POVERTY AND THE MORAL IMPERATIVE
IN CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT
a response by the Most Reverend Joseph M. Sullivan
Vicar for Human Services - Diocese of Brooklyn, NY
Bishop Sullivan joined Fr. Kavanaugh in the
segment on "Moral Imperatives" at the Moral Dimensions of
Poverty Conference sponsored by the Vincentian Chair of Social Justice.
His response to Fr. Kavanaugh offered reflections on key concepts
in Catholic Social Thought, which drive us as Catholics to live the
preferential option for the poor through works of charity and justice.
Bishop Sullivan promotes a role for all, including government, in
carrying out the social message of the Gospel.
Father
Kavanaugh has given us his read on the prevailing culture--in which
choice is the driving force of moral decision-making. Its boundary
is the choice of another-- don't let your choices impinge on
mine. Truth is not the measure of virtue. All is relative. There is
no higher law. Therefore there are no moral imperatives to limit choice,
no standards to set boundaries to our liberties.
Father Kavanaugh
argues that human personhood is the basis of rights, autonomy and
choice. Human dignity is a given, it is not bestowed on us by society
or culture. Personal dignity and worth are intrinsic to personhood.
They establish the limits on autonomy and individualism and are the
foundation of ethics. Father Kavanaugh issued a call to action--to
be prophetic--not intimidated by a culture, which refuses to uphold
moral values, fearful to make critical judgments because the cultural
bias is not to judge--or "impose your values on others."
Catholic Social Teaching would emphatically agree that the foundation
of all rights and responsibilities is rooted in the dignity of the
human person. In his very first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis,
(CIN) Pope John Paul II, asserted that the Gospel is wonder and amazement
at the dignity of the human person. He has appealed to Sacred Scripture
and the living Apostolic tradition to rally believers to the cause
of social charity and justice. Father Kavanaugh, like Fr. John Courtney
Murray, has attempted to find a common ground, a language and a rationality
in which to dialogue about our ethical responsibility to the poor.
He roots the moral imperative in the personhood of men and women.
My
task is complementary. It is based on Catholic social teaching and
the witness of Jesus. In Luke 4: 18,19, Jesus describes his
mission as God-given--"to preach good news to poor, proclaim
freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, release to
the oppressed and to proclaim a year of the Lord's favor"
(NAB). The disciples of Christ are to carry on this mission. They
are called to concretize their witness to the Kingdom of God, in works
of charity and justice. These two virtues, charity and justice, are
seen in our tradition as inter-dependent and complementary. "Charity
is the greatest social commandment. It respects others and their rights.
Charity inspires a life of self-giving" (Catechism #1889). St.
John Chrysostom insisted "Not to enable the poor to share in
our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life" (Catechism,
#2446, St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in Lazaro 2,5: PG 48, 992). Justice
is love's minimal demand. The demands of justice must be satisfied
first of all. So that which is due in justice is not to be offered
as a gift of charity. "Constant dedication to the poor and disadvantaged
emerges in the Church's social teaching, which ceaselessly invites
the Christian community to a commitment to overcome every form of
exploitation and oppression. It is not a question only of alleviating
the most serious and urgent needs through individual actions but uncovering
the roots of evil and proposing initiatives to make social, political
and economic situations more just and fraternal" (CIN, Ecclesia
In America, #18). The Pope cautions us to practice justice, which
is inspired by charity.
"Justice
can reduce differences, eliminate discrimination and ensure the conditions
for respect for the dignity of the person. Justice, however, needs
a soul. And the soul of justice is charity, a charity which places
itself at the service of every person" (John Paul II, Address
to the UNIV Conference, Vatican City, March 31, 1999 found in NCCB/USCC,
p. 14).
The Gospel
urges us to be persons for others, deeply committed to the well being
of those far and near. As John Paul II states in his 1987 Encyclical,
On Social Concerns, "Solidarity is not a feeling of vague
compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people
both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination
to commit oneself to the common good, to the good of all and of each
individual because we are all really responsible for all" (CIN,
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis # 38). The meaning of Charity has
to be reclaimed. It is often described in pejorative terms today.
We hear negative comments such as "do-gooders who foster dependency,"
or "to receive charity is to be demeaned."
The Church,
the people of God, must not separate charity and justice, direct services
and social advocacy. They are two sides of the same coin. Charitable
works without advocacy can make us "midas mufflers" for
the harsh inequities of society. Social advocacy without personal
service can lead to ideological prescriptions for society's ills.
The person directly involved with the poor must of necessity be passionate
about changing the public policies and administrative practices that
contribute to undermining the dignity of the human person. As Bishop
Hubbard emphasized in his Vincentian Chair of Social Justice lecture
last year, the words of John Paul II found in Centesimus Annus,
"We in the Church must shift from a policy that seeks to alleviate
the results of oppression to eliminate the causes of oppression"
(Hubbard, p.8).
The
problem affecting the poor requires an organized response. We cannot
commodify social services. Care must be managed, but the marketplace
is not the forum for bringing justice to the poor. It further marginalizes
those who cannot pay for services. The profitization of social services
undermines the necessary collaborative efforts of social agencies.
It does not build community. It further divides. It is imperative
that we recognize a responsible role of government in meeting the
needs of the impoverished. We should look to government as a partner,
an enabler that makes possible personal and local responsiveness by
community-based organizations to the needs of diverse neighborhoods.
This is the meaning of the principle of subsidiarity. It is
balanced by the principle of socialization, the need for government
to play a role when the problems are beyond local solution. The devolution
of responsibility of federal government to state government and the
further possible devolution of public responsibility to meet the needs
of the poor to corporate industry threatens a communitarian ethic.
Social services must be instrumental in building relationships between
peoples. No one is so poor as not to be able to give and no one so
rich as not to be able to receive. Social services should be building
blocks towards a sense of solidarity and social action towards a more
just society. The social message of the Gospel must not be viewed
as an esoteric theory but above all a basis for motivation and action.
REFERENCES
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd Ed.
United States Catholic Conference-Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Washington,
DC, 1997.
Catholic Information Network (CIN) "Encyclicals and Documents
of Pope John Paul II," 2000. http://www.cin.org/jp2doc.html
Hubbard, Howard. "Charity and Justice within the Gospel and the
Church's Social Teachings." Vincentian Chair
of Social Justice 1998 Presentations. Volume 4. NY: Jamaica, 1999.
p. 4-12.
NCCB/USCC, In All Things Charity: A Pastoral
Challenge for the New Millennium. Washington DC, 1999.
The New American Bible. Trans. Catholic
Biblical Association of America. New York: Catholic Book Publishing,
1970.
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