Thomas Griffin 4/30/24
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The Wall Street Journal published a piece in February 2021 written by Francis Rocca entitled “Can Catholic Social Teaching Unite a Divided America?” outlining some of the major tenets of an aspect of the Church that most people are not aware of. The article also cited some pivotal players in American government and in the church to show that Catholic Social Teaching (CST) might be the path forward for all sides to come together.
Even though this article is several years old its premise is needed now more than it was then. Never before has the Catholic faith played such a prominent role in the conversation about a president. While President Kennedy stated that he was “not the Catholic candidate for president,” Joe Biden has continuously stated that he is a devout Catholic who takes his faith seriously. Despite this refrain there have been several situations where the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had to correct or stand against policies put forth by the Biden administration in his time as POTUS.
The disjointed relationship between Biden and “his church” reaps confusion to the average Catholic, but perhaps his notoriety can be the platform for proposing some of the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching. I agree with Rocca’s claim that this could unite the obviously ruptured country. However, reading this piece by The Wall Street Journal may force one to conclude that the Catholic Church is as divided as the Republican and Democratic parties on certain issues. One of the most beautiful aspects of the church, however, is that her teaching does not change and her teaching is clearly visible for all to see.
Modern Catholic social teaching had its genesis in an 1891 encyclical (papal document bearing Church authority) by Pope Leo XIII entitled Rerum Novarum. The document became known as “On the Condition of Labor” and it is a masterpiece of literature and human rights calling for the right of workers to form unions as well as the need to protect workers from unjust wages and unsafe working conditions.
This first work of CST in the modern era personifies what this movement is all about: concerns for the human person that all people, across any aisle and background, can support because of its focus on the practical protection of the dignity of the human person. When we simplify policy through this prism, we are more able to see what is right and best for our country.
Catholic Social Teaching would appeal to those on the left in the arena’s of migration, the environment, and economic equality while it would also be aligned more with the right on issues such as abortion, gender, marriage, religious freedom, and individual responsibility. Despite one’s stance, it should be common sense to get behind the church’s teachings that are grounded in natural law. These are foundational claims regarding the human being’s worth and purpose and have been made famous with the American reference to inalienable rights.
Two key concepts that bind the human person’s responsibility for caring for others in society are solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity, as defined by Pope St. John Paul II is simply “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.” This means that no person can be defined or categorized merely as a social condition or encapsulated with the notion that “they are not my problem.”
Subsidiarity is the notion that large government programs should not perform actions that the local community can easily do on their own. This principle is grounded in the individual’s right to contribute to their community along with the understanding that we all have a responsibility to make our society better.
The WSJ piece does a nice job in outlining these general principles of CST, but Rocca fails in driving home a unifying message with his constant utilization of aisle-bent verbiage and the politicizing of policies. Rocca quotes sources in the church hierarchy or academia that he states are either “conservative” or “liberal/progressive.”
In fact, a reader would be hard pressed to find an occasion where a source was not introduced with one of these qualifying terms. The problem with this application in church terms is that it simply does not work. For example, any bishop, cardinal, priest, professor, or any Catholic for that matter, who states that abortion is moral is not a “liberal Catholic,” but a Catholic who is not in agreement with an unchangeable truth regarding the value of the human person. A priest or bishop or layperson who promotes that sex is biological or that marriage is between a man and a woman is not a “conservative Catholic,” but a follower of Jesus who follows objective truth and clear church teaching.
Why? Because science, logic, the Bible, the teachings and life of Jesus, Christian ethics, and the bedrock of Catholic social teaching concerns the infinite and immutable dignity of the human person as created in God’s image and likeness and destined to live with him forever. Our Creator made us with a purpose and that purpose is both rational and easily discoverable through God’s teachings. If every single person on the planet has the same immeasurable worth and the same divine calling by God then the manner that we come together to protect the human person is crucial.
All life has infinite value.
We must pay heed to the fact that human beings are social animals that take part in government and society while fighting to protect all people, not just the unborn, whose rights are threatened. CST may be the path forward to uniting the nation and allowing us to come together as more than just political or religious “conservatives and liberals” but as human beings who rely on each other to bring about the truth of who we are and who we are called to be by God.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine.
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