{"id":266,"date":"2011-06-10T15:05:40","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T19:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/catholicbychoice\/?p=266"},"modified":"2011-06-10T15:13:59","modified_gmt":"2011-06-10T19:13:59","slug":"christians-politics-faithful-citizenship-and-true-social-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/2011\/06\/christians-politics-faithful-citizenship-and-true-social-justice.html","title":{"rendered":"Christians, Politics, Faithful Citizenship and True Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Faithful Citizenship Campaign\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hFQyunxtVhY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Several years ago I spoke at a gathering of Catholic Leaders. The participants included men and women from every walk of life who understand the implications of their faith on social, cultural, political, and economic participation. They are trying to live what Pope Benedict calls a &#8220;moral coherence&#8221; and have rejected the &#8220;separation between faith and life&#8221; which the Second Vatican Council counted among the &#8220;greatest errors of our age&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The attendees served at various intersecting points of cultural influence; the academy, the political arena, business, philanthropy, media, medicine, law and justice. I was asked to discuss Catholics and Political Participation. I insisted that Catholic Social Doctrine should be the foundation for all of our social participation.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/72\/2011\/06\/Faithful-Citizenship-1-Beliefnet.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-267\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/72\/2011\/06\/Faithful-Citizenship-1-Beliefnet.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"132\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>During the course of the address I insisted that an authentic understanding of social justice should inform our political participation. In the question and answer period after my comments the host of the conference made a suggestion that we get rid of the term &#8220;Social Justice&#8221; because it is now used by &#8216;the left&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>He asked for my thoughts. I strongly disagreed. I insisted that we take back the phrase from those who have stolen it, either on the &#8220;the right&#8221; or &#8220;the left&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of rejecting the term, I called\u00a0for an authentically Christian vision of social justice as set forth in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Compendium-Doctrine-Pontifical-Council-Justice\/dp\/1574556924\" target=\"_blank\">Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church<\/a>. As the lively discussion continued a man in attendance became so angry about my use of the term social justice that he began to shout and rushed the platform. Fortunately, he calmed down. He was angry because he insisted &#8220;social justice&#8221; it was a term used by &#8216;leftists&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>I am well aware of the co-opting of the term by the &#8220;left&#8221; &#8211; so is the leadership of the Catholic Church. She has rightly condemned the errors found in versions of what was called &#8220;liberation theology&#8221; and other errant politicized efforts to usurp the term.\u00a0 However, the Catholic Church has not stopped using the term &#8220;Social Justice&#8221; and neither should we who are her sons and daughters.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/72\/2011\/06\/social-justice-inside.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-271\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/72\/2011\/06\/social-justice-inside.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" \/><\/a>The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church is not only for Catholics, other Christians or even just &#8220;religious people&#8221;. It is for all people and all Nations. It is offered by the Catholic Church to all who seek to build a truly just society and promote the real common good. This teaching is called &#8220;social&#8221; because it speaks to human society and to the formation, role and rightful place of social institutions.<\/p>\n<p>The truths and principles it offers can be known by all men and women because they are revealed in the Natural law. They are expounded upon in Revelation. This social doctrine is neither &#8220;left&#8221; nor &#8220;right&#8221;, neither &#8220;liberal&#8221; nor &#8220;conservative&#8221; &#8211; within the contemporary politicized use of those words. As repeated in Church teaching, the Church &#8216;walks the way of the person&#8217; and is an &#8220;expert in humanity&#8221;. As the Body of Christ she continues the redemptive work of the Lord until He returns. It is in the humanity of Jesus Christ that we find revealed the fullness of the human person.<\/p>\n<p>The term &#8220;Social Justice&#8221; has fallen on some hard times these days. Sadly, it has been kidnapped by some seeking to promote a polical, social and economic agenda which is often terribly unjust. As a Catholic Christian involved for decades in public policy efforts, I know the importance of having a base of teaching with which to inform my participation. That is why I look to what is called the Social teaching or Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to 2004 the phrase &#8220;Social Teaching of the Catholic Church&#8221; referred to the teachings found in the Sacred Scriptures, expounded upon in the Christian tradition, developed in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, explained within a contemporary series of encyclical letters, apostolic letters and exhortations, and wonderfully summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Sadly, many people had not read these sources. So, what claimed to be the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church became the &#8220;spin&#8221; of self styled &#8220;experts&#8221; with political agendas.<\/p>\n<p>Then on April 2, 2004, the Memorial of Saint Francis of Paola, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of the &#8220;Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace&#8221; released the &#8220;Compendium of the Social Doctrine of Church.&#8221; It can be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/pontifical_councils\/justpeace\/documents\/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html\" target=\"_blank\">studied and read in full online <\/a>here It can also be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Compendium-Doctrine-Pontifical-Council-Justice\/dp\/1574556924\" target=\"_blank\">purchased here<\/a>. I recommend that every Catholic, indeed all Christians, other people of faith and all people of good will purchase this outstanding compendium. It is a tremendous resource.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The social doctrine of the Church confronts what Pope Benedict called the &#8220;Dictatorship of Relativism&#8221; and insists there are unchangeable truths such as the dignity of every human person at every age and stage which must form the foundation of any just society. To be Pro-Life is not about a &#8220;single issue&#8221;, it is about a world view. It is this dignity of the human person which requires a respect for every human life whether that life be in the first home of the womb, a wheelchair, a jail cell, a hospital room, a hospice, a senior center or a soup kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Another truth is that marriage is between one man and one woman, intended for life, and ordered toward the bearing and raising of children in the family. Marriage is not some social construct which can be redefined by courts or legislatures. It is also one more example of a word we must not give up &#8211; for the sake of the true common good. It is the foundation for family and family is the first society, first church, first school, first economy, first government and first mediating institution. The first community which humanizes and civilizes all of us is the family.<\/p>\n<p>Another truth is that all human persons created in the Image of God are created for relationship and called to human community. We can never fully experience human flourishing outside of social relationships. These relationships are perfective of our human person because we are by nature &#8211; and grace &#8211; made for these relationships. Catholic Social Thought does not begin with the individual but with the family.<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/72\/2011\/06\/Social-justice-CROPPED.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-273\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/72\/2011\/06\/Social-justice-CROPPED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The social doctrine rejects a notion of &#8220;freedom&#8221; which begins and ends with the isolated, atomistic, person as the measure of its application. Authentic human freedom must be exercised within a moral constitution. We will only experience freedom when we choose what is good and what is true. Otherwise &#8220;freedom&#8221; becomes a counterfeit and enslaves. The social doctrine also recognizes our obligation in solidarity to one another. We are our brother\/sister&#8217;s keeper.<\/p>\n<p>The social doctrine offers principles to help us order our economies but does not propose any particular economic theory. Rather, it insists that every economic order be at the service of the human person, human freedom, human flourishing and the family. We are called to give a love of preference to the poor, recognizing our solidarity with them. However, this call to solidarity is to be applied through the application of the principle of subsidiarity, rejecting all forms of dehumanizing collectivism, either of the left or the right.<\/p>\n<p>The market economy has been affirmed in recent social teaching as having a potential for promoting these goods &#8211; when properly understood and morally structured. However, the Catholic Church stood against the materialism of the atheistic Marxist system and cautions Nations which have adopted a form of liberal capitalism of the dangers of &#8220;economism&#8221; or materialism which promotes the use of persons as products and fails to recognize the value of being over acquiring.<\/p>\n<p>The truths and principles contained within Catholic social doctrine are not merely &#8220;religious&#8221; positions, in the sense that only religious people need assent to them. They are revealed by the Natural Law and can be known through the exercise of reason. The truths are true for all people and for all time. The Church calls us to offer them as leaven to be worked into the loaf of human culture. We are called to build a truly just and fully human society.<\/p>\n<p>I will do everything I can during this upcoming presidential and congressional campaign to liberate Catholic Social Thought from those who seek to use it as a proof text for their own political agendas. Often, that has meant opposition from those who would be considered &#8220;on the left&#8221; in contemporary political parlance.\u00a0 However, it also includes opposition from some considered &#8220;on the right&#8221; who have either not considered the teaching or have opted for a very different philosophical foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Christians understand that we will never be able to build a completely just, loving and fair social order in this world. The hunger for life in such a new order will only be fulfilled when the Lord returns and establishes His kingdom. However, as citizens, we have an obligation to do all we can to contribute to the common good of the societies and the nations in which we live. To use the biblical adage, &#8220;to those\u00a0 to whom much is given, much will be required.&#8221; That applies to our citizenship as well. Christians are called to be faithful citizens and promote true social justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several years ago I spoke at a gathering of Catholic Leaders. The participants included men and women from every walk of life who understand the implications of their faith on social, cultural, political, and economic participation. They are trying to live what Pope Benedict calls a &#8220;moral coherence&#8221; and have rejected the &#8220;separation between faith&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[143,116,158,160,151,157,159,68],"tags":[3,32,128,13,51,250,229,251],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-life","category-christian-living","category-citizenship-2","category-election","category-politicians","category-politics","category-religious-right","category-social-justice","tag-catholic-christian","tag-catholics","tag-citizenship","tag-deacon-keith-fournier","tag-discipleship","tag-politics","tag-social-justice","tag-voting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Christians, Politics, Faithful Citizenship and True Social Justice  - Catholic by Choice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christians, Politics, Faithful Citizenship and True Social Justice  - Catholic by Choice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several years ago I spoke at a gathering of Catholic Leaders. The participants included men and women from every walk of life who understand the implications of their faith on social, cultural, political, and economic participation. 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The participants included men and women from every walk of life who understand the implications of their faith on social, cultural, political, and economic participation. 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He is a widely recognized voice in the Catholic and broader Christian community. He is a member of the Clergy of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. In his fifteenth year of service as an ordained Catholic Deacon, he is currently assigned to St Stephen Martyr Parish in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is also authorized to serve the Liturgy of the Greek Byzantine Melkite Catholic Church. Deacon Fournier and his wife Laurine have been married for 34 years and have five grown children and six grandchildren. Deacon Fournier holds his Bachelors degree in theology and philosophy from the Franciscan University of Steubenville (BA), his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Theology from the John Paul II Institute of the Lateran University (MTS), his Juris Doctor Law Degree Law (JD) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is a PhD candidate in Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America where he is currently writing his Doctoral Dissertation. Deacon Fournier also holds two honorary Doctorates, a Doctor of Laws (L.L.D. 1994,Honoris Causa) from St. Thomas University - Given for pro-life legal contributions, and a Doctor of Divinity Degree (D.D. 2005, Honoris Causa ) from the National Clergy Council and the Methodist Episcopal Church for his contributions to authentic ecumenical efforts toward Christian unity. Attorney Fournier is a constitutional lawyer who appeared as co-counsel in cases before the United States Supreme Court on Pro-Life, Religious Freedom and Pro-family issues. He served as the first Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice for seven years. He then served as a public policy activist for the causes of life, marriage and family issues for a number of years. He has extensive experience in nonprofit and for profit leadership. He has taught at the College level and served in Academic administration. He was a Dean of Students and the Dean of Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. Deacon Fournier is, above all, a communicator. His faith informs his passion to share the fullness of life which he has found in the heart of the Catholic Church. He has written eight books on matters of faith, family and the Christian life and is widely published in the broader Christian community on matters of life, faith, family, and cultural and social issues. He hosted two daily national radio programs, Purpose for Living, and Millennial Moment. He hosted several television series on Christian family and contemporary faith issues on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). He is actively involved in preaching and teaching in the Catholic Church and the broader Christian community. In addition to serving as the Editor in Chief of Catholic Online, Deacon Fournier is the John Paul II Fellow and special counsel for the National Pro-Life Center in Washington, D.C. and is the president of Third Millennium, LLC, a communications and consulting company. He views his role on Beliefnet as an opportunity to share his Catholic Christian faith in what he calls a new areopagus. The areopagus is referred to in the 17th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the Christian New Testament. Also called Mars Hill it was there where the Apostle Paul shared the Christian faith with the early Greeks in their temple.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/author\/deaconfournier"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions\/272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}