| Catholic Social
Teaching Major Theme: Advancing the Common Good "Advancing
the Common Good" is another major theme, and also a very fundamental part
of all of Catholic Social Teaching. The U.S. Catholic Bishops state:
"The obligation to "love our neighbor"
has an individual dimension, but it also requires a broader social commitment.
Everyone has the responsibility to contribute to the good of the whole society,
to the common good. It is contrary to the spirit of the Gospel to look after "me
first" at the expense of others, especially the most needy in society at
home and abroad." This teaching
poses a unique challenge to us as Americans. American society, perhaps more than
any other society on earth, worships individuality. We started as explorers, became
revolutionaries, and founded a government devoted to giving each individual the
right to speak, to worship, to work hard, to succeed - or to fail - based on his
or her own individual merit. We believe in charity, we believe in private insurance.
However, we do not like it when our government forces us to support others who
may not be working as hard as we are; who may not share our faith, or our values.
Jesus may have admonished us to love our neighbor as ourselves - but in American
society, we are still not big fans of the common good.
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In the 1930's, in the midst of the Great Depression,
Americans moved somewhat away from this concept of rugged individuality. Although
private charitable giving reached a record high in 1932, charitable organizations
were overwhelmed by the amount of need. It became obvious that government intervention
was the only way to preserve the common good. Out of this realization came Social
Security, minimum wage and child labor laws, and eventually - Federal Disability
Insurance, Medicaid, federal housing programs, food stamps, Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), and other programs designed to provide a safety net for the most
vulnerable members of society. Although the U.S. is still one of only two industrialized
nations without a system of national health insurance, we have made some progress
in working towards the common good. | Today,
however, we see a movement back to the days before the Great Depression. We hear
our leaders talk about an 'ownership" society - a society where everyone
works to "own" their future - without worrying about others. Social
Security is perhaps the ultimate common good program (it was originally proposed
by a Catholic priest). Today we hear of privatizing Social Security so that we
can plan for our own retirement without having to contribute to the retirement
of others. The proposed 2006 federal budget, currently being studied in Congress,
includes cuts to more than 100 social programs, most notably Medicaid, that are
vital to the common good. Do we support this movement
back to the worship of individual rights over the common good? Catholic Social
Teaching tells us that the command to love our neighbor, coupled with the belief
that the earth and its riches were given to us all to share, means that we must
not worry about "me first" to the exclusion of others. What
can we do? We can contact our local, state and federal representatives and tell
them that we do not support cuts in programs that protect the common good. We
can write letters to the editor. We can speak out! We can let everyone know that
Christians are called by Christ to care for all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
This is not a matter of political affiliation or philosophy - it is an integral
part of our faith. We cannot separate Catholic Social Teaching from our Catholic
faith - Catholic Social Teaching is our faith in action! |
