Faithful Citizenship: Part II, Moral Priorities for Public Life

1 Outline

The way I suggest using this meditation is writing the four categories (Human Life, Family Life, Social Justice and Global Solidarity) on your whiteboard substitute of choice. Then challenge your small group members to bring up various issues related to each topic and then discuss them as they come up. As the suggestions slow down, offer up the others listed in that section for discussion topics.

2 Protecting Human Life

``Human life is a gift from God, sacred and inviolable. Because every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, we have a duty to defend human life from conception until natural death and in every condition'' (FC VII.2)

In protecting human life, ``We must begin with a commitment never to intentionally kill, or collude in the killing, of any innocent human life, no matter how broken, unformed, disabled or desperate that life may seem'' (FC VII.4, Living the Gospel of Life 5).

• Abortion and euthanasia -- ``have become preeminent threats to human life and dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental good and the condition for all others'' (FC VII.3, cf. Living the Gospel of Life).
• Cloning -- The wrong of abortion ``is compounded when human life is created by cloning or other means only to be destroyed'' (FC VII.3).
• Assisted Suicide -- ``the purposeful taking of human life by assisted suicide...is never an act of mercy'' (FC VII.3).
• Terrorism -- ``For the same reasons, the intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong'' (FC VII.3).
• Biotechnology -- ``We call on government and medical researchers to base their decisions regarding biotechnology...on respect for inherent dignity and inviolability of human life'' (FC VII.5).
• Health Care -- ``We support aid to those who are sick and dying by encouraging health care coverage for all as well as effective palliative care'' (FC VII.5).
• Motherhood Issues -- ``We encourage the passage of laws and programs that promote childbirth and adoption over abortion and assist pregnant women and children.'' (FC VII.5).
• War -- ``Nations must protect the right to life by finding ever more effective ways to prevent conflicts from arising, to resolve them by peaceful means, and to promote post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation'' (FC VII.6).
• Preemptive Use of Force -- ``While military force as a last resort can sometimes be justified to defend against aggression and similar threats to the common good, we have raised serious moral concerns and questions about preemptive or preventive use of force'' (FC VII.6)
• WMD -- ``Therefore, we urge our nation to strengthen barriers against the use of nuclear weapons, to expand controls over existing nuclear materials and other weapons of mass destruction'' (FC VII.7)
• Landmines -- ``We also urge our nation to join the treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines and to address the human consequences of cluster bombs (FC VII.7)
• The Arms Trade -- ``We further urge our nation to take immediate and serious steps to reduce its own disproportionate role in the scandalous global trade in arms, which contributes to violent conflicts around the world'' (FC VII.7).
• Death Penalty -- ``Our nation's increasing reliance on the death penalty cannot be justified. We do not teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill others. Pope John Paul II has said the penalty of death is `both cruel and unnecessary' '' (FC VII.8, Living the Gospel of Life 21).
• Judicial Reform -- ``We also urge passage of legislation that would address problems in the judicial system, and restrict and restrain the use of the death penalty through use of DNA evidence, a guarantee of effective counsel, and efforts to address issues of racial justice'' FC VII.8).

3 Promoting Family Life

``God established the family as the basic cell of human society. Therefore, we must strive to make the needs and concerns of families a central national priority'' (FC VII.9).

• Marriage -- ``Marriage must be protected as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman and our laws should reflect this principle... Policies related to the definition of marriage, taxes, the workplace, divorce, and welfare must be designed to help families stay together and to reward responsibility and sacrifice for children'' (FC VII.9).

• Just Wages -- ``Because financial and economic factors have such an impact on the well-being and stability of families, it is important that just wages be paid to those who work to support their families and that generous efforts be made to aid poor families'' (FC VII.9).

• Children -- ``Children must be protected and nurtured. We affirm our commitment to the protection of children in all settings and at all times, and we support policies that ensure that the well-being of all children is safeguarded'' (FC VII.10).

• Education -- ``The education of children is a fundamental parental responsibility...Parents -- —the first and most important educators -- —have a fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including private and religious schools...Government should help provide the resources required for parents to exercise this basic right without discrimination'' (FC VII.11).

• Speech the Media -- ``Communications play a growing role in society and family life...We must balance respect for freedom of speech with concern for the common good, promoting responsible regulations that protect children and families'' (FC VII.12).

• Media Regulation -- ``We support regulation that limits the concentration of control over these media...We support a TV rating system and technology that assist parents in supervising what their children view'' (FC VII.13).

• Internet regulation - ``Because it poses serious dangers by giving easy access to pornographic and violent material, we support vigorous enforcement of existing obscenity and child pornography laws, as well as efforts by the industry to develop technology that assists parents, schools, and libraries in blocking out unwanted materials'' (FC VII.14).

4 Pursuing Social Justice

``Our faith reflects God's special concern for the poor and vulnerable and calls us to make their needs our first priority in public life'' (FC VII.15).

• Economic Justice -- ``Church teaching on economic justice insists that economic decisions and institutions be assessed on whether they protect or undermine the dignity of the human person'' (FC VII.16).

• Jobs and Wages -- ``We support policies that create jobs for all who can work with decent working conditions and adequate pay that reflects a living wage'' (FC VII.16).

• Workplace Discrimination -- ``We also support efforts to overcome barriers to equal pay and employment for women and those facing unjust discrimination'' (FC VII.16).

• Unions -- ``We reaffirm the Church's traditional support of the right of workers to choose to organize, join a union, bargain collectively, and exercise these rights without reprisal'' (FC VII.16).

• Poverty and Welfare Reform -- ``Efforts to provide for the basic financial needs of poor families and children must enhance their lives and protect their dignity. The measure of welfare reform should be reducing poverty and dependency, not cutting resources and programs'' (FC VII.17)

• Support for Families with Children -- ``Because we believe that families need help with the costs of raising children, we support increasing child tax credits and making them fully refundable'' (FC VII.18).

• Faith-based efforts -- ``We welcome efforts to recognize and support the work of faith-based groups not as a substitute for, but as a partner with, government efforts'' (FC VII.19).

• Social Security -- ``We are also concerned about the income security of low- and average-wage workers and their families when they retire, become disabled...Any proposal to change Social Security must provide a decent and reliable income for these workers and their dependents'' (FC VII.20).

• Health Care -- ``Affordable and accessible health care is an essential safeguard of human life, a fundamental human right, and an urgent national priority. We need to reform the nation's health care system, and this reform must be rooted in values that respect human dignity, protect human life, and meet the needs of the poor and uninsured'' (FC VII.21).

• Housing -- ``We support a recommitment to the national pledge of "safe and affordable housing" for all and effective policies that will increase the supply of quality housing and preserve, maintain, and improve existing housing'' (FC VII.22).

• Food security -- ``The first priority for agriculture policy should be food security for all'' (FC VII.23).

• Hunger -- ``Our support for Food Stamps, the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other programs that directly benefit poor and low-income people is based on our belief that no one should face hunger in a land of plenty'' (FC VII.23).

• Farmers and Farm Workers -- ``Those who grow our food should be able to make a decent living and maintain their way of life...Our priority concern for the poor calls us to advocate especially for the needs of farm workers, whose pay is generally inadequate, whose housing and working conditions are often deplorable, and who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation'' (FC VII.23).

• Sustainable Agriculture -- ``We urge that public policies support sustainable agriculture and careful stewardship of the Earth and its natural resources'' (FC VII.23).

• Immigration -- ``The Gospel mandate to love our neighbor and welcome the stranger leads the Church to care for and stand with immigrants, both documented and undocumented. While affirming the right and responsibility of sovereign nations to control their borders...we seek basic protections for immigrants, including due process rights, access to basic public benefits, and fair naturalization and legalization opportunities'' (FC VII.24).

• Education -- `` All persons, by virtue of their dignity as human persons, have an inalienable right to receive a quality education...We support the necessary initiatives that provide adequate funding to educate all persons no matter what school they attend. We also support providing salaries and benefits to all teachers and administrators that reflect the principles of economic justice'' (FC VII.25-26).

• The Culture of Violence -- ``Our schools and our society in general must address the growing "culture of violence." We need to promote a greater sense of moral responsibility, to advocate a reduction in violence in the media'' (FC VII.27).

• Gun Safety -- ``We need to...support gun safety measures and reasonable restrictions on access to assault weapons and hand guns'' (FC VII.28).

• Criminal Justice -- ``We need to ...oppose the use of the death penalty. We also believe a Catholic ethic of responsibility, rehabilitation, and restoration can become the foundation for the necessary reform of our broken criminal justice system'' (FC VII.28).

• Discrimination -- ``Our society must also continue to combat discrimination based on sex, race, ethnicity, disabling condition, or age. Discrimination constitutes a grave injustice and an affront to human dignity. It must be aggressively resisted'' (FC VII.29).

• Affirmative Action -- ``Where the effects of past discrimination persist, society has the obligation to take positive steps to overcome the legacy of injustice. We support judiciously administered affirmative action programs as tools to overcome discrimination and its continuing effects'' (FC VII.29).

• Environment -- ``In the words of Pope John Paul II, care for the Earth and for the environment is a `moral issue.' We support policies that protect the land, water, and the air we share. Reasonable and effective initiatives are required for energy conservation and the development of alternate, renewable, and clean-energy resources'' (FC VII.20; John Paul II, Homily in St. Louis, 1/27/99).

5 Practicing Global Solidarity

``September 11 has given us a new sense of vulnerability. However, we must be careful not to define our security primarily in military terms. Our nation must join with others in addressing policies and problems that provide fertile ground in which terrorism can thrive'' (FC VII.31).

• Poverty -- ``As a wealthy and powerful nation the United States has the capacity and the responsibility to address this scandal of poverty and underdevelopment...The United States should take a leading role in helping to alleviate global poverty through a comprehensive development agenda'' (FC VII.32-33).

• Globalization -- ``As a principal force in globalization, we have a responsibility to humanize globalization, and to spread its benefits to all, especially the world's poorest, while addressing its negative consequences'' (FC VII.32).

• Religious Liberty -- ``More concerted efforts to ensure the promotion of religious liberty and other basic human rights should be an integral part of U.S. foreign policy'' (FC VII.33).

• WMD -- ``It is a moral imperative that the United States work to reverse the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and to reduce its own reliance on weapons of mass destruction by pursuing progressive nuclear disarmament'' (FC VII.34).

• International Organizations -- ``The United States should provide more consistent political and financial support for appropriate United Nations programs, other international bodies, and international law, so that these institutions may become more effective, responsible, and responsive agents for addressing global problems'' (FC VII.35).

• Asylum -- ``Asylum must be afforded to all refugees who hold a well-founded fear of persecution in their homelands. Our country should support protection for persons fleeing persecution'' (FC VII.36).

• Regional Conflicts -- ``Our country should be a leader-in collaboration with the international community-in addressing regional conflicts in the Middle East, the Balkans, the Congo, Sudan, Colombia, and West Africa'' (FC VII.37).

• Israel and Palestine -- ``Leadership on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an especially urgent priority. The United States should actively pursue comprehensive negotiations leading to a just and peaceful resolution of this conflict that respects the legitimate claims and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians, ensuring security for Israel, a viable state for Palestinians, and peace in the region'' (FC VII.37).

• Iraq and Afghanistan -- ``The United States, working with the international community, must also make the sustained commitment necessary to help bring stability, democracy, freedom, and prosperity to Iraq and Afghanistan'' (FC VII.37).

6 In Summary

``The call to faithful citizenship raises a fundamental question for all of us. What does it mean to be a Catholic living in the United States in the year 2004 and beyond? As Catholics, the election and the policy choices that follow it call us to recommit ourselves to carry the values of the Gospel and church teaching into the public square. As citizens and residents of the United States, we have the duty to participate now and in the future in the debates and choices over the values, vision, and leaders that will guide our nation.

This dual calling of faith and citizenship is at the heart of what it means to be a Catholic in the United States. Faithful citizenship calls us to seek `a place at the table' of life for all God's children in the elections of 2004 and beyond'' (FC VIII.6-7).

About this document ...

This Network Catholic Fellowship meditation was prepared by Chris Siefert