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This article argues that justice should he considered as one of the core virtues to he cultivated in social work. After tracing the evolution of the term justice from ancient to contemporary times, the authors review social work conceptions of justice at both theory and practice levels, then offer ideas on how to cultivate justice as a virtue in social work students. The authors conclude with the challenges to cultivating justice and implications for research and practice.
Keywords: justice, Catholic social teachings, virtue ethics
'What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God' Micah 6:8
The resurgence of interest in virtue ethics holds promise for both the social work profession and Christianity, given the focus of both traditions on doing right actions. Social workers are often considered moral agents of society due to the nature of the services they provide and the vulnerable conditions of the populations they serve (Joseph, 1983; Chris, 2005). Webb (2010) indicates that "doing the right thing in social work is not a matter of applying a moral rule..., but rather the worker-as-agent expressed in the range and subtlety of use of the virtues" (p. 116). Similarly, people actively engaged in a Christian faith hold themselves to high ethical and moral standards. Christians are called to emulate Christ, to cultivate gifts of the spirit, including the virtues of wisdom, knowledge, faith, hope, and love, and to give witness to their faith through service to others and action for justice.
With increased interest in virtues, it is critical to consider what virtues are most relevant for social work practice. We argue that justice should be one of the core virtues cultivated in emerging social work professionals, and that Christian social workers are dually bound by the profession and their Christian identity to do justice. To make this case, we first define justice and subsequently present the classical and contemporary understandings of justice and their influence on the social work perspectives of justice. Then we discuss methods for cultivating justice in social workers. Finally, we conclude with a discussion on some of the challenges of developing justice as a virtue in social work and we identify the need...