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From the Pastor...
Decision 2000!
Yes, as we celebrate the Great Jubilee of the birth of Jesus Christ this year, 2000, we are called to make a decision& to follow the Lord Jesus and to live the gospel. As we prepare to vote this coming Tuesday, let's remember that in God's plan, it is not about the survival of the fittest, but it's about the survival of the weakest. God always stands on the side of the weak and it is there, among the weak, that we find God.
With few exceptions, all the major Christian denominations hold and teach the following principles:
1) ALL PEOPLE in this world have equal dignity and should enjoy equal rights in terms of RESPECT, access to resources, and access to opportunity.
2) God intended the earth for all persons equally. Thus the riches of this world should flow equally and fairly to all people. All other rights, including the right to private property and the accumulation of riches that are fairly earned, must be subordinated to this primary principle.
3) The right to property and the accumulation of wealth is not an absolute one--but must be subordinated to the common good, namely, to the fact that the goods of the earth are intended equally for everyone.
4) No person, group of persons, or nation, may have a surplus of goods if the others lack the basic necessities. That is the present situation of our world, where some individuals and nations have excess while others lack the basic necessities. This is immoral, goes directly against the teachings of Christ, and must be redressed.
5) We are obliged, morally, to come to the aid of those in need. In giving such aid, we are not doing charity, but serving justice. Helping the poor is NOT an issue of personal virtue and generosity, but something that is demanded of us by the very order of things (Some denominations--e.g. Roman Catholics--have taken this principle further and have taught that if a person is in extreme necessity he or she may take from the riches of others what he or she needs--see document of Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes #69.)
6) The laws of supply and demand, free enterprise, unbridled competition, the profit motive, and private ownership of the means of production may not be seen as morally inviolate and must, when the common good, justice, demands it, be balanced by other principles. No one has the moral right to earn as much as he or she can without concern for the common good (even if he or she is a celebrity).
7) Physical nature too has inherent rights, namely, rights that are intrinsic to itself and not simply given to it because of its relationship to humanity. The earth is not just a stage for human beings to play on. It too is a creature of God with its own rights, which humans may not violate.
8) The condemnation of injustice is part of the church's essential ministry of preaching and is an essential aspect of the church's prophetic role.
9) Movement toward the poor is a privileged route toward God and toward spiritual health. There can be no spiritual health, individually or communally, when there is no real involvement with the struggles of the poor. Conversely, riches, of any kind, are spiritually dangerous.
The late Father Pedro Arrupe, Superior General of the Jesuits, was once asked why there is such an emphasis on social justice, when, in the past, many saintly people and Popes of the church appeared to almost neglect this, at least in terms of an explicit development. He answered rather simply: "Today we know more."
Yes, this is "Decision 2000." And, we know more. The theme of the year 2000 for Roman Catholics is: OPEN WIDE THE DOORS TO CHRIST.
Vote on Tuesday.
Fr. Bill
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