- Feb 5, 2002
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In the last several months Ive been discussing the problems Catholics face dealing with public life today. The recent election underlined some of them. The bishops and others made their pitch about threats to the family and the freedom of the Church, the Democrats stood firm, and most Americansincluding most self-identified Catholicsvoted for the Democrats. Not only does the world care very little for Catholic concerns, but it seems that Catholics acting as citizens care little for them as well.
So what should the faithful do? If the worlds against us, so its becoming harder and harder to act or even think as Catholics, should we retreat to monasteries? Return to the catacombs? Overthrow the government and establish a dictatorship run by a revolutionary vanguard? Such proposals have serious drawbacks, and something much more moderate would be more to the point. All we really need to participate with integrity in public life as citizens and Catholics is a society in which what is goodand not freedom, equality, or prosperityis the highest standard. If we had that, discussions about goals that rise above who gets what would become possible, and Catholic concerns could become mainstream.
It seems that those concerns would do well in such a setting. Our social doctrine is consistent with natural law, which means that on the whole it follows a common-sense understanding of what things are, whats good for them, and how they work best. So we should be able to get a lot of mileage out of talking about whats good in human life as we find it, and how that can be respected and promoted. All thats necessary is that people accept the good life and common sense as standards.
Continued- Catholics Must Not Cede Ground in Public Debate | Crisis Magazine
So what should the faithful do? If the worlds against us, so its becoming harder and harder to act or even think as Catholics, should we retreat to monasteries? Return to the catacombs? Overthrow the government and establish a dictatorship run by a revolutionary vanguard? Such proposals have serious drawbacks, and something much more moderate would be more to the point. All we really need to participate with integrity in public life as citizens and Catholics is a society in which what is goodand not freedom, equality, or prosperityis the highest standard. If we had that, discussions about goals that rise above who gets what would become possible, and Catholic concerns could become mainstream.
It seems that those concerns would do well in such a setting. Our social doctrine is consistent with natural law, which means that on the whole it follows a common-sense understanding of what things are, whats good for them, and how they work best. So we should be able to get a lot of mileage out of talking about whats good in human life as we find it, and how that can be respected and promoted. All thats necessary is that people accept the good life and common sense as standards.
Continued- Catholics Must Not Cede Ground in Public Debate | Crisis Magazine