Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

GEORGIA PUL L E TIN THURSDAY. APRIL II, 1963 The Purpose Of Public Authority country increases its arma ments, others feel the need to do the same; and if one coun try is equipped with nuclear weapons, other countries must produce their own, equally de structive. Consequently, people live in constant fear iest the storm that every moment threatens should break upon them with dreadful violence. And with Rood rea son. for the arms of war are ready at hand. Even though it is difficult to believe that any one would deliberately take the responsibility for the appalling destruction and sorrow that war would bring in its train, it can not be denied that the confla gration may be set off by some uncontrollable and unexpected chance. And one must bear in mind that, even though the monstrous power of modem weapons acts as a deterrent, it is to be feared that the mere continuance of nuclear tests, undertaken with war in mind, will have fatal consequences for life on the earth. Justice, then, right reason and humanity urgently demand that the arms race should cease. That the stockpiles which exist in various countries should be reduced equally and simultane ously by the parties concerned. That nuclear weapons should be banned. And that a general agreement should eventually be reached about progressive dis armament and an effective method of control. In the words of Pius XII, our predecessor of happy memory: 'The calamity of a world war, with the eco nomic and social ruin and the moral excesses and dissolution that accompany it, must not be ■permitted to envelop the hu man race for a third time.” (59) ! All must realize that there is no hope of putting an end to the building up of armaments, nor of reducing the present stocks, nor. still less, of abolish ing them altogether, unless the iprocess is complete and thor ough and unless it proceeds from inner convictions: unless, that is. everyone sincerely cooperates to banish the fear and anxious expectation of war with which men are oppressed. If this is to come about, the fundamental principle on which our present peace depends must be replaced by another, which declares that the true and solid peace of nations consists not ini equality of arms, but in mutual trust alone. We believe that this can be brought to pass, and wa consider that it is something which reason requires, that it is eminently desirable in itself and that it will prove to be the source of many benefits. In the first place, it is an objective demanded by reason. There can be, or at least there should be, no doubt that rela tions between states, as between individuals, should be regulated not by the force of arms, but by the light of reason, by the rule, that is, of truth, of justice and of active and sincere co operation. Secondly, we say that it is an objective earnestly to be de sired in itself. Is there anyone who does not ardently yearn to see war banished, to see peace preserved and daily more firmly established ? And finally, it is an objectiv# which will be a fruitful sourc* of many benefits, for its advan* tages will be felt everywhere, by individuals, by families, bv nations, by the whole human, family. The warning of Pius XII still rings in our ears: "Nothing is lost by peace. Ev erything may be lost by war.’' (60) Since this is so, we, the vicar on earth of Jesus Christ, Sav iour of the world and author of peace, and as interpreter of the very profound longing of the entire human family, following the impulse of our heart, seized by anxiety for the good of a)'., we feel it our duty to beseech men, especially those who have the responsibility of public af fairs, to spare no labor in order to insure that the world events follow' a reasonable and human course. In the highest and most au thoritative assemblies. Ici men give serious thought to the problem of a peaceful adjust ment of relations between po litical communities on a world level: an adjustment founded on mutual tiust. on sincerity in ne gotiations. on faithful fulfill ment of obligations assumed. Let them study the problem until they find that point of agreement from which it will be possible to commence to go fonvard towards accords that will be sincere, lasting and fruitful. We. tor our part, will not cease to pray God to bless these labors so that they may lead to fruitful results. It has also to be boove in mind that relations between states should be based on frae- dom. yiat is to say, that no country may unjustly oppress others or unduly meddle in their affairs. On the contrary, all should help to develop in oth ers a sense of responsibility, a spirit of enterprise and an ear nest desire to be the first to promote their own advancement in every field. Nevertheless, unfortunately, the law of fear still reigns among peoples, and it forces them to spend fabulous sums for armaments: not for aggres sion, they affirm—and there is no reason for not believing them—but to dissuade others from aggression. There is reason to hope, how ever, that by meeting and ne gotiating, men may come to discover better the bonds that unite them together, deriving from the human nature which they have in common. And that they may also come to discover that one of the most profound requirements of heir common nature is this: that between them and their respective peo ples it is not fear which should reign but love, a love which tends to express itself In a col laboration that is loyal, mani fold in form and productive of many benefits. The Evolution of Economic* ally Underdeveloped Coun ties Because all men are joined together by reason of their com mon origin, their redemption by Christ and their supernatural destiny, and are called to form one single family, we appealed in the encyclical “Mater et Mag- istra” to economically developed nations to come to the aid of those which were in the process of development. (61) We are greatly consoled to see how widely that appeal has he£n favorably received. And we « e confident that even wore so A the future it will contribute to the end that the poorer coun tries, in as short a time as pos sible, will arrive at that degree of economic development which will enable every citizen to live in conditions in keeping with his human dignity. But ft Is never sufficiently repeated that the cooperation, to which reference has been made, should be effected with the greatest respect for the lib erty of the countries being de veloped, for these must realize that they are primarily respon sible, and that they are the principal artisans in the pro motion of their own economic development and social prog ress. Our predecessor Phis XII al ready proclaimed that in the field of a new order founded on moral principles, there is no room for violation of freedom, integrity and security of other nations, no matter what may be their territorial extension or their capacity for defense. It fs inevitable that the powerful states, by reason of their great er potential and their power, should pave the way in the es tablishment of economic groups comprising not only themselves but also smaller and weaker states as well. It is nevertheless indispensable that in the inter ests of the common good they, as all others, should respect the rights of those smaller states This Official Text Is Reprinted Through The Kind Permission tiply their meetings or sharpen their wits in efforts to draw up new juridical instruments, they are no longer capable of facing the task of finding an adequate solution to the prob lems mentioned above. And this is not due to a lack of good will or of a spirit of enter prise, but because of a struc tural defect which hinders them. Of The New York Times It can be said, therefore, that at this historical moment the present system of organization and the way its principle of authority operates on a world basis no longer correspond to the objective requirements of the universal common good. to political freedom, to econom ic development and to the ade quate protection, ha the case of conflicts between nations, of that neutrality which is theirs according to the natural, as well as international, law. In this way. and in this way only, will they be able to obtain a fitting share of the common good, and assure the material and spiritual welfare of their people. (62) It is vitally important, there fore. that the wealthier states, in providing varied forms of assistance to the poorer, should respect the moral values and ethnic characteristics peculiar to each, and also that they should avoid any intention of political domination. If this is done, a precious contribution will be made towards the for mation of a world community, a community in which each Member, whilst conscious of its own individual right and duties, will work in a relationship of equality towards the attainment of the universal common good. (63) Signs of the Times Men are becoming more and more convinced that disputes which arise between states should not be resolved by re course to arms, but rather by negotiation. It is true that on historical grounds this conviction is based chiefly on the terrible destruc tive force of modem arms. And it is nourished by the horror aroused in the mind by the very thought of the cruel destruc tion and the immense suffer ing which the use of those arm aments would bring to the hu man family. And for this rea son it is hardly possible to imagine that in the atomic era war could be used as an instru ment of justice. Recent progress of science and technology has profoundly affected human beings and In fluenced men to work together and live as one family. There has been a great increase in the circulation of ideas, of per sons and of goods from one country to another, so that re lations have become closer be tween individuals, families and intermediate associations be longing to different political communities, and between the public authorities of those com munities. At the same time the interdependence of national economies has grown deeper, one becoming progressively more closely related to the oth er, so that they become, as it were, integral parts of the one world economy. Likewise the so cial progress, order, security and peace of each country are necessarily connected with the social progress, order, security and peace of all other countries. At the present day no poli tical community is able to pur sue its owm interests and de velop itself in isolation, because the degree of its prosperity and development is a reflection and and peace of all other coun- a compcnent part of the degree of prosperity and development of all tW other political com munities. Insufficiency of Modern States to Ensure the Universal Common Good The unity of the human fam ily has always existed, because its members were human beings all equal by virtue of their na tural dignity. Hence there will always exist the objective need to promote, in sufficient meas ure, the universal common good, that is the common good of the entire human family. In times past, one would ne justified in feeling that the public authorities of the differ ent political communities might be in a position to provide for the universal common good, either through normal diplo matic channels or through top- level meetings, by making use of juridical instruments such as conventions and treaties, for example: juridical instruments suggested by the natural law and regulated by the law of nations and international law. As a result of the far-reach ing changes which have taken place in the relations between the human family, the universal common good gives rise to problems which are complex, very grave and extremely ur gent, especially as regards se curity and world peace. On the other hand, the puo- 11c authorities of the individual political communities — placed as they are on a footing of equality one with the other— no matter how much they mul There exists an intrinsic con nection between the common good on the one hand and the structure and funcuon of public authority on the other. The moral order, which needs public authority in order to promote the common good in human so ciety, requires also that the au thority be effective in attaining that end. This demands that the organs through which the au thority is formed, becomes op erative and pursues its ends, must be composed and act in such a manner as to be capable of bringing to realization the new meaning which the common good is taking on in the his torical evolution of the human family. Today the universal common good poses problems of world wide dimensions, which cannot be adequately tackled or solved except by the efforts of public authorities endowed with a wideness of powers, structure and means of the same propor tions: that is, of public authori ties which are in a position to operate in an effective manner on a worldwide basis. The mor al order itself, therefore, de mands that such a form of pub lic authority be established. Public Authority Instituted by Common Consent and Not Imposed by Force A public authority, having worldwide power and endowed with the proper means for the efficacious pursuit of its ob jective, which is the universal common good In concrete form, must be set up by common ac cord and not imposed by force. The reason is that such an au thority must be in a position to operate effectively yet, at the same time, its action must be inspired by sincere and real im partiality: in other words, it must be an action aimed at satisfying the objective require ments of the universal common good. The difficulty is that there would be reason to fear that a supernational or worldwide pub lic authority, imposed by force by the more powerful political communities, might be or might become an instrument of one sided interests and even should this not happen, it would be difficult for it to avoid all sus picion of partiality in its ac tions, and this would take from the efficaciousness of its ac tivity