Thesis advisor: David Hollenbach / Transnational migration presents a problem for universal human rights. Because migrants do not have full citizenship in their countries of residence, they are left out of the distribution of social goods within a nation-state. Contemporary theories of justice largely remain trapped in the framework of the "bounded society," which members enter by birth and leave by death. The dissertation argues that the protection of universal human rights depends on turning particular relationships of exploitation into relationships of co-responsibility. The dissertation draws on two sources of Christian ethics, the Bible and Catholic social teaching on migration in order to maintain both the importance of the unity of the human family, the universality of human rights, and the importance of the political community. The work of three political philosophers suggests that in order to respond to transnational migration, an ethics of migration must maintain both the universality of human rights and the moral significance of the political community, but must discard the ideal of the bounded society. The resources of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament indicate that care for the stranger must be foundational to a Christian ethics of migration. Catholic social teaching on migration maintains both the universality of human rights and the right of the state to control its borders, but ultimately fails to address whether and in what circumstances the state should prioritize its citizens over migrants and potential migrants. The dissertation uses Jon Sobrino's reflections on Christian solidarity in order to address this lacuna in Catholic social teaching on migration. It argues that the political community must protect the human rights of migrants because, in most cases, migrants are in relationships with citizens. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

This work tries to present the importance of the theory of justice of John Rawls from the point of view of Christian ethics, pointing out selected aspect of this theory. The basis for this reflection gives the fact, that the theory of justice of John Rawls is repeatedly cited in the presentations of the principles of Catholic social teaching. In some points they show similarities, in others are in opposition. Furthermore, John Rawls formulates his formal theory in a way to make it acceptable for every rational human being. In this group are also included persons with religious and moral ideas, or how John Rawls call them himself: people with comprehensive doctrines. The rationale to examine the theory of justice is justified also by the fact that Rawls ascribes not ignorable function in the aforementioned theory to religious ideas. Thirdly, in the case of John Rawls is possible to see one of the advocates and fore-representative of the liberal tradition. Liberalism is, because of its ambiguous definition but simultanously real presence in the society and thinking of people, not ignorable challenge for the Church and religious ideas, with which she already tries for two hundred years to tackle. In this work therefore will be presented the life and works of John Rawls, together with the basic theses of...

Title Ethical Dilemmas in the Process of Selling the City's Housing Stock - a Systematic Analysis from the Perspective of Christian Social Ethics Abstract The aim of this work is to describe and analyse ethical dilemmas in decision-making in the management of the city and in one of the important segments of municipal politics - in the field of sales of the city's property to private owners. The focus of the thesis is to reflect on the ethical dilemmas that arise in the process of selling the city's property. The ethical reflection will be made from the perspective of theological ethics and Catholic social teaching. Ethical criteria for morally responsible political behaviour will be defined in the thesis in connection with selected principles of social teaching of the Church. Further, the conditions for the sale of the city's housing stock will be formulated, which would be in accordance with the principle of general good as the basic principle of Christian ethics implemented in municipal political practice so as to benefit the city management as an organizational unit and its citizens, the life of individuals and the city as a whole. In the format of one example of practical policy the contribution of Christian ethics to governance and management of the city will be examined. At the same time the criteria...

The theological basis for the charitable activities of the Christian Church. The thesis focuses on the charitable work of the Christian Church today known as Diakonia, characterised as a service of love to others, which is currently considered one of the key, i.e. constitutive elements, of the fundamental structure of the Church. Based on analyses of the relations between theological disciplines, particularly Biblical, systematic theology and Christian social ethics, it identifies the Christian Church's idea of charity as the communion of love in the service of those who suffer. A fundamental defining characteristic of the Diakonia charity is God's love and the structure of the assessment system that unfolds from it that is specific and essential for the Christian Church. Keywords Charitable work, Diakonia, service of love, Christian social ethics, Catholic social teaching

The diploma thesis "Ethical aspects of migrants' access to healthcare in the Czech Republic" focuses on healthcare accessibility for migrants in the Czech Republic and looks at the issue from an ethical perspective. It identifies and describes the main problematic aspects of foreigners' access to Czech healthcare and analyses them from a moral standpoint. The principals of Christian social ethics, basic tenets of Christian anthropology and biblical imperatives, including those focusing on the biblical concept of a foreigner and its approach to them are used as bases for the analyses. The thesis further concentrates on healthcare access in relation to human rights and asks whose responsibility it is to respect and fulfill them. The thesis refers to the broader context of the issue in question and specifies further ethical challenges it entails. The thesis aims to suggest possible solutions of the presented problems and to identify those most ethically adequate. This involves presenting key actors of the possible changes as well as describing the current legal development. Keywords Christian social ethics, equity in health, healthcare, health insurance, human rights, immigration, integration, migration.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how religious ethics, while retaining its identity, can contribute to political debate and to the understanding of justice. The inquiry addresses these issues by focusing on theological perspectives which challenge the solutions offered to these questions by the liberal paradigm. Three kinds of challenges are studied, each of which is represented by one thinker from the Islamic tradition and one from the Christian tradition, in order to enable a comparative perspective on the contributions of religious traditions. The thinkers studied are: 1) modified liberalism, represented by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im and Duncan B. Forrester; 2) liberationism, represented by Ali Shariati and Gustavo Gutierrez; and 3) radical traditionalism, as developed by Tariq Ramadan and John Milbank. The study is organized around three main questions. First, how can innovative interpretations of religious tradition be plausibly justified? Second, what role should religious arguments and reasons play in the political sphere? Third, what can religious ethics and theological thought contribute to the understanding of social justice? The questions are engaged by means of a critical and reconstructive engagement with the six thinkers. The suggested solutions are assessed in terms of the criteria of authenticity, communicability, and potential for transformation. It is argued that a religious ethic can rely on a tradition without accepting conservative understandings of that tradition. Furthermore, it is argued that the coherence of religious ethics can be made available for public discourse but that the hospitability of the public forum to such contributions needs to be realized through a deepened democratic culture and a critique of power structures which condition perceptions of rationality. While religious ethics do not articulate complete alternative understandings of justice, they articulate contributions by relating justice to human sociality and to transcendence.

The work deals with the impact of immigration and integration policies on the living conditions of third-country nationals in the country. It is divided into two parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical part defines related terms and types of migration. Further describes the causes and effects of migration in the economic, social and demographic. This work also introduces the current migration theories. The work also reflects the integration and integration policy of the state to receive and foreigners living in the Czech Republic. The thesis introduces the living conditions of foreigners living in the Czech Republic, with their position in the labor market, with their terms of health and social security. The work is also given view of immigration and immigration policy, Christian social ethics. The practical part of the thesis research by talking to strangers, employees of the state administration and employers who employ foreigners and thus actively contribute to the successful integration of foreigners into Czech society, to verify the facts mentioned in the theoretical part, the search for the causes of these facts, respectively. possible solutions.