This Sunday is World Mission Sunday. Pope Benedict XVI, in his message proclaiming the day, quoted Sacramentum Caritatis, "The love that we celebrate in the sacrament is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with everyone. What the world needs is God's love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in him." For this reason the Eucharist is not only the source and summit of the Church's life, but also of her mission: an authentically Eucharistic Church is a missionary Church."
The Pope added that the Church "invites us to become champions of the newness of life made up of authentic relationships in communities founded on the Gospel. In a multiethnic society that is experiencing increasingly disturbing forms of loneliness and indifference, Christians must learn to offer signs of hope and to become universal brethren, cultivating the great ideals that transform history and, without false illusions or useless fears, must strive to make the planet a home for all peoples."
What does this mean for us as lawyers and students. We have all felt the "call" to be professionals. The profession of law requires us to be leaders. Indeed, we are all called to be leaders in our own lives and our professional lives. The essence of leadership is vision. The Book of Proverbs says, "Where there is no vision the people perish but he who keeps the law is blessed ." (Proverbs 29:18). We are to focus on the vision of Christ's sacrifice, the love that it entailed, and the blessings that this love offers mankind. We are called to bring this vision to others through evangelization.
Lawyers are called to ensure that this vision of love is reflected in law by the protection of the least among us; that an unborn child has a right to life, that family life is protected, that children are raised in a culture free from degrading influences, that people are free to express and follow their religious faith in all areas of life.
As Pope Benedict said "Dear friends, on this World Mission Sunday in which the heart's gaze extends to the immense spaces of mission, let us all be protagonists of the Church's commitment to proclaim the Gospel," indeed.
Showing posts with label Pope Benedict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pope Benedict. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The State is not a Source or Beginning of Ethics
Pope Benedict XVI told the Pontifical Academy for Life "History has shown how dangerous and deleterious a State that proceeds to make legislation on matters that touch the person and society can be, when it tries to be the source and beginning of ethics."
In a talk that addressed current bioethics issues such as embryonic stem cell research, the Pope noted that the human dignity, which is fundamental to all rights, is not "written by the hand of man, but... by God the Creator in the heart of man."
Indeed, natural law as posited by Aquinas shows that all law proceeds from God's law. The state may create municipal or positive law to better order society but that law must reflect an understanding of God's law. Positive law that violates God's law is null. Our own Declaration of Independence sets forth this understanding as the basis for the American Revolution.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
In addition, international law upheld the same conception of law as our Declaration of Independence during the Nazi war crime trials. German officers argued that they were simply following orders... following positive law. It was held that this was insufficient to exonerate them. We are all held to a higher power... to disobey laws that violate natural law.
Those who would tell us that our religious beliefs have no place in the political debate are not only wrong about the content of public discourse but also about the fundamental source of law, ethics, and public policy. Of course, they know they are wrong and are only trying to win the debate without arguing the merits of their position.
In a talk that addressed current bioethics issues such as embryonic stem cell research, the Pope noted that the human dignity, which is fundamental to all rights, is not "written by the hand of man, but... by God the Creator in the heart of man."
Indeed, natural law as posited by Aquinas shows that all law proceeds from God's law. The state may create municipal or positive law to better order society but that law must reflect an understanding of God's law. Positive law that violates God's law is null. Our own Declaration of Independence sets forth this understanding as the basis for the American Revolution.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
In addition, international law upheld the same conception of law as our Declaration of Independence during the Nazi war crime trials. German officers argued that they were simply following orders... following positive law. It was held that this was insufficient to exonerate them. We are all held to a higher power... to disobey laws that violate natural law.
Those who would tell us that our religious beliefs have no place in the political debate are not only wrong about the content of public discourse but also about the fundamental source of law, ethics, and public policy. Of course, they know they are wrong and are only trying to win the debate without arguing the merits of their position.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Pope Benedict and Equality
Check out this article on Pope Benedict and equality from Michael Miller of the Acton Institute. In it he states "Radical equality now has become praiseworthy as something good in itself, separated from any question of truth, common sense, or even biological realities."
Radical equality is based upon philosophical nominalism. Nominalism posits that we can not "know" anything about reality. Its best expression is Descarte's "I think, therefore I am." The only thing that can be known is the self, and we can know precious little of that, only that we exist. The outside world is unknowable. All categories of "things" out in the world are artificial. We really do not know what "rocks" are and all attempts to categorizes various similar phenomena (i.e. various types of rocks) as rocks are artifical constructs that we impose upon the world. Thus we can not know "gender." The concepts "male" and "female" are simply artifical constructs. These social constructs are created by those in power. Language is an instrument of power. Critical Legal theory goes on to say that these constructs are used by the majority to subjugate and exploit the minority. Further, since we ourselves have no knowable essence, we are simply the sum total of our experiences. Since others are in charge of that experience, we are their victims; victims of social pressure and language. Only by overthrowing the "male, female" constructs can the minority be free. Fortunately, this is hogwash.
We can and do "know" things about the outside world. Science has shown that there is a kind of dialog between the perceiving mind and the object being perceived. Thus, before you thought, you were. We are not simply the sum of our experiences. We interact with our experiences, accept some, reject others. If the nominalists were right, then all change would be impossible as everone would be bound by their experience. Thus, another nominalist, Karl Marx, had to resort to the "vanguard" to lead his revolution. The vanguard would be a group of people who had (magically) escaped the bonds of their social position. When we deny reality, equality can only be enforced by state power. All will be forced to hold the position of the minority, or, at least, act as though they held that belief. Radical equality leads to oppression. True equality requires an understanding of our nature and our standing equally before the state.
Radical equality is based upon philosophical nominalism. Nominalism posits that we can not "know" anything about reality. Its best expression is Descarte's "I think, therefore I am." The only thing that can be known is the self, and we can know precious little of that, only that we exist. The outside world is unknowable. All categories of "things" out in the world are artificial. We really do not know what "rocks" are and all attempts to categorizes various similar phenomena (i.e. various types of rocks) as rocks are artifical constructs that we impose upon the world. Thus we can not know "gender." The concepts "male" and "female" are simply artifical constructs. These social constructs are created by those in power. Language is an instrument of power. Critical Legal theory goes on to say that these constructs are used by the majority to subjugate and exploit the minority. Further, since we ourselves have no knowable essence, we are simply the sum total of our experiences. Since others are in charge of that experience, we are their victims; victims of social pressure and language. Only by overthrowing the "male, female" constructs can the minority be free. Fortunately, this is hogwash.
We can and do "know" things about the outside world. Science has shown that there is a kind of dialog between the perceiving mind and the object being perceived. Thus, before you thought, you were. We are not simply the sum of our experiences. We interact with our experiences, accept some, reject others. If the nominalists were right, then all change would be impossible as everone would be bound by their experience. Thus, another nominalist, Karl Marx, had to resort to the "vanguard" to lead his revolution. The vanguard would be a group of people who had (magically) escaped the bonds of their social position. When we deny reality, equality can only be enforced by state power. All will be forced to hold the position of the minority, or, at least, act as though they held that belief. Radical equality leads to oppression. True equality requires an understanding of our nature and our standing equally before the state.
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