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GEORGIA BULLETIN
THURSDAY. APRIL II. 1963
Support Of The United Nations Concept
POPE John XXIII works at a table in the cool gardens of the
papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.
God, the provident Creator of
all things, whom they rever
ence, since he has decreed that
men's dealings with one another
should be regulated by an or
der which he himself has es
tablished. Moreover, in show
ing this due reverence to God.
men not only do not debase
themselves but rather perfect
and ennoble themselves. For to
serve Cod is to rule. (33)
Since the right to comniam
is required by the moral ordci
and has its source in God. i
follows that, if civil authorities
legislate for or allow anyttunr
that is contrary to that order
and therefore contrary to the
will of God, neither the laws
made nor the authorizations
granted can be binding on the
consciences of the citizens,
since God has more right to
be obeyed than men. (34) Other
wise, authority breaks down
completely and results in
shameful abuse. As St. Thoma:
Aquinas teaches: Human lav.
has the true nature of law only
in so far as it corresponds to
In so far as it falls short of right
right reason, and therefore is
derived from the eternal law.
Insofar as it falls short of right
reason, a law is said to be a
wicked law. And so, lacking the
true nature of law, it is rather
a kind of violence. (35)
It must not be concluded,
however, because authority
comes from God. that therefore
men have no right to choose
those who are to rule the state,
to decide the form of govern
ment and to determine both the
way in which authority is to be
exercised and its limits. It i.
thus clear that the doctrine
which we have set forth is full.'
consonant with any truly dem
ocratic regime. (36)
Purposes of the Public
Authority
Individual citizens and inter
mediate groups are obliged to
make their specific contribu
tions to the common welfare.
One of the chief consequences
of this is that they must bring
their own interests into harm
ony with the needs of the com
munity, and must dispose of
their goods and their services
as civil authorities have pres
cribed, in accord with the
norms of justice, in due form
and within the limits of their
competence. This they must do
by means of formally perfect
actions, the content of which
must be morally good, or at
least capable of being directed
towards good.
Indeed, since the whole rea
son for the existence of civil
authorities is the realization of
the common good, it is clearly
necessary that, in pursuing this
objective, they should respect
its essential elements, and at
the same time conform their
laws to the needs of a given
historical situation. (37)
Assuredly, the ethnic charac
teristics of the various human
groups are to be respected as
constituent elements of the com
mon good, (38) but these values
and characteristics by no means
exhaust the content of the com
mon good. For the common
good is intimately bound up
with human nature. It can never
exist fully and completely un
less, its intimate nature and
realization being what they are.
the human person is taken into
account. (39)
In the second place, the very
nature of the common good re
quires that all members of the
political community be entitle
to share in it. although in dif
ferent ways according to each
one's tasks, merits and circum
stances. For this reason, every
civil authority must take pains
to promote the common good
of all, without preference for
any single citizen or civil group.
As our predecessor of immortal
memory, Leo XIII, has said: The
civil power must not serve the
advantage of any one individual
or of some few persons, inas
much as it was established for
the common good of all. 40 Con
siderations of justice and equity,
however, can at times demand
that those involved in civil gov
ernment give more attention to
the less fortunate members of
the community, since they are
less able to defend their rights
and to assert their legitimate
claims. (II)
In this context, we judgp that
attention should be railed to the
fact that the common good
touches the whole man, the
needs both of his body and of
his soul. Hence it follows that
the civil authorities must un
dertake to r.'tect the common
good by ways and mesns that
arc proper to them. That is.
while respecting the hierarchy
of values, they should promote
simultaneously both the mater
ial and the spiritual welfare ot
the citizens. (42)
These principles are clearly
contained in the doctrine sta
ted in our encyclical, "mater et
Magistra," where we empha
sized that the common good of
all embraces the sum total of
those conditions of social living
whereby men are enabled to
achieve their own integral per
fection more fully and more
easily. (43)
Men, however, composed as
they are of bodies and immortal
souls, can never in this mortal
life succeed in satisfying all
their needs or in attaining per
fect happiness. Therefore, all
efforts made to promote the
common good, far from endan
gering the eternal salvation of
men. ought rather to serve to
promote it (44)
Responsibilities of tfee public
authority, and rights and
duties of individuals
It is agreed that in our time
the common good is chiefly
guaranteed when personal right
and duties are maintained. The
chief concern of civil authori
ties must therefore be to insure
that these rights are acknowl
edged, respected, coordinated
with other rights, defended and
promoted, so that in this way
each one may more easily carry
out his duties. For to safeguard
the inviolable rights of the
human person, and to facilitate
the fulfilment of its duties,
should be the essential office
of every public authority. (46)
This means that, if any gov
ernment does not acknowledge
the rights of man or violates
them, it not only fails its duty,
but its orders completely lack
juridical force. (46)
Reconciliation and protection
of rights and duties of
individuals
One of the fundamental duties
of civil authorities, therefore, is
to coordinate social relations in
such fashion that the exercise
of one man's rights does not
threaten others in the exercise
of their own rights nor hinder
them in the fulfilment of their
duties. Finally, the rights of all
should be effectively safeguard
ed and, if they have been vio
lated, completely restored. (47)
Duty of promoting the
rights of individuals
It is also demanded by the
common good that civil authori
ties should make earnest efforts
to bring about a situation in
whirh individual citizens can
easily exercise their rights and
fulfil their duties as well. For
experience has taught us that,
unless these authorities take
suitable action with regard to
economic, political and cultural
matters, inequalities between
the citizens tend to become more
and more widespread, especially
in the modern world, and as a
result human rights are ren
dered totally ineffective, and the
fulfilment of duties is compro
mised.
It is therefore necessary that
the Administration give whole
hearted and careful attention to
the social as well as t,o the
economic progress of the citi
zens, and to the development,
in keeping with the develop
ment of the productive system,
of such essential services as the
building of roads, transporta
tion, communications, water
supply, housing, public health.
education, facilitation of the
practice of religion and recrea
tional facilities. It is necessary
also that governments make ef
forts to see that insurance sys
tems arc made available to the
citizens, so that, in case of mis
fortune or increased family
responsibilities, no person will
be without the necessary means
to maintain a decent standard
of living. The government should
make similarly effective efforts
to see that those who are able
to work can find employment
in keeping with their aptitudes,
and that each wanker receives
a wage in keeping with the
laws of justice and equity. It
should be equally the concern
of civil authorities to insure
that workers be allowed their
proper responsibility in the work
undertaken in industrial orga
nization. and to facilitate the
establishment of intermediate
groups which will make social
life richer and more effective.
Finally, it should be possible for
all the citizens to share as far
as they are able in their coun
try's cultural advantages.
Harmonious relation
between public authority’s
two forms of intervention
The common good requires
that civil authorities maintain
a careful balance between co
ordinating and protecting the
rights of the citizens, on the
one hand, and promoting them,
on the other. It should not hap
pen that certain individuuals or
social groups derive special ad
vantage from the fact that their
rights have received preferen
tial protection. Nor should it
happen that governments, in
seeking to protect the.se rights,
bectvne obstacles to their full
expression and free use. For this
principle must always be re
tained: that state activity in the
economic field, no matter what
its breadth or depth may be,
ought not to be exercised In
such a way as to curtail an in
dividual's freedom of personal
initiative. Rather it should w r ork
to expand that freedom as much
as possible by the effective
protection of the essential per
sonal rights of each and every
individual. <48i
The same principle should in
spire the various steps which
governments take in order to
make it possible for the citizens
more easily to exercise their
rights and fulfill their duties in
every sector of social life.
It is impossible to determine.
once and for all, what is the
most suitable form of govern
ment, or how civil authorities
can most effectively fulfull their
respective functions, i.e., the
legislative, judicial and execu
tive functions of the state. In
determining the structure and
operation of government w'hich
a state is to have, great weight
has to be given to the historical
background and circum
stances of given political com
munities, circumstances which
will vary at different times and
in different places. We consider,
however, that it is in keeping
with the innate demands of hu
man nature that the state
should take a form which em
bodies the three-fold division of
powers corresponding to the
three principle functions of pub
lic authority. In that type of
state, not only the official func
tions of government but also
the mutual relations between
citizens and public officials are
set dowm according to law,
which in itself affords protec
tion to the citizens both in the
enjoyment of their rights and
in the fulfillment of their duties.
If, however, this political and
juridicial structure is to produce
the advantages which may be
expected of it, public officials
must strive to meet the prob
lems which arise in a way that
conforms both to the complex
ities of the situation and the
proper exercise of their func
tion. This requires that, in con
stantly changing conditions,
legislators never forget the
norms of morality, or consti
tutional provisions, or the ob
jective requirements of the
common good. Moreover, exec
utive authorities must coordi
nate the activities of society
with discretion, with a full
knowledge of the law and after
a careful consideration of cir
cumstances, and the courts
must administer justice impar
tially and without being influ
enced by favoritism or pressure.
The good order of society also
demands that individual citizens
and intermediate organizations
should be effectively protect
ed by law whenever they have
rights to be exercised or obli
gations to be fulfilled. This pro
tection should be granted to cit
izens both in their dealings
with each other and in their
relations with government
agencies. (49)
Law and Conscience
It is unquestionable that a
legal structure in conformity
with the moral order and cor
responding to the level of de
velopment of the political com
munity is of great advantage
to achievement of the common
good.
And yet. social life in the
modern world is so varied, com
plex and dynamic that even a
juridical structure which has
been prudently and thought
ful^' established is always in
adequate for the needs of so
ciety.
It is also true that the re
lations of the citizens with
each other, of citizens and in
termediate groups with public
authorities, and finally of the
public authorities with one
another are often so complex
and so sensitive that they can
not be regulated by inflexible
legal provisions. Such a situa
tion therefore demands that the
civil authorities have clear
ideas about the nature and ex
tent of their official duties if
they wish to maintain the exist
ing juridical structure in its
basic elements and principles,
and at the same time meet the
exigencies of social life, adapt
ing their legislation to the
changing social scene and solv
ing new problems. They must
be men of great equilibrium
and integrity, competent and
courageous enough to see at
once what the situation re
quires and to tak« necessary
action quickly and effective
ly. (50)
Citizens’ Participation in
Public Life
It is in keeping with their
dignity as persons that human
beings should take an active
part in government, although
the manner in which they share
in it will depend on the level
of development of the political
community to which they be
long.
Men will find new and ex
tensive advantages in the fact
that they are allowed to par
ticipate in government. In this
situation, those who adminis
ter the government come into
frequent contact with the citi
zens, and it is thus easier for
them to learn what is really
needed for the common good.
The fact, too, that ministers of
government bold office only for
a limited time keeps them from
growing stale and allows for
their replacement in accordance
with the demands of social
progress. 51
Characteristics of the
present Day
In modern times, where there
is question of organizing polit
ical communities juridically,
there is observable first of all
the tendency to write in con
cise and limpid phraseology a
charter of fundamental human
rights, which is, as often as
not, inserted in the stale consti-
titutions, or is an integral part
of them.
Secondly, there is also in in
clination to determine, by the
compilation of a document
called the constitution, the pro
cedures through which the gov
erning powers are to be cre
ated. along with their mutual
relations, the spheres of their
competence, the forms and sys
tems they are obliged to follow
in the performance of their of
fice.
The relations between the
government and the governed
are then set forth in terms of
rights and duties, and it is
clearly laid down that the para
mount task assigned to govern
ment officials is that of recog
nizing, respecting, reconciling,
protecting and promoting the
rights and duties of citizens.
It is of course impossible to
accept the theory which _jro-
fesses to find the original and
single source of civic rights and
duties, of the binding force of
the constitution, and of a gov
ernments right to command in
the mere will of human beings,
individually or collectively. (52)
The tendencies to which we
have referred, however, do
