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This is a far cry from the days when the Church viewed herself or her leaders as wielding secular political or military power. The Holy Father is clear on the distinction: It is true that the Church seeks to inform the moral deliberation and political participation of her members as well as other believers or persons of good will with its public social teaching, but this is not intended to dictate outcomes in the political arena.
As Benedict XVI explains: Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Pope Francis has consciously echoed these themes of the Council and his predecessors in his own teaching. Like Pope Benedict, he has insisted on the autonomy of politics and religion:. In regard to this teaching role of the Church, Pope Francis writes in his first apostolic exhortation: Together with the various sectors of society, she supports those programs which best respond to the dignity of each person and the common good.
The same idea can be found in his most recent encyclical: Here I would state once more that the Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics. Pope Francis, in his Address to the Italian Episcopal Conference May 18, has also insisted on the responsibility of the laity for the temporal order without unnecessary clerical supervision and interference: From the political to the social. From the economic to the legislative. Such studies highlight the shrinking number of Christians within the overall population.
Basic Christian moral commitments are viewed as sectarian at best or more often as bigoted. And the moral relativism and confusion of the culture is increasingly carried into the churches by baptized persons who are more formed by their culture than by the faith which they profess. Part of the emphasis in the New Evangelization is that it can be spearheaded by laity centered in parishes, associations, movements and — above all — families. The recent Synods offered the Church an opportunity to ponder how better to form and equip families to be active subjects and participants in this great endeavor.
To accomplish this goal, the document offers highlights of major themes of Catholic teaching, particularly those that touch on issues that are reflected in the current political process. Foremost among the foundational teachings are the four basic principles of Catholic social doctrine: The document groups issues under these headings. It is up to the individual to apply those guiding principles to the specific political issues of the day.
The applications may vary. Furthermore, it is not unusual to hear the opinion expressed in the public sphere that such ethical pluralism is the very condition for democracy. At the same time, the value of tolerance is disingenuously invoked when a large number of citizens, Catholics among them, are asked not to base their contribution to society and political life — through the legitimate means available to everyone in a democracy — on their particular understanding of the human person and the common good.
The history of the twentieth century demonstrates that those citizens were right who recognized the falsehood of relativism, and with it, the notion that there is no moral law rooted in the nature of the human person, which must govern our understanding of man, the common good and the state. Such relativism, of course, has nothing to do with the legitimate freedom of Catholic citizens to choose among the various political opinions that are compatible with faith and the natural moral law, and to select, according to their own criteria, what best corresponds to the needs of the common good.
From the specificity of the task at hand and the variety of circumstances, a plurality of morally acceptable policies and solutions arises. Democracy must be based on the true and solid foundation of non-negotiable ethical principles, which are the underpinning of life in society. On the level of concrete political action, there can generally be a plurality of political parties in which Catholics may exercise — especially through legislative assemblies — their right and duty to contribute to the public life of their country.
It should not be confused, however, with an ambiguous pluralism in the choice of moral principles or essential values. The legitimate plurality of temporal options is at the origin of the commitment of Catholics to politics and relates directly to Christian moral and social teaching. It is in the light of this teaching that lay Catholics must assess their participation in political life so as to be sure that it is marked by a coherent responsibility for temporal reality.
The Church recognizes that while democracy is the best expression of the direct participation of citizens in political choices, it succeeds only to the extent that it is based on a correct understanding of the human person. The democratic structures on which the modern state is based would be quite fragile were its foundation not the centrality of the human person. It is respect for the person that makes democratic participation possible. Scientific progress has resulted in advances that are unsettling for the consciences of men and women and call for solutions that respect ethical principles in a coherent and fundamental way.
At the same time, legislative proposals are put forward which, heedless of the consequences for the existence and future of human beings with regard to the formation of culture and social behaviour, attack the very inviolability of human life. Catholics, in this difficult situation, have the right and the duty to recall society to a deeper understanding of human life and to the responsibility of everyone in this regard.
Faithful Citizenship [Greg Garrett] on www.farmersmarketmusic.com In an era of nasty political partisanship and vitriolic rhetoric, we might hope that followers But Christians. How can believers find a better--a more faithful--citizenship for the 21st century ?. In an era of nasty political partisanship and vitriolic rhetoric, we might hope that followers of Jesus would stand above the fray. But Christians, by and large, don't .
For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them. In this context, it must be noted also that a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals. The Christian faith is an integral unity, and thus it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine.
Nor can a Catholic think of delegating his Christian responsibility to others; rather, the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives him this task, so that the truth about man and the world might be proclaimed and put into action. When political activity comes up against moral principles that do not admit of exception, compromise or derogation, the Catholic commitment becomes more evident and laden with responsibility. In the face of fundamental and inalienable ethical demands, Christians must recognize that what is at stake is the essence of the moral law, which concerns the integral good of the human person.
This is the case with laws concerning abortion and euthanasia not to be confused with the decision to forgo extraordinary treatments, which is morally legitimate. Such laws must defend the basic right to life from conception to natural death. In the same way, it is necessary to recall the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo.
As Benedict XVI explains: Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Pope Francis has consciously echoed these themes of the Council and his predecessors in his own teaching. Like Pope Benedict, he has insisted on the autonomy of politics and religion:.
In regard to this teaching role of the Church, Pope Francis writes in his first apostolic exhortation: Together with the various sectors of society, she supports those programs which best respond to the dignity of each person and the common good. The same idea can be found in his most recent encyclical: Here I would state once more that the Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics.
Pope Francis, in his Address to the Italian Episcopal Conference May 18, has also insisted on the responsibility of the laity for the temporal order without unnecessary clerical supervision and interference: From the political to the social. From the economic to the legislative. Such studies highlight the shrinking number of Christians within the overall population. Basic Christian moral commitments are viewed as sectarian at best or more often as bigoted.
And the moral relativism and confusion of the culture is increasingly carried into the churches by baptized persons who are more formed by their culture than by the faith which they profess. Part of the emphasis in the New Evangelization is that it can be spearheaded by laity centered in parishes, associations, movements and — above all — families. The recent Synods offered the Church an opportunity to ponder how better to form and equip families to be active subjects and participants in this great endeavor.
To accomplish this goal, the document offers highlights of major themes of Catholic teaching, particularly those that touch on issues that are reflected in the current political process.
The increasing interconnectedness of our world calls for a moral response, the virtue of solidarity. Laudato Si' , no. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family. Nations have a right and obligation to defend human life and the common good against terrorism, aggression, and similar threats, such as the targeting of persons for persecution because of their religion, including Christians. Furthermore, it is not unusual to hear the opinion expressed in the public sphere that such ethical pluralism is the very condition for democracy.
Foremost among the foundational teachings are the four basic principles of Catholic social doctrine: The document groups issues under these headings. It is up to the individual to apply those guiding principles to the specific political issues of the day. The applications may vary. That teaching document makes clear the complexity of moral decision-making when exercising political responsibility. It is also emphatic that this task falls to the laity in the civil political order. The laity have the equally demanding responsibility to apply these teachings to the temporal, political order.