Some Basic Principles
"Politics" means, how people interact, cooperate and communicate. It comes from the word "polis", meaning town or city. "Politics" means, then, being a neighbor. It is not meant to be a dirty word. This explains the old story that a citizen was asked, "Are you a Christian?" He responded, "Ask my neighbors." Although the pagan Greeks first used the word politics, it was very much Christian theologians who developed the concepts we use today. It was a Franciscan friar, for example (Marsilius of Padua, Defendor pacis, 1324) who first wrote, "The legitimacy of any government is based on the consent of the governed." Here are some basic Catholic principles when it comes to politics in the modern world. Most of this is summarized from the book: Joseph Ratzinger, Introduction to Christianity (1968/2004). 1) The Common Good Catholic moral teaching is based on the notion of the common good. The common good is based on respect for the human person, the social well-being and development of the group, and peace (stability and security of a just order). [Gaudium et Spes § 26, Catechism of the Catholic Church §1906] 2) The priority of the person (the individual) "For Christians, civil society comes after the person" [DOCAT §197] Yet despite the priority of the person, we cannot do without the State - or else there is chaos, and no individuals truly prosper in chaos. 3) The human person is the reason for the existence of the political community. The prospering of the individual is the sole reason for the legitimacy of political power. [DOCAT § 293] 4) Catholics are called to participate in the political process "All citizens ought to be aware of their right and duty to promote the common good by casting their votes. The Church praises and esteems those who devote themselves to the common good and who take upon themselves the burdens of public office in order to be of service. ... Citizens should cultivate a generous and loyal spirit of patriotism, but without narrow-mindedness. ... Christians should be a shining example by their sense of responsibility and their dedication to the common good." [Gaudium et spes no. 75] 5) Politics is the duty of the LAITY and NOT of the clergy "Lay people have the special obligation to permeate and perfect the temporal order of things with the spirit of the Gospel." [Code of Canon Law can. 226] "The clergy are forbidden to assume public political office whenever it means sharing in the exercise of civil power." [Canon Law can. 285 §3] 6) No party may ever claim to be the "Catholic party" or the "Christian party" - nor may the Church ever declare a party to be the "Catholic" one "The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor is it tied to any political system. It is at once the sign and the safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person." [Gaudium et Spes § 76] Indeed, if a priest ever tells the people from the pulpit how they "must" vote if they are good Catholics, that priest is guilty of a sin. [Canon Law can. 285] |
Civilize It!
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Political Guidelines for Parishes
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The essay in the leftmost column was written by friar Bob Showers OFM Conv. on 20 September 2020. He is responsible for its content.
The text in the center column comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2020.
The text in the rightmost column was published on 10 September 2020 by the Roman Catholic Bishops in Indiana (Indiana Catholic Conference).
For his essay, Fr. Bob mostly used the following sources:
The text in the center column comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2020.
The text in the rightmost column was published on 10 September 2020 by the Roman Catholic Bishops in Indiana (Indiana Catholic Conference).
For his essay, Fr. Bob mostly used the following sources:
- Austin Flannery O.P., ed. The Basic Sixteen Documents of Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations. Dublin, Dominican Publications 1996
- Joseph Ratzinger. Einführung in das Christentum. Munich, Kösel Verlag 1968
- Pope John Paul II. Laborem Exercens: On Human Work. Vatican City, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1981
- The Code of Canon Law in English Translation. Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland. London, Collins Liturgical Publications 1983
- Catechism of the Catholic Church. Ligouri MO, Ligouri Publications 1994
- Austrian Bishops' Conference. DOCAT: What to Do? The Social Teaching of the Catholic Church. San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 2016