Returning to the title of his encyclical Pope Benedict XVI reflects that "Love in truth - caritas in veritate - is a great challenge for the Church in a world that is becoming progressively and pervasively globalized. The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interaction of consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development. Only in charity, illumined by the light of reason and faith, is it possible to pursue development goals that possess a more humanizing value. The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties. "(a) Positively we realize progress in communications which has made the world smaller is evidenced in many ways. Personally I can recall thirty years ago notifying my family in Ireland that I was arriving by sending an expensive telegram. Two years ago I could manage my parish in Larchmont's response to "the flood of the century" by sending e-mails and calling on my cell phone. Our televisions and computers permit us to learn about political crises and natural disasters as they occur. Historical events such as papal elections, space conquests, and financial market upheavals are instant fodder for pundits. Unfortunately, because of questionable value systems we hear more about the passing of entertainment icons than about the starving refugees of Darfur. Positively, we witness international cooperation between intellectual communities in areas of scientific study and technological development. The institution of efforts utilizing the resources of sister nations offer opportunities to advance the level of living for peoples of all nations. Negatively, we can attest to international corporations depriving some of their employee of just wages and benefits in favor of exporting jobs and paying substandard salaries with no benefits. We see some nations exploiting their own citizens and others raising fears of the world community by their creation of armament systems or environmental policies destructive of a future of peace and prosperity.
Our Holy Father in paying tribute to the work of Pope Paul VI in addressing the development of peoples recognizes two truths he references in his apostolic letter Populorum Progressio: "The first is that the whole Church, in all her being and acting - when she proclaims, when she celebrates, when she performs works of charity - is engaged in promoting integral human development. She has a public role over and above her charitable and educational activities: all the energy she brings to the advancement of humanity and of universal fraternity is manifested when she is able to operate in a climate of freedom. In not a few cases, that freedom is impeded by prohibitions and persecutions, or it is limited when the church's public presence is reduced to her charitable activities alone. The second truth is that authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension. Without the perspective of eternal life, human progress in this world is denied breathing-space. Enclosed within history, it runs the risk of being reduced to the mere accumulation of wealth; humanity thus loses the courage to be at the service of higher goods, at the service of the great and disinterested initiatives called forth by universal charity." (11) Very clearly Benedict reaffirms the view that the church has both the right and the responsibility to be in the public square to voice the values of the Gospel. In our country we recall the images of priests and religious walking arm and arm with Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders. And we continue to see clergy and laity seeking to enlighten the peoples of the world as to the inestimable value of human life and the horrific nature of abortion. The rights of workers have and will continue to be of concern to the faith community. Archbishop Romero, the Jesuit martyr of Central American, as well as the countless men and women of the Iron Curtain nations bear witness to the truth of this reality. When one views the various ministries of the Church locally and universally it is clear that she views the totality of the human person as her concern. The faith community does not fail to respond to the physical, psychological, and spiritual hungers of all.
Forcefully the Holy Father eradicates the false distinctions made by some in terms of personal and social morality. He brings out the link between the two as he not only speaks of Paul VI's stance in Humanae Vitae but also John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae. He states: "The encyclical Humanae Vitae emphasizes both the unitive and the procreative meaning of sexuality, thereby locating at the foundation of society the married couple, man and woman, who accept one another mutually, in distinction and complementarity: a couple, therefore, that is open to life…this is not a question of purely individual morality: Humanae Vitae indicates the strong links between life ethics and social ethics, ushering in a new era of magisterial teaching that has gradually been articulated in a series of documents, most recently John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae…The church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that ' a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized." (15) We recognize in his paragraph once and for all the truth that our Church is not so much anti-abortion as it is pro-life. We are called to defend God's precious gift in the womb, in the classroom, on the factory floor, in the fields, in the hospital bed or on the streets. Humanity once bestowed by God, is to be protected by the family of man.
Continue to rest this summer for God has great plans for all of us.
Vivat Jesus
Fr. Brian
