War . . . Terrorism . . . Biotechnology
For the first time in her history, the Catholic Church has organized all of her social teachings in one volume, called the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, a 330-page text which addresses a host of modern problems such as preventive war, in vitro fertilization, biotechnology, homosexual unions, and weapons of mass destruction.
Released on Monday, October 25, 2004 by Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the volume is the result of five years of work, begun under the former president of the council, the late Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, as requested by Pope John Paul II.
The teaching contained in the Compendium is based on the social encyclicals of Popes from Leo XIII to John Paul II, the documents of the Second Vatican Council and Instructions from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, among others.
The entries, as in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are presented in numbered paragraphs, with heavy use of footnotes and cross-references, useful for those interested in a deeper discussion of the questions.
In his presentation of the volume, Cardinal Martino said that "in the preparation of the Compendium, the question of the place of the Church's social doctrine in today's world was constantly raised.
"In formulating an answer to this question, it was decided that proceeding along the road of a simple sociological analysis was not necessary, nor was a listing of social priorities or emerging problems," he continued.
"Rather, it was thought that the Compendium should represent a serious and precise instrument suitable for assisting that discernment . . . that is so indispensable today."
Many of the questions addressed by the Compendium will not be new to Catholic readers: the Church's teaching on homosexuality, on abortion and on contraception, for example, is well-known.
On other moral questions such as biotechnology, preventive war and terrorism, or the responsibilities of Catholic voters, the Compendium reflects the Church's own continuing process of discernment.
In each of the entries on these "hot" modern topics, the Compendium takes guarded stances, which will not quell the debate on just what the Catholic position should be.
The section on war is entitled, "The Failure of Peace: War" and opens with a paragraph citing Benedict XV, that war is an "unnecessary massacre," (1917), Pius XII, "Nothing is lost by peace; everything may be lost by war," (1939) and Pope John Paul II, "No more war, no more war!" (2003).
It goes on to cite self-defense as a justification for war, but says preventive war raises "serious moral and juridical questions."
The Compendium condemns terrorism and says that "there exists the right to defend oneself from terrorism." (514)
"However, the guilty party must be duly proven, because criminal responsibility is always personal, and therefore cannot be extended to the religions, nations or ethnic groups to which the terrorists belong.
"International cooperation in the fight against terrorist activity 'cannot be limited solely to repressive and punitive operations. It is essential that the use of force, even when necessary, be accompanied by a courageous and lucid analysis of the reasons behind terrorist attacks.'" (World Day of Peace Message, 2004)
It also call on the international community to resolve the problems that in certain dramatic circumstances can foster terrorism: 'the recruitment of terrorists in fact is easier in situations where rights are trampled and injustices are tolerated over a long period of time.'" (WDP Message, 2002)
On the much-debated issue of genetically modified foods, the Compendium takes a nuanced stance.
It "makes a positive judgment on the acceptability of human intervention in nature, which also includes living beings," but says, "one must avoid falling into the error of believing that only the spreading of the benefits connected with the new techniques of biotechnology can solve the urgent problems of poverty and underdevelopment that still afflict so many countries on the planet." (473, 474)
It could be said that one of the primary concerns of this Compendium is the widening gap between rich and poor. The problem of poverty is raised as both a cause and consequence of many social issues from terrorism to biotechnology.
The point is heightened by Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano in his introduction to the book: "In different areas of the planet the level of well-being continues to grow, but there is also a dangerous increase in the numbers of those who are becoming poor, and, for various reasons, the gap between less developed and rich countries is widening," Sodano says.
"The free market," Sodano continues, "an economic process with positive aspects, is nonetheless showing its limitations.
"On the other hand, the preferential love for the poor represents a fundamental choice for the Church, and she proposes it to all people of good will."
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church is published in English and Italian by Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Translations in other languages are forthcoming. (Here follows excerpts from the Compendium.)
Preventive War
501. Therefore, engaging in a preventive war without clear proof that an attack is imminent cannot fail to raise serious moral and juridical questions.
International legitimacy for the use of armed force, on the basis of rigorous assessment and with well-founded motivations, can only be given by the decision of a competent body that identifies specific situations as threats to peace and authorizes an intrusion into the sphere of autonomy usually reserved to a State.
Catholic Politicians
570. When — concerning areas or realities that involve fundamental ethical duties — legislative or political choices contrary to Christian principles and values are proposed or made, the Magisterium teaches that "a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political programme or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals." (CDF, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, 2002)
In cases where it is not possible to avoid the implementation of such political programmes or to block or abrogate such laws, the Magisterium teaches that a parliamentary representative, whose personal absolute opposition to these programmes or laws is clear and known to all, may legitimately support proposals aimed at limiting the damage caused by such programmes or laws and at diminishing their negative effects on the level of culture and public morality. In this regard, a typical example of such a case would be a law permitting abortion. (Cf. Evangelium Vitae, 73)
The representative's vote, in any case, cannot be interpreted as support of an unjust law but only as a contribution to reducing the negative consequences of a legislative provision, the responsibility for which lies entirely with those who have brought it into being.
Divorced Persons
226. The Church does not abandon those who have remarried after a divorce. She prays for them and encourages them in the difficulties that they encounter in the spiritual life, sustaining them in faith and in hope. For their part, these persons, insofar as they are baptized, can and indeed must participate in the life of the Church. They are exhorted to listen to the Word of God, to attend the sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to perform acts of charity and take part in community projects for justice and peace, to raise their children in faith, and to nurture a spirit of penitence and works of penance in order to beseech, day after day, the grace of God.
Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance — which opens the way to the sacrament of the Eucharist — can only be given to those who, after repenting, are sincerely disposed to a new form of life that is no longer in contradiction with the indissolubility of marriage. (The respect owed to the sacrament of Marriage, as well as to the married couples themselves, their families and the faith community, forbids pastors regardless of motivation and pretext — even pastoral — from setting up any kind of ceremony for the divorced who wish to remarry.)
Acting in this fashion, the Church professes her fidelity to Christ and to his truth; at the same time she shows a maternal spirit to her children, especially those who, through no fault of their own, have been abandoned by their legitimate spouse. With steadfast trust she believes that even those who have turned away from the Lord's commandment, and continue to live in that state, can obtain from God the grace of conversion and salvation, if they persevere in prayer, penance and charity.
Homosexual Persons
228. Connected with de facto unions is the particular problem concerning demands for the legal recognition of unions between homosexual persons, which is increasingly the topic of public debate. Only an anthropology corresponding to the full truth of the human person can give an appropriate response to this problem with its different aspects on both the societal and ecclesial levels.
The light of such anthropology reveals "how incongruous is the demand to accord 'marital' status to unions between persons of the same sex. It is opposed, first of all, by the objective impossibility of making the partnership fruitful through the transmission of life according to the plan inscribed by God in the very structure of the human being. Another obstacle is the absence of the condition for that interpersonal complementarity between male and female willed by the Creator at both the physical-biological and the eminently psychological levels. It is only in the union of two sexually different persons that the individual can achieve perfection in a synthesis of unity and mutual psychophysical completion.
Homosexual persons are to be fully respected in their human dignity and are encouraged to follow God's plan with particular attention in the exercise of chastity. This duty calling for respect does not justify the legitimization of behaviour that is not consistent with moral law, even less does it justify the recognition of a right to marriage between persons of the same sex and its being considered equivalent to the family.
"If, from the legal standpoint, marriage between a man and woman were to be considered just one possible form of marriage, the concept of marriage would undergo a radical transformation, with grave detriment to the common good. By putting homosexual unions on a legal plane analogous to that of marriage and the family, the State acts arbitrarily and in contradiction with its duties." (CDF, Considerations Regarding Proposals To Give Legal Recognition To Unions Between Homosexual Persons, No. 8)
Reproductive Technology
235. It must be repeated that the ethical unacceptability of all reproductive techniques — such as the donation of sperm or ova, surrogate motherhood, heterologous artificial fertilization — that make use of the uterus of another woman or of gametes of persons other than the married couple, injures the right of the child to be born of one father and one mother who are father and mother both from a biological and from a legal point of view. Equally unacceptable are methods that separate the unitive act from the procreative act by making use of laboratory techniques, such as homologous artificial insemination or fertilization, such that the child comes about more as the result of an act of technology than as the natural fruit of a human act in which there is a full and total giving of the couple. Avoiding recourse to different forms of so-called "assisted procreation" that replace the marriage act means respecting — both in the parents and in the children that they intend to generate — the integral dignity of the human person. On the other hand, those methods that are meant to lend assistance to the conjugal act or to the attainment of its effects are legitimate.
Women's Work
251. In the relationship between the family and work, particular attention must be given to the issue of the work of women in the family, more generally to the recognition of the so-called work of "housekeeping," which also involves the responsibility of men as husbands and fathers.
The work of housekeeping, starting with that of the mother, precisely because it is a service directed and devoted to the quality of life, constitutes a type of activity that is eminently personal and personalizing, and that must be socially recognized and valued, also by means of economic compensation in keeping with that of other types of work.
At the same time, care must be taken to eliminate all the obstacles that prevent a husband and wife from making free decisions concerning their procreative responsibilities and in particular those that do not allow women to carry out their maternal role fully.
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