Exodus, Chapter 1, Verse 21
And because the midwives feared
God, God built up families for them.
God’s mercy is just like
the drops of water which grooves stones to make gorges and canyons; small acts
of mercy have a similar effect on the hearts of sinners making them into
monoliths of strength. Therefore
they resisted Pharaohs decree to kill the children of Israel. Likewise we must resist the laws that are enacted
that defy the law of God.
The Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church[1]
addresses the issue of when and how St. Peter's teaching that obedience to
God comes before obedience to men applies in the modern Christian's life.
Presciently, or perhaps better, prophetically, Pope Benedict XVI foresaw and
foresees increasing conflict between American Catholics and a public authority
increasingly secularized and increasingly hostile to the moral values of its
Catholic citizens. The conflict is caused by the increasing demands of the
State to "to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of
Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically
evil practices." The aggressive secularist State wants freedom of religion
to be limited to "mere freedom of worship," and not to "freedom
of conscience" which extends beyond the realm of the four walls of a
Church into the "public square" of social, civil, political, and
economic life." Christians may conscientiously object to civil laws if
they infringe upon one or more of three things: (1) the law violates the moral
order, that is, the natural moral law; (2) the law violates fundamental human
rights; or (3) the law violates the teachings of the Gospel, which is to say
the teachings of the Church. Laws that trespass against one or more of these
three things may not be obeyed, and obedience to them must be refused. In fact, the Christian has both a duty and a right
to refuse such a law. And though it may be unrecognized, it is a right that he must exercise regardless of the
consequences to him.
The full text of the Compendium on
this issue merits quotation: "Citizens are not obligated in conscience to
follow the prescriptions of civil authorities if their precepts are contrary to
the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or to the
teachings of the Gospel. Unjust laws pose dramatic problems of conscience for
morally upright people: when they are called to cooperate in morally evil acts
they must refuse. Besides being a
moral duty, such a refusal is also a basic human right which, precisely as
such, civil law itself is obliged to recognize and protect. 'Those who have recourse
to conscientious objection must be protected not only from legal penalties but
also from any negative effects on the legal, disciplinary, financial and
professional plane.'" "It is a grave duty of conscience not to
cooperate, not even formally, in practices which, although permitted by civil
legislation, are contrary to the Law of God. Such cooperation in fact can never
be justified, not by invoking respect for the freedom of others nor by
appealing to the fact that it is foreseen and required by civil law. No one can
escape the moral responsibility for actions taken, and all will be judged by
God himself based on this responsibility (cf. Rom 2:6; 14:12)." (Compendium,
No. 399)
The right of conscientious
objection is not the right of resistance, and the two should be
carefully distinguished. Moreover, resistance which can be expressed in
"many different concrete ways" should be distinguished from the last
and desperate recourse of "armed resistance." The right to
resist an oppressive law or an oppressive government is one that is found in
the natural law. It is a right which precedes a government, and so is one that
is inalienable. Resistance generally is something to be avoided, and it is
justified only if there is a "serious" infringement or "repeated"
and chronic infringements of the natural moral law, a fundamental human right,
or a Gospel precept. "Recognizing that natural law is the basis for and
places limits on positive law means admitting that it is legitimate to resist
authority should it violate in a serious or repeated manner the essential
principles of natural law. Saint Thomas Aquinas writes that 'one is obliged to
obey . . . insofar as it is required by the order of justice.' Natural law is
therefore the basis of the right to resistance." The right of resistance
is not one that necessarily has the overthrow of government in mind. There may
be many ways in which resistance may be expressed, and there may be many ends
which resistance may have in mind: "There can be many different concrete
ways this right may be exercised; there are also many different ends that may
be pursued. Resistance to authority is meant to attest to the validity of a
different way of looking at things, whether the intent is to achieve partial
change, for example, modifying certain laws, or to fight for a radical change
in the situation." (Compendium, No. 400)
Resistance in the sense of armed resistance
is something which is a last resort. The Church has identified five conditions
all of which must be met before armed resistance is morally justified: "1)
there is certain, grave and prolonged violation of fundamental rights, 2) all
other means of redress have been exhausted, 3) such resistance will not provoke
worse disorders, 4) there is well-founded hope of success; and 5) it is
impossible reasonably to foresee any better solution." As the Church
observes, armed resistance, even if morally justified, is generally to be
avoided, and passive resistance is to be preferred. Armed resistance is often a
Pandora's Box which unleashes as much or more evil as it intended to avoid.
"Recourse to arms is seen as an extreme remedy for putting an end to a
'manifest, long-standing tyranny which would do great damage to fundamental
personal rights and dangerous harm to the common good of the country.'
The gravity of the danger that recourse to violence entails today makes it
preferable in any case that passive resistance be practiced, which is 'a way
more conformable to moral principles and having no less prospects for success.'"
(Compendium, No. 401)
Feast
of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops[2]
St. Timothy, born in Galatia in Asia Minor, was
baptized and later ordained to the priesthood by St. Paul. The young Galatian
became Paul's missionary companion and his most beloved spiritual son. St. Paul
showed his trust in this disciple by consecrating him bishop of the great city
of Ephesus. St. Timothy was stoned to death thirty years after St. Paul's
martyrdom for having denounced the worship of the goddess Diana.
St. Titus, a convert from paganism, was a fellow
laborer of St. Paul on many apostolic missions. St. Paul later made him bishop
of Crete, a difficult charge because of the character of the inhabitants and
the spread of erroneous doctrines on that island. St. Paul's writings tell us
that St. Titus rejoiced to discover what was good in others and drew the hearts
of men by his wide and affectionate sympathy.
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