Translate

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Life in Christ: MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT


PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE
MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER TWO
THE HUMAN COMMUNION
ARTICLE 2
PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
I. AUTHORITY
1897 "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested
with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to
work and care for the good of all."15
By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or institutions make laws and give
orders to men and expect obedience from them.
1898 Every human community needs an authority to govern it.16 The foundation of such authority lies
in human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state. Its role is to ensure as far as possible the
common good of the society.
1899 The authority required by the moral order derives from God: "Let every person be subject to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been
instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those
who resist will incur judgment."17
1900 The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are
charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will.
Pope St. Clement of Rome provides the Church's most ancient prayer for political authorities:18
"Grant to them, Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability, so that they may exercise without
offense the sovereignty that you have given them. Master, heavenly King of the ages, you give
glory, honor, and power over the things of earth to the sons of men. Direct, Lord, their counsel,
following what is pleasing and acceptable in your sight, so that by exercising with devotion and
in peace and gentleness the power that you have given to them, they may find favor with
you."19
1901 If authority belongs to the order established by God, "the choice of the political regime and the
appointment of rulers are left to the free decision of the citizens."20
The diversity of political regimes is morally acceptable, provided they serve the legitimate good of the
communities that adopt them. Regimes whose nature is contrary to the natural law, to the public
order, and to the fundamental rights of persons cannot achieve the common good of the nations on
which they have been imposed.
1902 Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave in a despotic
manner, but must act for the common good as a "moral force based on freedom and a sense of
responsibility":21
A human law has the character of law to the extent that it accords with right reason, and thus
derives from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason it is said to be an unjust law,
and thus has not so much the nature of law as of a kind of violence.22
1903 Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned
and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures
contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case,
"authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse."23
1904 "It is preferable that each power be balanced by other powers and by other spheres of
responsibility which keep it within proper bounds. This is the principle of the 'rule of law,' in which the
law is sovereign and not the arbitrary will of men."24
II. THE COMMON GOOD
1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is necessarily related to the
common good, which in turn can be defined only in reference to the human person:
Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified,
but gather instead to seek the common good together.25
1906 By common good is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people,
either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily."26 The common
good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise
the office of authority. It consists of three essential elements:
1907 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common
good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human
person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common
good resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the
development of the human vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience
and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion."27
1908 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself.
Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to
arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests; but it should make
accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education
and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.28
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It
presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its
members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.
1910 Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized as such; it
is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to
defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.
1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world. The unity of
the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal natural dignity, implies a universal common
good. This good calls for an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different
needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of food, hygiene,
education, . . . and certain situations arising here and there, as for example . . . alleviating the miseries
of refugees dispersed throughout the world, and assisting migrants and their families."29
1912 The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The order of things must
be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around."30 This order is founded on
truth, built up in justice, and animated by love.
III. RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
1913 "Participation" is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person in social interchange. It is
necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good.
This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person.
1914 Participation is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal
responsibility: by the care taken for the education of his family, by conscientious work, and so forth,
man participates in the good of others and of society.31
1915 As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life. The manner of this participation
may vary from one country or culture to another. "One must pay tribute to those nations whose
systems permit the largest possible number of the citizens to take part in public life in a climate of
genuine freedom."32
1916 As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a
continually renewed conversion of the social partners. Fraud and other subterfuges, by which some
people evade the constraints of the law and the prescriptions of societal obligation, must be firmly
condemned because they are incompatible with the requirements of justice. Much care should be
taken to promote institutions that improve the conditions of human life.33
1917 It is incumbent on those who exercise authority to strengthen the values that inspire the
confidence of the members of the group and encourage them to put themselves at the service of
others. Participation begins with education and culture. "One is entitled to think that the future of
humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons
for life and optimism."34
IN BRIEF
1918 "There is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by
God" (Rom 13:1).
1919 Every human community needs an authority in order to endure and develop.
1920 "The political community and public authority are based on human nature and therefore . . .
belong to an order established by God" (GS 74 § 3).
1921 Authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. To attain this
it must employ morally acceptable means.
1922 The diversity of political regimes is legitimate, provided they contribute to the good of the
community.
1923 Political authority must be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the
conditions for the exercise of freedom.
1924 The common good comprises "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as
groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily" (GS 26 1).
1925 The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the
fundamental rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and temporal goods
of society; the peace and security of the group and of its members.
1926 The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be
concerned to create and support institutions that improve the conditions of human life.
1927 It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The common
good of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the international level.
15 John XXIII, PT 46.
16 Cf. Leo XIII, Immortale Dei; Diuturnum illud.
17 Rom 13:1-2; cf. 1 Pet 2:13-17.
18 Cf. as early as 1 Tim 2:1-2.
19 St. Clement of Rome, Ad Cor. 61:SCh 167,198-200.
20 GS 74 § 3.
21 GS 74 § 2.
22 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II,93 3, ad 2.
23 John XXIII PT 51.
24 CA 44.
25 Ep. Barnabae, 4,10:PG 2,734.
26 GS 26 § 1; cf. GS 74 § 1.
27 GS 26 § 2.
28 Cf. GS 26 § 2.
29 GS 84 § 2.
30 GS 26 § 3.
31 Cf. CA 43.
32 GS 31 § 3.
33 Cf. GS 30 § 1.
34 GS 31 § 3.

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...