Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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