Friday, January 19, 2018
Sirach,
Chapter 23, Verse 27
Thus all who dwell on the earth shall know, all who remain in the world
shall understand, that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord, nothing sweeter than obeying the commandments of
the Lord.
What happens when those who dwell on the earth no
longer know God and what should we do when it becomes abundantly clear to us
that our duty to God is threatened by the governments of men?
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 as it 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)
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and
love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor
of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God. (2 Tm. 1:7-8)
Day 2 No longer as a slave but a beloved brother
Scripture
·
Genesis 1:26-28, God created humankind in God’s
own image.
·
Psalm 10:1-10, Why, O Lord, do you stand far
off?
·
Philemon 1:16, No longer as a slave but more
than a slave, a beloved brother.
·
Luke 10:25-37, The Parable of the Good
Samaritan.
Meditation
God created humankind in God´s own image. In the Roman Empire the dignity of
those enslaved was denied. Paul however, made bold in Christ, calls Onesimus a
beloved brother, transgressing the norms of his society and affirming his
humanity. Likewise, Jesus challenges social norms that devalued the human
dignity of Samaritans.Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which victims are forced or tricked into sex work, child labor and the harvesting of organs for the profit of the exploiters. It is a global, multimillion-dollar industry throughout the world. Christians must raise a united voice in boldly calling trafficked persons their beloved brothers and sisters and so work together to end modern-day slavery.
Prayer
Gracious God, draw near to those who are victims of human trafficking,
assuring them that you see their plight and hear their cry. May your Church be
united in compassion and courage to work for that day when no one will be
exploited and all will be free to live lives of dignity and peace. This we pray
in the name of the Triune God who can do immeasurably more than we can ask or
imagine. Amen.
Daily
Devotions
·
Please pray for me and this ministry
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