It is almost cliche to say that rights demand that we take on responsibilities. However, we know that all too often this reality is not acted upon by individuals, groups, or nations. This aspect t of social justice is a focus of Benedict XVI's Caritas inVeritate in its fourth chapter. "The reality of human solidarity...
It is almost cliche to say that rights demand that we take on responsibilities. However, we know that all too often this reality is not acted upon by individuals, groups, or nations. This aspect t of social justice is a focus of Benedict XVI's Caritas inVeritate in its fourth chapter. "The reality of human solidarity, which is a benefit for us, also imposes a duty'…Many people today would claim that they owe nothing to anyone, except to themselves. They are concerned only with their rights, and they often have great difficulty in taking responsibility for their own and other people's integral development. Hence it is important to call for a renewed reflection on how rights presuppose duties, if they are not to become more license…Nowadays we are witnessing a grave inconsistency. On the one hand, appeals are made to alleged rights, arbitrary, and non-essential in nature, accompanied by the demand that they be recognized and promoted by public structures, while on the other hand, elementary and basic rights remain unacknowledged and are violated in much of the world…An overemphasis on rights leads to a disregard for duties. Duties set a limit on rights because they point to the anthropological and ethical framework on which rights are a part, in this way ensuring that they do not become license. Duties thereby reinforce rights and call for their defense and promotion as a task to be undertaken in the service of the common good. Otherwise, if the only basis of human rights is to be found in the deliberations of an assembly of citizens, those rights can be changed at anytime, and so the duty to respect and pursue them fades from the common consciousness. Governments and international bodies can then lose sight of the objectivity and 'inviolability' of rights. When this happens the authentic development of peoples is endangered (43) Not only in our American society do we see these words fulfilled. For almost forty years we have lived in an environment where the killing of unborn children is perceived as a "basic right." This mode of thinking has become international. Others are promoting redefinitions of marriage and family which negate natural law and principles of behavior which are multi-cultural and centuries old. In a misuse of democratic methods the pursuit of majority definition of morals has been undertaken while traditional values have been limited for fear of a minority position being upset.
For decades the intelligentia have been seeking not only to judge what human development is but also how to create it. The work of many sociologists and other social sciences as well as governmental agencies and international bodies have made population control its great bugaboo. Because of its centrality to the Gospel of Life the Holy Father instructs: "The notion of rights and duties in development must also take account of the problems associated with population growth. This is a very important aspect of authentic development, since it concerns the inalienable values of life and family…To consider population increase as the primary cause of underdevelopment is mistaken, even from an economic point of view…Due attention must obviously be given to responsible procreation, which among other things has a positive contribution to make to integral human development. The Church, in her concern for man's authentic development, urges him to have full respect for human values in the exercise of his sexuality. It cannot be reduced merely to pleasure or entertainment, nor can sex education be reduced to technical instruction aimed solely at protecting the interested parties from possible disease or the 'risk' of procreation. This would be to impoverish and disregard the deeper meaning of sexuality, a meaning which needs to be acknowledged and responsibly appropriated not only by individuals but also by the community. It is irresponsible to view sexuality merely as a source of pleasure, and likewise to regulate it through strategies of mandatory birth control. In either case materialistic ideas and policies are at work, and individuals are ultimately subjected to various forms of violence. Against such policies, there is a need to defend the primary competence of the family in the area of sexuality…, as opposed to the State and its restrictive policies, and to ensure that parents are suitably prepared to undertake their responsibilities." (44) the extreme population control methodologies of China are well-known though we must realize that they are not unique to that nation. In our own country great efforts are afoot to produce "a value-free sex education." When one reads the materials commonly used one sees very quickly they truly are free of any values which take seriously the dignity of humanity.
This later reality displays a contemporary overall effort to extricate morality from human activity. But our papal author protests: The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly - not any ethics whatsoever, but on ethics which is people-centered. Today we hear much talk of ethics in the world of economy, finance and business…Efforts are needed - and it is essential to say this -not only to create 'ethical' sectors or segments of the economy or the world of finance, but to ensure that the whole economy - the world of finance - is ethical, not merely by virtue of an external label, but by its respect for requirements intrinsic to its very nature. The Church's social teaching is quite clear on the subject, recalling that the economy, in all its branches, constitutes a sector of human activity." (45). It is unfortunate that it has taken this time of economic crisis and the criminal prosecution of corporate leaders for discussions to begin concerning the morality of the way business is conducted. The profit motivation has all too often closed the eyes not only of leaders but also shareholders of many companies and corporations. Ironically, investors who have interests in socially responsible funds have fared better than others. Virtue does win out, at least, sometimes.
Though I am on vacation, I am still not far away because of different meetings. Let us continue to pray for one another as we prepare for a challenging Fall season.
Vivat Jesus
Fr. Brian