The deep-down goodness of the “average” person gives me awe. No wonder the psalmist, even after experiencing the worst human beings are capable of, exclaims: “you are gods, children of the most high, all of you” (Psalm 82:6). For, as Jesus reminded His hearers when quoting this verse (John 10:34), we’re capable of receiving the very word of God. When we lose everything else, we must hold on to this truth.

Sometimes, morality is the enemy of justice. Leading a morally upright life should lead one to act with integrity and compassion. Society itself cannot be good unless a critical mass of its people is morally good. But when we try to make other people good and judge them harshly when they don’t live up to our standards, we become repressive.

The entrants in the annual Friars’ Student Writing Contest did not make it easy on judges from The Catholic Register. 

The contest drew many quality essays on the question referring to Deuteronomy 16:18-30: How can Catholics and Christians of all denominations unite to create a more just society and be examples of Christ’s healing grace in a broken world?

Last week we published the winning entry from Lucas Georgey of St. Michael’s Choir School. This week, we feature the second and third place winners — Vincent Pham from Chaminade College School and Nathan Nambiar from St. Francis Xavier Secondary School. Pham has earned the second-place prize of an iPad while Nambiar is awarded a Google Home smart speaker.

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While some might say Sr. Helen Prejean has experienced great success in her fight to abolish the death penalty, she believes she’s only helped make some strides in the battle.

One way to view world history could be through a lens of justice. In courts, on battlefields, in parliaments and in many other settings where humans interact, justice has been a constant pursuit — but remains elusive in so many ways.

VATICAN – Acknowledging the gravity of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis told members of the Roman Curia that the church's strength does not depend on its members' perfection, but on the willingness to recognize its failings and correct them.

VATICAN – The death penalty is an inhumane form of punishment that ignores the primacy of mercy in the name of justice, Pope Francis said.

WAAHINGTON – The human rights office for the Archdiocese of San Salvador is taking the country's judicial system to task, urging the prompt prosecution of those responsible in the assassination of St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero, calling for an end to "creative" excuses for not doing so.

VATICAN – Responding to clerical sexual abuse demands truth and justice, not just admitting a sin was committed, said Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta.

WASHINGTON – During the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 5, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh said his experience serving the homeless with Catholic Charities and tutoring at Washington Jesuit Academy has influenced him as a judge because of the importance of "standing in the shoes of others."

Charity is about being good-hearted, but justice is about something more.

MANCHESTER, England – The Spanish government paid tribute to a Catholic man stabbed to death as he used his skateboard to try to defend a woman from a knife-wielding terrorist in London.

VATICAN CITY – In the prayer video for May, Pope Francis challenged the Catholic community to pray that the continent's Christians will witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.

In the journey of the Christian, truth is not negotiable; rather, a Christian must be just in mercy, as Jesus teaches us. That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. The Holy Father warned against hypocrisy and the deception of a faith reduced to a “casuistic logic.”

Unlike chaotic situations that arise from unpredictable or uncontrollable circumstances, this one was unnecessary and entirely avoidable.