POLITICIANS alone cannot bring about change, and the electorate must not be seduced by the notion that social problems are for the Government to deal with, Roman Catholic bishops suggested in a report published on Wednesday.
Without a wider debate about a shared vision for society, electioneering “may well be confined to bitter arguments over issues of particular policy”, the RC Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Revd Vincent Nichols, warns in the introduction to Choosing the Common Good, from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
There is self-censure, too, in a document that expands on Roman Catholic social teaching on a just and civil society, highlights mutual dependency, and calls for society to “rediscover the centrality of personal responsibility and the gift of service to others”.
Trust in society has been “severely eroded”, the bishops say. “Members of Parliament have been pilloried for their use of expenses and allowances. Bankers have earned astonishing bonuses and brought the world economy close to collapse. The Catholic Church in our countries, too, has had to learn in recent years some harsh lessons in safeguarding trust. We understand the damage inflicted when trust is betrayed.”
The challenge is for society to build up structures and institutions so that they command the same respect and trust as the individuals who represent them best, the bishops say. They acknowledge: “We are all in some way complicit in the current predicament, and the restoration of truth in the economic arena perhaps requires us all to change.”
A “cultivation of moral virtue” is called for, the bishops say. “A society that is held together just by compliance with rules is inherently fragile, open to further abuses, which will be met by a further expansion of regulation. This cannot be enough.” Through prudence, courage, justice, and temperance, society will “rediscover its capacity to trust” and thus “begin to restore the economy to a path that is both sustainable and just”.
The principle of the common good can illuminate aspects of political debate on issues such as the dignity of every human life, they say: “The abortion of the unborn, and euthanasia, even when voluntary, are a fundamental denial of this principle, because both are concerned with exclusion from the human community; both are contrary to the common good.”
They continue: “Opposition to abortion requires a commitment to the alleviation of child poverty and high infant mortality; opposition to euthanasia demands concerted effort to remedy the social and economic conditions which lead to neglect, isolation, ill-health, and, in poorer parts of the world, low life-expectancy among the elderly.”
The bishops address care of the elderly in the context of poverty and inequality. On migration and community relations, they describe as imperative that “all policies . . . procedures, structures, and processes . . . should start from the recognition of this human dignity and the inalienable rights that follow from it.” Politicians “are right to appeal to the best and most decent instincts of the electorate rather than to whip up fear, prejudice, and anxieties”.
They call for a universal facing up to responsibilities for international aid and development, and for the recovery of “a sense of the integrity and sacredness of God’s creation”. They warn: “Unless vigorous action is taken to defend it, then the next generations shall have nothing but a world devastated by our short-sightedness.”
On marriage and family life, they “recognise and applaud the many parents who, despite family breakdown, provide a loving and stable home for their children”. Governments do well when they interfere as little as possible while supporting parents, they say, calling for the encouragement of “a more realistic view of married life”.
They continue: “But at the heart of necessary policy initiatives to support the stability of couple relationships, it is essential to support marriage. . . Politicians of all parties should recognise marriage as a key building-block of a stable society.”
The document concludes with a call for the part played by faith to be clearly recognised in society. “Care must be taken not to put obstacles in the way of religious belief and practice which reduce it to devotional acts,” the bishops warn.
“Faith communities have a distinctive and active role in building up a society which fosters the flourishing of all. . . [They] also have their part to play in the formulation of public policy, and have a right to make a proper contribution to the life of our democracy.”
Charity’s message. Faithworks, the Christian social-action charity, is also pressing for recognition of churches’ and Christian charities’ contribution to welfare provision locally. Faithworks’ 2010 Declaration calls on the incoming Prime Minister to recognise the “indispensable” part that faith in Christ plays in motivation for that, and not to discriminate against it in assessing provision.
Read full text of document here
Charity’s message. Faithworks, the Christian social-action charity, is also pressing for recognition of churches’ and Christian charities’ contribution to welfare provision locally. Faithworks’ 2010 Declaration calls on the incoming Prime Minister to recognise the “indispensable” part that faith in Christ plays in motivation for that, and not to discriminate against it in assessing provision.
Read full text of document here