Social Doctrine Session 8
(CSDC 428-450)
Chapter nine, “The International Community” takes up the sphere of international relations. Beginning with the book of Genesis the compendium notes the original unity of the human family. Further the original context of the human family involved “living spaces that ensure his freedom (the garden), various possibilities for food (the trees of the garden), work (the command to cultivate) and above all community (the gift of someone who is like himself) (cf. Gen 2:8-24)” (CSDC 428). God desire to guarantee that man has what is necessary for his growth continues after the flood in his covenant with Noah (cf. Gen 9:1-17), and God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:4) opens the way for the human family to make a return to its Creator (CSDC 430). The eschatological vision of the book of (Isaiah 1.5 2:2-5, 19: 18-25, 44:6-8, 24-28, 66:18-23) sees the nations returning to the Lord’s Temple. With the coming of Jesus “the true “likeness of God” (2 Cor. 4:4), man - who is created in the image of God - finds his fulfillment” (CSDC 431).
In Christ “ . . . all the barriers of enmity have already been torn down (cf. Eph 2:12-18), and for those who live a new life in Christ, racial and cultural differences are no longer causes of division (cf. Rom 10:12; Gal 3:26-28; Col3:11)” (CSDC 431) restoring a unity to the human race in the Spirit (cf. Acts 17:26). The universal vocation of Christianity helps us to realize the unity of the human family what we Christians mean by the word 'communion’ (CSDC 432). Applying these truths to the international community the Compendium notes;
The centrality of the human person and the natural inclination of persons and peoples to establish relationships among themselves are the fundamental elements for building a true international community, the ordering of which must aim at guaranteeing the effective universal common good.(CSDC 433)
A number of obstacles exist to prevent unity, in particular the Compendium notes; “any theory or form whatsoever of racism and racial discrimination is morally unacceptable” (CSDC 433). Relations on an international level are guided by the same values which guide human conduct on an individual level (truth, justice, active solidarity and freedom). International relations should be guided by “ . . . the principles of reason, equity, law and negotiation, excluding recourse to violence and war, as well as to forms of discrimination, intimidation and deceit” (CSDC 433). The guarantor of the international order has become international law which operates as a juridical community while respecting the sovereignty of each member state and should not be understood as relativizing or destroying the different and distinctive characteristics of each people. National sovereignty, however, is not absolute and can be freely renounced in view of common goal as a “family of nations.” International order that guarantees peaceful mutual relations among nations must be based on the same universal moral law that governs the lives of people as individuals. Universal moral law is the “grammar” of the shared conscience of humanity. Respect for the principles underlying this moral law are a necessary condition for the stability of international life and these principles are prior to the international laws of states. Justice must be sought through the use of common rules and a commitment to negotiation, rather than the use of force (CSDC 438). The value of international organizations such as the United Nations is affirmed, though in the conception of this organization “ . . .it is essential that such an authority arise from mutual agreement and that it not be imposed, nor must it be understood as a kind of "global super-State"”(CSDC 441). “Political authority exercised at the level of the international community must be regulated by law, ordered to the common good and respectful of the principle of subsidiarity” (CSDC 441). The Magisterium commends the efforts of non-government organizations which monitor and promote human rights. The Holy See is enjoys its own sovereign authority and interacts with the international community to form treaties and participate in international organizations to defend the freedom of the Church and to promote human dignity and social order. Cooperation among individual political communities is needed to solve the problem of development. “As the Magisterium sees it, the right to development is based on the following principles: unity of origin and a shared destiny of the human family; equality between every person and between every community based on human dignity; the universal destination of the goods of the earth; the notion of development in its entirety; and the centrality of the human person and solidarity” (CSDC 446) . In the spirit of international cooperation there should be an awareness of the duty to solidarity, justice and universal charity, which goes beyond the strict market mentality. The compendium also notes that poverty poses a dramatic problem of justice. “The fight against poverty finds a strong motivation in the option or preferential love of the Church for the poor” (CSDC 449). The compendium cautions, however, that “. . .the principle of solidarity, even in the fight against poverty, must always be appropriately accompanied by that of subsidiarity” and, therefore, the poor should be seen “ . . . not as a problem, but as people who can become the principal builders of a new and more human future for everyone" (CSDC 449). One the subject of international debt, the compendium notes that “. . . while reaffirming the principle that debts must be repaid, ways must be found that do not compromise the "fundamental right of peoples to subsistence and progress" (CSDC 450).
© Office of Human Rights, and Bishop Helmsing Institute, Diocese of Kansas City~St. Joseph, 2009
