Justice and Peace Council holds conference on faith and politics
(Vatican Radio) A first international meeting of chaplains serving in Parliaments
is taking place at the Pontifical Justice and Peace Council this week, reflecting
on ways of supporting Catholics engaged in political life. The encounter, entitled
‘Pastoral Care of Politicians: Spiritual Companionship and Promotion of the Common
Good’, was opened on Thursday by Council President, Cardinal Peter Turkson, who spoke
of “new and serious issues” facing those searching for a right relationship between
Christian faith and political decision making. During a break in the meeting, Philippa
Hitchen caught up with Cardinal Turkson to find out more about the goals of the two
day conference:
Listen:
Please find
below the text of Cardinal Turkson's introduction to the meeting:
Your Excellencies,
Rev. Fathers, Distinguished Speakers and Participants, dear friends:
1. It
is a joy for me to welcome you to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace for
this first meeting of chaplains serving parliaments. Thank you for making yourselves
available for these two days of discussion and labour. Let me especially thank the
speakers who have agreed to enrich our reflections. 2. We are gathered here to
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II. As we begin our deliberations, we
cannot avoid thinking of the emphasis in Gaudium et Spes on participation in the political
sphere: “There is no better way to establish political life on a truly human basis
than by fostering an inward sense of justice and kindliness, and of service to the
common good, and by strengthening basic convictions as to the true nature of the political
community and the aim, right exercise, and sphere of action of public authority.”
The mission of priests involved in various ways with political figures fits into this
desire of Vatican II. This mission is not only one of defending particular positions,
even if it is sometimes necessary to do so. Above all, it is imperative to assist
those in public life to give their political engagement proper foundations and direction
in an interiorized manner, through reflection and prayer, rather than leaving it merely
to formal conventions. 3. A little more than ten years ago, the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith issued its Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the
Participation of Catholics in Political Life. It noted that “today’s democratic societies
... call for new and fuller forms of participation in public life by Christian and
non-Christian citizens alike.” It analyzed the “cultural process” in which we are
engaged, which combines the “great strides made in ... humanity’s progress in attaining
conditions of life which are more in keeping with human dignity” with “the real dangers
which certain tendencies in society are promoting through legislation, nor can one
ignore the effects this will have on future generations.” The text went on to deplore
“a kind of cultural relativism [that] exists today, evident in the conceptualization
and defence of an ethical pluralism, which sanctions the decadence and disintegration
of reason and the principles of the natural moral law.” The Doctrinal Note then proposed
a thorough study of the conditions for a just secularism. Overall it urged a closer
accompaniment of Christians involved in politics, to form them to engage in ever more
serious subjects with true ethical discernment – that is, both fully rational and
open to the light of Revelation. 4. This is the context in which you exercise
your ministries to parliaments, and in which we gather here today. New and very serious
issues call for a more vigorous commitment of the Church to politicians. This commitment
must be both intellectual and spiritual. At the same time as helping Christian politicians
to rationally discern the common good, we must nourish their hope and bolster their
courage. But it is not for the clergy to replace the laity. Rather it is a matter
of helping these politicians to exercise their baptismal responsibility fully and
justly, in the spirit of Lumen Gentium and Christifideles Laici. Nor is it a matter
of interfering with legitimate pluralism, but of helping those whose mission is to
serve human dignity in all its dimensions. The preferential option for the poor includes
the unborn and social insecurity, migrants and the elderly, the unemployed and the
environment. One characteristic of Christians involved in politics is or should be
an ability to promote an all-encompassing and coherent principle of humanity. Fr.
Francesco Occhetta of La Civiltà Cattolica will open the reflection on dimensions
of the Catholic political commitment, while Fr. Paolo Benanti will consider important
new opportunities and challenges which come with the Digital Age we are in. 5.
As a group, you practice your ministry in extremely varied conditions. Some of you
have official status – you carry out functions that are recognized by your country’s
governments. Others, particularly in more strictly secular States, are limited to
offering ecclesial support more or less informally, outside of the parliamentary institution.
For some, the ministry is primarily spiritual and oriented to worship, while others
give most attention to ethical discernment. Some of you are engaged full-time with
parliamentarians, while for others it is just one pastoral preoccupation among many,
especially in countries where no genuine parliamentary ministry exists – or at least,
not yet. We could regard the variety of your situations as an accurate reflection
of the complexity of a right relationship of Christian faith to political life. Thus
it will be productive for us to learn from each other’s experience. 6. In order
for this sharing of experience to be as fruitful as possible, we thought that it should
be enriched with a fundamental theological reflection on “the principles and relevance
of Catholic theology of politics” and a broad sociological perspective on “Church-State
relations in the world”. This is what Fr. Frédéric Louzeau and Professor José Casanova
will provide this afternoon. The Doctrinal Note that I mentioned earlier asked important
questions a decade ago; it is worthwhile to assess its impact and, with the benefit
of hindsight, to explore the outlook for the years to come. For this we will hear
from His Excellency Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria, Secretary of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith. 7. Ministry to parliamentarians, I have said, is
a context of particular interest for collaboration between clergy and laity. That
is why it was important to also have lay persons share their experiences and expectations
with us. Spanish parliamentarian José Miguel Castillo Calvín and Tugdual Derville,
Executive Director of Alliance Vita, will be our speakers. The latter will talk about
“new models of Christian action”: it is very important nowadays to avoid restricting
political action to the parliamentary or institutional setting, but to be active as
well with lobbies and think tanks and with the worlds of public communication and
social reflection. 8. This first meeting is mainly European and Western in focus.
Accordingly, it is important to consider the specific conditions for political ministry
in Europe. Bishop Piotr Mazurkiewicz, Professor of Political Science in Warsaw and
former Secretary General of COMECE, is a particularly appropriate speaker on this
topic. Several chaplains will share their experiences: Bishop Lorenzo Leuzzi from
Italy, Mons. Karl Jüsten from Germany and Fr. Patrick Conroy from the United States.
However, the catholicity of the Church is a persistent reminder to situate political
action in the complex and fascinating perspective of globalization. Therefore I am
especially pleased that a pioneer in this ministry from South Africa, Fr. Peter John
Pearson, can also give us his testimony. Finally, Bishop Mario Toso, Secretary of
the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will review the various dimensions of
the pastoral care and spiritual accompaniment of politicians and the promotion of
the common good. 9. Dear friends, we shall devote two days to reflection and to
sharing our experiences. But we will also experience a time of fraternity—that fraternity
which is at the heart of the Christian experience and which is ours to share with
a world longing for unity and peace. We will celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrament
of unity and peace, and pray for those in positions of public authority today. During
the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, Blessed John Paul II, soon to be declared a Saint,
named St. Thomas More as patron of politicians. Let us entrust our labours to his
prayerful guidance. Through the intercession of St. Thomas More, I ask God to raise
authentic servants of the common good throughout the world and priests who know how
to accompany them. May the Lord bless our discussions and our work.