(RNS) So now Glenn Beck seems to want everybody else to leave the Catholic Church — or any church — because he thinks “social justice” is code for big government, Nazism and communism.

On television and later on radio, Beck, a 46-year-old political entertainer who was raised Catholic but is now a Mormon, told his listeners to search their churches’ Web sites. “If you find” mentions of social justice or economic justice, he advised, “run as fast as you can.”

So I searched the Vatican Web site. And what I found sounds pretty sane to me. For starters, the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines social justice this way:

“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 their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority.” What’s not to like?

The Catechism divides social justice into three categories: respect for the human person, equality and differences among men, and human solidarity. (The original Latin actually says “people,” not “men,” but I digress.)

Catholic social justice comprises respect for the individual, the essential dignity of all people despite their differences, and the reminder that we’re all in this together. Social justice implies economic justice as well.

What would happen if society — following the principals of social justice — did not allow folks to obtain what is rightfully theirs? What would happen to Mr. Beck’s very large paycheck? Social and economic justice requires that he not have an unbearable tax burden. Is he arguing against this principal? Has he even thought about it? Perhaps not. Connecticut (which Beck calls home) has no state income tax.

Then there’s the common good. Social justice is hard-wired to the common good. In the larger scheme of things, huge social and economic gaps between the rich and the poor are not only a scandal, but a danger to human dignity and international peace.

On the local scale, social justice for the common good includes supporting local police and fire brigades. In Beck’s very classy home town of New Canaan, they’ve got a 52-member volunteer ambulance corps on call 24/7. There’s a 25-member fire department — part paid and part volunteer — ready to roll. There are 45 police, a couple of building inspectors, and a dog catcher. That is called protecting the common good, with the exercise of authority thrown in. Does Beck prefer anarchy?

Perhaps.

The Tea Party principals he espouses sometimes sound pretty good — to a point. But I think he and they are confusing social justice with socialism, and economic justice with communism. Catholic social teachings are readily available on the Web and they make a lot more sense than Beck does when he rants about what he imagines they comprise.

As Beck whines about the current Christian boycott of him and his products, I hope he understands that his ex-listeners think he’s gone over the edge. He has no preferential option for the poor. He has only a preferential option for himself.

I don’t know what planet Glenn Beck is planning to move to if the billion Catholics and billion other Christians on this one give up on social and economic justice. I am sure, however, that without social and economic justice, the planet we all call home would not be a very hospitable place for any of us.

(Phyllis Zagano is visiting professor of theology and religion at St. Leo University in Florida and author of several books in Catholic studies. She also holds a research appointment at Hofstra University in New York.)