Pope Saint John Paul II defines the common good as, “the sum of those conditions of social living whereby people are enabled more fully and more readily to achieve their own perfection.” There are many elements in society that contribute to the well-being of its members. These elements reflect the various aspects of the human person. Humans are beings of flesh and spirit. Thus, our well-being requires adequate food and drink to nourish our bodies, employment to meet our economic needs and adequate health care to tend to our needs in times of illness or injury. Our well-being requires opportunities to find meaning in our lives and to nourish our spiritual nature as well. Since humans are rational creatures, our well-being requires that we have access to resources that will nourish our minds and help us to have both the knowledge and critical reasoning ability necessary for good decision making.
Social policy that serves the common good honors all these elements. It excludes no one from the elements that make up the common good, while trying to expand access to the common good for all persons. The common good views all these elements as related to one another and flowing from the fundamental dignity of all persons. Striving toward the common good doesn’t require that everything be done by the government. Indeed, every sector of society must strive toward and contribute to the common good. However, government has a special role in promoting and coordinating efforts from every sector of society in achieving the common good. No social policy should do harm to the common good.
Earlier I spoke of not building up structures of sin in our community. What do I mean by that? Pope John Pal II described structures of sin as those patterns of behavior that are enshrined in law or common practice which are objectively evil or do harm to some sector of society. A structure of sin within American society would be legislation flowing from Rowe vs. Wade and providing for ready access to abortion. Another structure of sin would be policing policies that discriminate against people of a certain ethnic or racial background. Structures of sin are insidious because much of the time they seem to be a given. Often, their objectively evil nature is not clear, so we overlook them, and they continue to poison society and do harm to people. The potential for any social policy to become a structure of sin must be examined when the policy is first being considered. If it is in place, all social policy must be examined for the extent it is a structure of sin and what might be done to mitigate the harm being done.
The US Bishops Conference has summarized the key themes of Catholic Social Teaching. The bishops describe the Church’s social teaching as a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. They note that modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents. The themes identified by the Bishops are no surprise and are well represented in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan.
Life and Dignity of the Human Person. As we have seen, the Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. It must be remembered that the right to life is not limited to the issue of abortion but includes a range of issues impacting humanity from conception to natural death, where people’s lives are endangered or devalued. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. Every person is precious. People are more important than things. The measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.
Call to Family, Community, and Participation. The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society in economics and politics, in law and policy directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Rights and Responsibilities. The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected, and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities–to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers. The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected–the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
Solidarity. We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.”1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.
Care for God’s Creation. We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
Over the past few Along the Way installments I have laid out some principles that are the foundation to any consideration of Catholic Social Teaching. Over the next few installments I will attempt to apply these principles to some issues that we face as a community and as a nation. These are all issues that any executive and legislative leaders in the CNMI will need to address. These are all issues that faith filled voters will need to take in consideration as they determine the future of the CNMI in the voting booth this November.
