THE-COMMON-GOOD-AND-THE-CATHOLIC-CHURCH_1996

THE COMMON GOOD AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S SOCIAL TEACHING A statement by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales 1996 Preface by Cardinal Basil Hume Introduction and Guide to The Common Good Part 1: C ...

THE COMMON GOOD AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S SOCIAL TEACHING A statement by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales 1996 Preface by Cardinal Basil Hume Introduction and Guide to The Common Good Part 1: Christian Citizens in Modern Britain Part 2: Application to Contemporary Questions Appendix I: Extracts from Catholic Social Teaching Appendix II: Catholic Resources Introducing The Common Good 2 Preface by Cardinal Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster It is the task of bishops of the Church to preach and teach the Gospel; to point people in the direction of Christ. Religion is always personal, but never just a private affair. Discipleship involves seeking God in this world, as well as preparing to meet Him in the next. The Gospel imperative to love our neighbour entails not only that we should help those in need, but also address the causes of destitution and poverty. The deepening of the spiritual life must go hand in hand with practical concern for our neighbour, and thus with social action. Many Catholics and indeed others too may well be surprised to discover how over the centuries the Catholic Church has reflected on the social dimension of the Gospel; that is, the way society helps or hinders people to live out the command to love God and our neighbour. In recent times the Church's social teaching has been emphasised and further developed by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II. The Church in each country, under the pastoral guidance of the local bishops, has a continuing duty to apply the values of the Gospel to the problems of society, and so help all members of the church, lay, religious and ordained, to play an active part in striving to build a just and compassionate social order. Over the past year the bishops of England and Wales have been considering some of these issues with a view to presenting them to the Catholic community as a fundamental part of the teaching of the Church. This document, The Common Good and the Catholic Church's Social Teaching is the result. Below is a brief elaboration of some of its themes. The foundation of this teaching is the dignity of the human person. In virtue simply of our shared humanity, we must surely respect and honour one another. Each individual has a value that can never be lost and must never be ignored. Moreover, each of us is made in the image and likeness of God. Society must therefore first of all respect and protect human life itself - at all its stages from conception to its natural end. This is the bedrock of our civilisation, and it is why abortion virtually on demand is one of the greatest scandals of our time. Our human dignity also consists in our being made free by God; free, that is, to do His will by choosing to live and act within the framework of His law. Society should therefore respect human freedom by enabling men and women to assume responsibility for their own lives, and encouraging them to co-operate with each other to pursue the common good. This means that the functions of government, though important, must always be subsidiary; that is, government should help men and women to be free to realise their own destiny. The Church has the right and the duty to advocate a social order in which the human dignity of all is fostered, and to protest when it is in any way threatened. Thus the Church opposes totalitarianism because it oppresses people and deprives them of their freedom. While recognising the importance of wealth creation, the Church denounces any abuses of economic power such as those which deprive employees of what is needed for a decent standard of living. The Church also rejects the view that human happiness consists only in material wellbeing, and that achieving this alone is the goal of any government. If a government pays too much attention to material welfare at the expense of other values, it may advocate policies which reduce people to a passive state of dependency on welfare. Equally, if a government gives too little priority to tackling poverty, ill-health, poor housing and other social ills, the human dignity of those who suffer these afflictions is denied. In every society respect for human dignity requires that, so far as possible, basic human needs are 3 met. The systematic denial of compassion by individuals or public authorities can never be a morally justified political option. The Church does not present a political programme, still less a party political one. The social teaching of the Church, as expounded in this document, provides a set of consistent and complementary principles, values and goals. We recognise, of course, that many people of other faiths or even none would be able to accept much that this teaching has to offer, whether it is described as Catholic or not. Every public policy should be judged by the effect it has on human dignity and the common good. We accept that in many cases there will often be much scope for debate about the best way to achieve these. The Church's social teaching places the political within the larger context of humanity's relationship with God. Social and political action is important, but realising our full human dignity as children of God, made in his image and likeness, also requires each of us to undertake an inner spiritual journey. The future of humanity does not depend on political reform, social revolution or scientific advance. Something else is needed. It starts with a true conversion of mind and heart. Cardinal Basil Hume Archbishop of Westminster President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales 4 Introduction and Guide to this Document Can managers treat employees any way they like? Is the law of the jungle the right one for human beings? Is there really "no such thing as society"? Does the secret of success in life have to be "each for himself and the devil take the hindmost"? Such questions worry almost everybody. The whole world sometimes seems to be getting less and less user-friendly. Even politicians cannot offer us much comfort. Talking about the moral rules at the basis of society has never been more difficult, nor more necessary. But it is not impossible. There exists a set of ideas that tries to answer questions like these. They are based on firm Christian principles. But they are just as likely to appeal to people with no belief. They come from the Roman Catholic Church, which is why we call them Catholic Social Teaching. But they are not about imposing Catholicism on other people. Indeed, these very principles forbid such an approach. This document has been prepared by a working party set up by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. The text has been agreed by the bishops, and is published in their name. It explains the Church's social teaching in general, and then goes on to apply it to present-day British society. Catholic Social Teaching is something all Catholics ought to know about. In the first instance, therefore, this document is aimed at them. Catholic parishes and Catholic schools are being urged to spread the word by whatever means they can. It is not a list of Dos and Don'ts for politicians. It is not a blueprint for a perfect society. It is more like a set of signposts, suggesting the way forward, or a set of questions, by which we can examine the way we live. Anyone who studies the document will quickly see that these ideas are not solely Catholic property. Their aim is to bring about a good and fair society, for the benefit of everyone. Most people feel that society ought to be organised in such a way as to improve the lot of all its members. They will find much to agree with in this document. Anybody who doesn't feel that way, won't. This is what social teaching calls the idea of "the common good". It is an expression that appears time and again in this document. Like many ideas in Catholic Social Teaching, it is something that many British people will find familiar but may not have had a name for, before. Once you name a thing, you start to get a grip on it. These are issues about which many people feel strongly. If they misunderstand what is intended, they might resent an intervention by the Catholic bishops or any other religious body. People do not want to be told how to vote. That is not what this document does. We have taken great care to set out clearly the terms under which we are working, including the limits to our role. We do not want avoidable misunderstandings. For instance, we are not involved in party politics. In the first part of the document, we explain what kind of thing Catholic Social Teaching is. Popes have taken the lead in expounding Catholic Social Teaching. As we explain, many of the key documents are papal documents, called encyclical letters. As social conditions have developed over the last century, so the application of these ideas has developed