should seek the neighbor’s advantage rather than their own. (Two Kinds of Righteousness, LW 31:297–306.)
What is owed to another The proper object of justice is the right (ius), understood as that which is just or due to another according to a relation of equality. (ST II-II, q.57, aa.1–2; q.58, a.1.) Luther’s exposition of the Eighth Commandment includes the positive obligation to help one’s neighbor obtain and preserve his rights, especially in judicial matters, rather than merely refraining from false testimony. (Large Catechism, First Part, Eighth Commandment, §§260–261.)
Justice as virtue Justice is a genuine acquired moral virtue and one of the four cardinal virtues. Because it directs human beings rightly in their relations with others, Aquinas calls legal justice especially excellent among the moral virtues. (ST I-II, q.61, a.2; II-II, q.58, a.12.) The Lutheran Confessions affirm good and righteous outward conduct but do not construct their moral theology around justice as an infused/acquired cardinal habit. Their principal distinction is instead between righteousness before God and the outward/civil righteousness humans can exercise in temporal affairs. (Augsburg Confession XVIII.1–6; Apology XVIII.)
Natural/civil justice Human reason can recognize principles of the natural law, including fundamental obligations governing relations with other people. Human law derives from natural law and orders people toward the common good. (ST I-II, q.94, aa.2–4; q.95, a.2.) Human beings possess freedom to perform civil righteousness (iustitia civilis) in matters subject to reason: for example, working, marrying, holding property, and performing outwardly honorable actions. This ability must be distinguished from spiritual righteousness before God. (Augsburg Confession XVIII.1–6; Apology XVIII.)
Justice and justification Justice as a moral virtue must be distinguished from justification by grace. The justification of the ungodly is an effect of God’s grace and involves the remission of sins and the movement of the human person toward God. Infused virtues accompany sanctifying grace. (ST I-II, q.113, especially aa.1–4; q.110, aa.3–4.) Human works—including works of civil righteousness—do not justify before God. Forgiveness and justification are received through faith in Christ; good works follow faith because God commands them and because the Holy Spirit renews believers. (Augsburg Confession IV; VI; XX.27–35; Apology IV.)
Justice and good works The acts of justice are morally good acts proceeding from virtue. A virtuous act requires not merely doing the externally correct thing but acting knowingly, deliberately, and from a stable disposition. (ST I-II, q.55, aa.3–4; II-II, q.58, a.1.) Good works are commanded by God and are to be done, but Christians must not trust in them as meriting justification. They are the necessary fruits of faith and the renewed life rather than the ground of acceptance before God. (Augsburg Confession VI; XX.27–35; Formula of Concord, SD IV.)
Justice and love Justice and charity are distinct virtues. Justice renders what is due; charity unites the person to God and orders all the virtues toward their supernatural end. Charity can therefore command acts of justice. (ST II-II, q.23, aa.6–8; q.58.) Luther closely connects outward righteousness with love of neighbor. The Christian, having received Christ’s alien righteousness by faith, lives outwardly by mortifying the flesh and loving and serving the neighbor. (Two Kinds of Righteousness, LW 31:297–306.)
Civil authority and justice Human government and law properly aim at the common good. Law is an ordinance of reason directed toward the common good, and rulers may establish human laws derived from natural law. (ST I-II, q.90, aa.1–4; q.95, aa.1–2.) Lawful civil government is a good ordinance of God. Christians may hold civil office, judge according to law, impose just punishments, make legal contracts, own property, and participate in civil government. (Augsburg Confession XVI.1–7.)
Judgment and impartiality Justice requires equality according to what is due; respect of persons becomes sinful when judgment gives someone something not due to him because of irrelevant personal status. (ST II-II, q.63, a.1.) Judges and witnesses must protect the neighbor’s rights rather than allow justice to be distorted because of money, possessions, honor, or power. (Large Catechism, First Part, Eighth Commandment, §§260–261.)
Social/common good Legal or general justice directs the acts of the virtues toward the common good. In this respect justice concerns not merely individual exchanges but the person’s relationship to the political community. (ST II-II, q.58, aa.5–6.) Christians may participate in legitimate political and economic institutions and perform the duties belonging to civil life. Civil ordinances and legitimate public authority are treated as God’s good ordering of temporal society. (Augsburg Confession XVI.1–7.)
Ultimate theological structure Justice perfects the human will in its relation to others; grace and charity elevate and order the moral virtues toward humanity’s supernatural end in God. (ST I-II, q.65, aa.2–3; II-II, q.58.) The decisive distinction is between righteousness received before God and righteousness exercised toward the neighbor. Christ’s righteousness is received by faith; the believer’s active righteousness then manifests itself through love, service, obedience, and just conduct toward others. (Luther, Two Kinds of Righteousness; Augsburg Confession IV, VI, XVIII, XX.)

Calvinism

Contrast with Aquinas

| Topic | Thomas Aquinas | Classical Lutheranism [^luther_prudence] | | ——— | ——— | ——— |

Methodism (Check References)

Contrast with Aquinas

| Topic | Thomas Aquinas | Classical Methodism (Wesleyan Tradition) [^methodism] | | ——— | ——— | ——— |

Comparison

| Tradition | Definition Emphasis | Role of Justice | Organizing Principle of Christian Ethics | | ——— | ——————- | —————- | —————————————- |

New Advent Encyclopedia 9

Justice is here taken in its ordinary and proper sense to signify the most important of the cardinal virtues. It is a moral quality or habit which perfects the will and inclines it to render to each and to all what belongs to them. Of the other cardinal virtues, prudence perfects the intellect and inclines the prudent man to act in all things according to right reason. Fortitude controls the irascible passions; and temperance moderates the appetites according as reason dictates. While fortitude and temperance are self-regarding virtues, justice has reference to others. Together with charity it regulates man’s intercourse with his fellow men. But charity leads us to help our neighbour in his need out of our own stores, while justice teaches us to give to another what belongs to him.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 10

CCC 1805

Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called “cardinal”; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. “If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom’s] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage.”64 These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

CCC 1807

Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the “virtue of religion.” Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. “You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”68 “Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”

Types of Justice 11 12 13 14 15

The Church distinguishes:

  • Commutative justice: Between individuals, equality in exchanges.6
  • Distributive justice: From society to individuals, according to proportion.6
  • Legal (or general) justice: Toward the common good, obeying laws.6
  • Social justice: Addressing structural issues in social, economic spheres.6
  • Justice toward God (religion) renders honor, worship via prayer, sacrifice—yet cannot equalize Creator-creature.5 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

Vices against Justice 16 17 18

  • Commutative injustice: Theft, fraud, cheating in exchanges (CCC 2407-2408).6
  • Distributive/legal injustice: Corruption, favoritism, neglecting common good.1 4
  • Social injustice: Structural imbalances exploiting the poor.4 7

Your list is substantially correct, but it should be refined in two ways:

  1. “Injustice” is the general vice, while theft, fraud, corruption, favoritism, and exploitation are particular forms or manifestations of it.
  2. Social injustice is not limited to poverty or economic exploitation; it includes unjust social, political, and economic structures that violate human dignity and rights.

Completed classification

Commutative injustice

Commutative justice governs exchanges and relationships between individuals. It strictly requires respect for property rights, payment of debts, and fulfillment of freely contracted obligations. 10

Vices and acts contrary to commutative justice include:

  • Theft and robbery — taking or using another’s property against the owner’s reasonable will. [^2]
  • Fraud and deception — obtaining another’s property or consent through lies, concealment, or dishonest representation.
  • Cheating in exchanges — unfair prices, false measurements, adulterated goods, dishonest contracts, and other forms of commercial deception.
  • Failure to pay debts or to fulfill legitimate contractual obligations. 10
  • Withholding just wages or exploiting workers through seriously unjust conditions.
  • Damage to another’s person or property — including unjust injury to bodily integrity or possessions.
  • Slander, calumny, and unjust damage to reputation — because a person’s good name is also a good to which he or she has a right.
  • Failure to make restitution or reparation after causing unjust harm.

The essential principle is that commutative injustice violates a specific right belonging to another person. The traditional account states that restitution, compensation, retraction, or apology may be required to restore what has been wrongfully taken or damaged. [^3]

Recommended formulation:

Commutative injustice: theft, robbery, fraud, cheating, breach of contract, nonpayment of debts or wages, unjust injury, slander, and refusal to make restitution. CCC 2407–2408, 2411.

Distributive injustice

Distributive justice governs what the community owes its members. It requires the fair distribution of common goods, opportunities, protections, and burdens according to relevant considerations such as need, contribution, and responsibility. 10

Vices and acts contrary to distributive justice include:

  • Unjust discrimination in distributing public goods or opportunities.
  • Favoritism and nepotism when irrelevant personal connections determine access to benefits.
  • Exclusion of the poor or vulnerable from basic goods and services.
  • Misallocation of public resources for the benefit of a privileged group.
  • Disproportionate burdens imposed on those least able to bear them.
  • Neglect of legitimate social needs, such as access to health care, social protection, pensions, or other basic services.
  • Corruption in the distribution of benefits, especially when public goods are treated as private privileges.

Distributive justice does not necessarily mean giving everyone identical benefits. It means ensuring that communal goods are made accessible in a manner proportionate to people’s legitimate needs and contributions, while no one is unjustly excluded from basic goods. [^4]

Recommended formulation:

Distributive injustice: corruption, favoritism, nepotism, unjust discrimination, exclusion from basic goods, unequal distribution of public benefits or burdens, and neglect of the needs of the poor and vulnerable.

Legal justice concerns what citizens and public authorities owe to the community and the common good. It is not merely a matter of obeying civil regulations; it includes fulfilling legitimate civic responsibilities and promoting a social order that protects the rights of all. The Catechism distinguishes it from distributive justice, which concerns what the community owes its citizens. 10

Vices and acts contrary to legal justice include:

  • Corruption and bribery in public office.
  • Abuse of authority for personal or factional advantage.
  • Favoritism and patronage in the administration of law or public resources.
  • Tax evasion or fraudulent avoidance of legitimate civic obligations.
  • Disregard for just laws and legitimate public duties.
  • Manipulation of laws or institutions to serve private interests rather than the common good.
  • Failure of public officials to protect rights or to administer justice impartially.
  • Neglect of the common good, especially when those entrusted with authority knowingly permit serious injustice.

However, not every violation of a civil regulation is automatically a violation of moral justice. Legal justice concerns just laws and legitimate obligations. A law that contradicts the moral law or fundamental human rights cannot transform injustice into justice.

Recommended formulation:

Legal or general injustice: corruption, bribery, abuse of authority, favoritism in public administration, evasion of legitimate civic obligations, disregard for just laws, and failure to promote or protect the common good.

Social injustice

Social justice concerns the broader social, political, and economic order. The Compendium describes it as addressing the structural dimension of social problems and their solutions. [^5]

Vices and acts contrary to social justice include:

  • Structural exploitation of the poor, especially through economic systems that leave workers unable to meet basic needs.
  • Persistent social and economic imbalances that concentrate wealth and power while excluding large sectors of the population.
  • Institutional discrimination against particular groups.
  • Systemic exclusion from employment, education, health care, housing, legal protection, or political participation.
  • Unjust labor structures, including exploitation, unsafe conditions, and wages insufficient for a dignified life.
  • Indifference to entrenched injustice, when individuals or institutions knowingly benefit from or refuse to correct unjust structures.
  • Failure to protect the rights of the poor, weak, and marginalized.
  • Social policies or institutions that treat persons merely as instruments of profit or power.

Pope John Paul II identified as unjust situations in which wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of some while large portions of society cannot adequately support their families, even through exhausting labor. [^6]

The Compendium likewise teaches that injustice can become embodied in society and affect entire categories of people, producing abuses and imbalances that require a social-justice response. [^7]

Recommended formulation:

Social injustice: unjust social, political, or economic structures; systemic discrimination; institutional exclusion; exploitation of workers and the poor; concentration of wealth and power that deprives large groups of basic goods; and culpable indifference to these conditions.

Important qualification about “structural sin”

A social structure is not a moral agent in precisely the same way that an individual person is. Therefore, it is more precise to say:

  • a structure can be objectively unjust;
  • individuals, institutions, or authorities can be morally responsible for creating, maintaining, benefiting from, or refusing to reform it;
  • personal guilt depends on factors such as knowledge, freedom, intention, and the person’s actual power to change the situation.

Thus, “structural injustice” should not automatically be treated as personal mortal sin for every individual who participates in a society. Nevertheless, knowingly cooperating in or benefiting from serious injustice can create a real moral responsibility, especially when one has the ability and duty to oppose or remedy it.

Consolidated list

  • Commutative injustice: theft, robbery, fraud, cheating, breach of contract, failure to pay debts or wages, unjust injury, slander or calumny, and failure to make restitution.
  • Distributive injustice: corruption in allocation, favoritism, nepotism, unjust discrimination, exclusion from basic goods, unequal distribution of public benefits or burdens, and neglect of the vulnerable.
  • Legal or general injustice: corruption, bribery, abuse of authority, evasion of legitimate civic duties, disregard for just laws, manipulation of institutions, and neglect of the common good.
  • Social injustice: unjust structures, systemic discrimination, institutional exclusion, exploitation of workers and the poor, severe concentration of wealth and power, and culpable indifference to persistent social injustice.

The principal sources support your original classification, but “corruption” is best placed primarily under legal and distributive injustice, while “structural exploitation” belongs especially to social injustice but may also involve commutative injustice when particular persons are directly defrauded, underpaid, or exploited.

10 CCC, 2411 [^2] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2408 [^3] Catholic Encyclopedia, Injustice [^4] Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church: Christ – Our Pascha, 942 [^5] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 201 [^6] Meeting with landowners and workers of sugar cane plantations in Bacolod City (February 20, 1981) - Speech, 4 [^7] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 81

Josef Pieper 19

  • It is the notion that each man is given what is his due. (p44)
  • The steadfast will to give each man its due (p90)
  • Dictionary and modern definitions of justice “are hardly intended to be proper definitions of the term.” (p44)
  • It is important to define what is “due” to a person.
    • At the basic level something that is contracted or agreed.
    • At the general level every human being is due something, those are intrinsic rights. This might be due to him on the basis of the nature of the thing. Something like the human rights as defined by the UN
    • Our Divine Sovereign divine gift to man is man’s right.
  • The man who deprives another man of their inelianable rights harms himself and could even destroy himself. (e.g. Murder)
  • If a man “personhood” is denied, not considered something wholly and entirely real, “then right and justice cannot possibly be established.” (e.g. slavery)
  • Justice demands the distinction of parties, the parties involved, the person who owns a due, and the person who is owed a due to. This persons might be individual man or they could be institutions.
    • The other can be the community or social whole. This involves the concept of common good, this requires that every individual become good. (p59)
    • Additionally, God could be the other party to whom a person is withwolding His due. (p59)
  • There is a distinction made by Thomas Aquinas between legally binding justice and morally binding justice. Carrying the second one depends entirely in the person’s own sense of decency.
  • “God is indebted to no one.” (p57)
  • Every sin can be considered an injustice
  • In the case of justice an external observer can determine objectively if an act is just or unjust. This doesn’t happen with fortitude and temperance.
  • The act of justice is an external act, and every external act is an act of justice. An act can be considered from three different points of view:
    1. The act can be treated in its relationship and fittingness (commensuratio) to the one performing.
    2. In the relationship and fittingness to the other person
    3. It can be regarded in itself
  • There can’t be absolute justice if the parties are not equal.
  • The recognition of the “suum” that what is due to the person, rightly is called re-storation, re-stitution, re-compense, re-instatement to an original right.
  • Due to man’s nature the balance is thrown out of equilibrium, and needs to be constantly “restored” by an act of justice. (p79)
  • The just man recognizes when wrong has been done, admits his own injustice, and endeavors to eradicate it. (p80)
  • Merely acknowledging the rights never creates justice; because justice distribution will be realized through a just government (p89)

  • It is an illusion fostered by our socio-technological thinking to assume that a mere organizational perfection of political life, for instance through built-in automatic controls, might render justice as a virtue obsolete.

  • If it is utopian to think that we can educate people to be just, especially people groomed for leadership, then hope must be abandoned. (p90)
  • “for the sake of which man exists and which he has to realize in his life if it is to be said of him all his potentialities have been brought to fruition.” Human fulfillment? (p98)
  • “Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution,” “justice without mercy is cruelty.”
  • “To be willing to watch over peace and harmony among men through the commandments of justice is not enough when charity has not taken a firm root among them.” (p113)

Manners to fail meet demands included in Justice

Ranks of Justice

  • Justice has a higher rank than fortitude and temperance because it orders man in himself and also the life of men together. To be just is directed to the innermost kernel of the spiritual will, as opposed to fortitude and temperance that are related mostly to bodily existence. (p66)
  • “Prudence has the good essentially, justice affects this good.” (p67)
  • “justice not only has a sit in the will, that is, in the power that is formally directed toward the realization of good, but also that through justice the will is applied to its proper act.” (p68)

Three basic forms of Justice

  • Ordo partium ad partes, commutative justice: Between individuals, equality in exchanges.
  • Related to man. Man needs to acknowledge the rights of the other.
  • Can be considered like giving and receiving.
  • Ordo totius ad partes, distributive justice: From society to individuals, according to proportion.
  • Related to community. Holds the concept of distribution of justice.
  • It is directed from the social whole, the governor, the ruler, the lawgiver.
  • The ruler or steward gives to each what his rank deserves.
  • Ordo partium ad totum, Legal (or general) justice: From the individuals to the social whole, toward the common good, obeying laws.
  • Common good (bonum commune) it is the ‘social product,’ the total product of commmunity life. (p96)
  • Related to authority
  • What is the suitable reward for people in power? Salary, respect?
  • Ceiling of power: The fulfillment of iustitia distributiva (Pieper combines Legal and distributiva), however, cannot be enforced. It is inherent in the concept that no such enforcement should be possible. (p87)

Distributive Justice

Pieper considers within distributive ordo totius ad partes and ordo partium ad totum.

Limits of Justice

There are some debts that can’t be repaid, then there will always be an unbalance, an unjustice that needs to be fulfilled somehow. Examples:

  • We can’t repay our debt of existence to God. We repay by worship through the virtue of religion.
  • We can’t repay our debt of care to our parents. We repay by honoring them.
  • We can’t repay our debt of “care” to our country/government. We repay by respecting them.
  • The last two are related to the concept of observantia. How a person feels inwardly and behaves outwardly towards those persons who are distinguished by their office of some dignity. (p109)

  • Piety depends on soething being due to a person which its very nature cannot be fully paid. (p107)

  • Some behaviors cannot be compelled to perform but are obligatory, for instance to tell the truth.
  • Other behaviors are less compelled by required to keep joy in the community. That is liberality, affability, kindness.

Vice over Virtue 20

“This is the meaning of the Crucifix: His death is not necessitated by the perverse will of sinful men, and, therefore, is not martyrdom; but rather a willing submission to their perverse will in order to awaken men to the malignity of their sin and thereby win them over to repentance.”

Magisterium AI

  • Justice is the cardinal moral virtue that perfects the will by inclining it to render to God and neighbor what is due, fostering equitable relations, rights, and the common good.1 2 3
  • Definition and Essence
    • The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines justice as “the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor” (CCC 1807).2 4 Toward God, it is the virtue of religion; toward others, it respects rights and promotes harmony.2
    • “Justice toward God is called the ‘virtue of religion.’ Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good.”2
  • Pope Francis calls it the “quintessential social virtue,” symbolized by scales to “even the score” and ensure dignity.1 St. Thomas Aquinas describes it as the “perpetual and constant will to render to each one his right,” establishing equality through due relations.

ChatGPT

Prompt: “Please define justice and provide references to your definition” Justice is the moral virtue by which a person has a constant and firm will to give to God and to other persons what is their due, ordering one’s actions and relationships according to right and the common good.

This formulation is intentionally close to the classical Thomistic definition. It captures several important ideas:

  • A virtue: Justice is a stable disposition of character, not merely an isolated just action.
  • An act of the will: Aquinas locates justice principally in the will rather than in the passions.
  • Giving what is due: The fundamental object of justice is ius—right, or that which is owed to another.
  • Directed toward another: Justice inherently concerns relationships with others.
  • Includes God: Christian moral theology includes religion under justice because human beings owe God worship, reverence, and gratitude.
  • Connected to the common good: Justice is not limited to transactions between individuals; it also concerns one’s relationship to the community.

Primary references

Catechism of the Catholic Church §1807

The Catechism gives perhaps the cleanest definition for the project:

“Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor.”

It goes on to distinguish justice toward God and justice toward human beings and connects justice with respect for rights and harmony in human relationships.

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II–II, q. 58, a. 1

Aquinas asks explicitly, “What is justice?” Drawing upon the classical definition attributed to Ulpian, he concludes that justice can properly be defined in terms of:

“a perpetual and constant will to render to each one his right.”

This is especially important for the Virtues Map because Aquinas subsequently develops the structure of justice into general/legal justice and particular justice, with particular justice further involving distributive and commutative justice. See ST II–II, q. 58, especially aa. 5–7, and q. 61.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book V

Book V is Aristotle’s major treatment of justice. Aristotle distinguishes justice in a broad sense—virtue exercised in relation to others—from particular justice, which concerns fairness in distributions and transactions. Especially useful are:

  • Nicomachean Ethics V.1–2 — justice generally and particularly
  • V.3 — distributive justice
  • V.4 — corrective justice
  • V.5 — reciprocity and exchange

Aquinas adopts much of this Aristotelian architecture while placing it within Christian moral theology.

Biblical foundation

Matthew 22:37–40 provides an important theological backdrop: right ordering toward God and neighbor corresponds to the two great commandments.

For justice toward one’s neighbor more explicitly, Micah 6:8 is particularly useful:

“to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Other useful passages include Isaiah 1:17, Amos 5:24, Matthew 23:23, and James 2:1–9.

Recommended definition for justice.md

For consistency with the kind of concise definitions you’re building into the Virtues Map, I would use:

Justice is the moral virtue by which a person has a constant and firm will to give to God and to other persons what is their due, thereby rightly ordering relationships with others and with the community.

Core references: CCC §1807; Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II–II, q. 58, a. 1; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics V.

Holy Family School of Faith 21

Justice is important.

Ideas

  • I wonder how we can project the concepts of justice to software development microcosmos. For instance:
    • Teammate to teammate
    • Company/Team to teammate
    • Teammate to Company/Team
    • Leadership at the different levels, how to “respect” them, and how to express criticism, unjustice, or opposition in either direction
  • In Magnificas Humanitas Pope Leo mentions that companies are having more power than governments (XXX), I wonder if companies would then be in charge of distributive justice as defined by Pieper.

XXXX Case

Book Ideas

Seattle Pacific University Virtue Framework

Justice is the moral virtue that gives each person what is their due—that is, it respects and protects others’ rights and obligations, so that what is owing is rendered rather than treated as mere optional generosity.

• Justice as the inward commitment to and outward expression of righteousness that works against oppression to affirm and restore the dignity of all God’s creation.

References

  1. Merriam Webster: Justice ↩

  2. Martin Luther, “Two Kinds of Righteousness” (1519), in Luther’s Works, vol. 31, Career of the Reformer I, ed. Harold J. Grimm (Philadelphia: Fortress Press), pp. 297–306. The LCMS reproduces pp. 297–300 and explicitly identifies the source. Lull, Timothy F., and William R. Russell, eds. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. Fortress Press, 2012. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.spu.edu/lib/spu/detail.action?docID=1172360. ↩

  3. Book of Concord ↩

  4. Confident.Faith. “Art. XX: Of Good Works Book of Concord,” 10 December 2019. https://thebookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/article-xx ↩ ↩2

  5. Confident.Faith. “Art. XVIII: Of Free Will Book of Concord,” 10 December 2019. https://thebookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/article-xviii ↩

  6. Luther, Martin. “The Large Catechism.” Pages 377–480 in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, Translated by Charles Arand and others. Fortress Press, 2000. ↩

  7. Confident.Faith. “Art. XVI: Of Political Order Book of Concord,” 10 December 2019. https://thebookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/article-xvi ↩

  8. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action: A Social Statement.” Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2019. ↩

  9. New Advent Encyclopedia: Justice ↩

  10. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1805, 1807 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  11. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2006. ↩

  12. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1992. § 2411. ↩

  13. Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church: Christ – Our Pascha. 2016. § 942. ↩

  14. Pope Francis. General Audience. Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2024. ↩

  15. Aquinas, Thomas. “Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics.” 1272. ↩

  16. Augustine of Hippo. “Letter 167 From Augustine to Jerome, on James 2:10.” In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, no. 167. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 415. ↩

  17. Basil Cole, O.P. “A Thomistic Appraisal of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Capital Vices.” In Nova et Vetera, vol. 16, no. 1. Steubenville, OH: St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, 2018. ↩

  18. Pope Francis. Holy Mass for the 100th anniversary of Saint John Paul II’s birth (18 May 2020). 2020. ↩

  19. Pieper, Josef. The Four Cardinal Virtues. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. University of Notre Dame Press, 1966. ↩

  20. SHEEN, FULTON J. VICTORY OVER VICE & THE SEVEN VIRTUES. S.l.: BISHOP SHEEN TODAY, 2021. ↩

  21. Holy Family School of Faith Rosary meditations: Justice, An introduction to Justice ↩