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PAGE 4—The Georgia Bulletin, September 1,1983
STATEMENT
Are We Accepting Joblessness?
(Following is an excerpt from the text of the 1983 Labor Day
statement, f ‘Jobs and Justice, ” by Bishop. Mark J. Hurley of Santa
Rosa, Calif, chairman of the U.S. Catholic Conference Committee
on Social Development and World Peace.)
In the midst of the current economic recovery,
it is more important than ever to talk about
unemployment. While many people are singing
the praises of the rebounding economy, it must
not be forgotten that for 10 million Americans
the recovery has not occurred. Despite the rise in
the economic indicators, almost one in 10
American workers cannot find a job. These
numbers portray a human and social tragedy of
immense proportions. They stand as a stark
reminder that joblessness is still the nation’s
number one economic problem.
There are distressing signs that as a nation we
are becoming accustomed to high levels of
unemployment. Our sensitivity to the scandalous
waste of human, social and economic resources
that is entailed in joblessness seems to have
become dulled. Most economists, even those who
are optimistic about the future, predict that at
the height of the recovery the national
unemployment rate will not fall below 8 or 9
percent. As recently as 10 years ago those rates of
unemployment would have been considered
totally unacceptable in our society; now they are
being projected as perhaps the best our country
can effect.
The fundamental assumption that underlies
this approach - namely, that high rates of
unemployment are a necessary element of our
modern economy and that full employment is not
a realistic goal -- are deeply troubling. They raise
important questions not only about the current
economic policies that are being pursued but also
about the long-term status of the American
economy. The temptation to become resigned to
high levels of unemployment must be vigorously
resisted. For the very foundation of a just
economy is the right to a job for all who are able
and wish to work. An economic system which
does not have full employment as a major goal is
basically flawed.
The very title of the encyclical "On Human
Work” clearly underlines the fact that human
work, in Pope John Paul’s view, is at the very
heart of all social life. Work is for the human
person; not vice versa. It is the human person who
gives value to work, and it is the worker s dignity
that economic systems ought to serve. In the end,
work is of supreme importance precisely because
it is through labor that human beings realize their
humanity.
The pope’s teaching on work and economic
justice implies some very deep challenges to
conventional economic policies. For example, he
argues that the position “ that defends the
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exclusive right to private ownership of the means
of production as an untouchable ‘dogma’ should
undergo a constructive revision both in theory
and practice.” In his explanation of the key
principle of the "priority of labor over capital,”
the pope suggests a strong critique of economic
strategies which tolerate high rates of
unemployment as a means of achieving other
economic goals. In his words:
"The prime and fundamental preoccupation of
all, of those in government, politicians, labor
union leaders and owners of enterprises, ought to
be to give work to all.
“It is not realistic, hence it is not admissible to
expect to find a solution to the crucial problem
of employment as a more or less automatic result
of an order of things . . . where employment is
seen as only a secondary effort. Both the theory
and practice of economics ought to have the
courage to consider employment and its modern
possibilities as a central element in its objectives.”
While all sectors of society must work
cooperatively to help achieve full employment,
the pope suggests that ultimately it is up to the
state to plan and organize the economy in such a
way that all who are capable to work can find
suitable employment.
RESOUND
Clergy Criticized
To the Editor:
For many years I’ve been a proponent of tax credits for
parents choosing to send their children to Catholic schools
but, after reading the Georgia Bulletin (August 4, 1983),
I’m not sure I can continue to do so. In fact, if I thought
recent activities of Catholic clergymen were examples of
the results of Catholic education, I might favor abolishing
the system.
The priests quoted in your newspaper, propagandizing
for, and advocating support of, Marxists-Communists in
Nicaragua, are products of Catholic education.
And the eight hundred brothers voting to support
Michigan’s notorious ex-nun who defied the authority of
the Bishop and the Holy Father by refusing to disassociate
herself from allocating state funds for abortions, are
products of Catholic education.
Indeed, the two priests recently apprehended for
illegally costuming themselves in U.S. military uniforms
and breaking into Fort Benning for the purpose of
dissuading loyal Salvadoran soldiers from fighting for their
country, makes me wonder if these products of Catholic
education are wearing the costume of clergymen, too?
I was taught during my years in Catholic schools, and,
the two thousand year history of the Church is further
proof, that God guarantees His Church, not necessarily its
ministers. Otherwise, I might wonder if the shortage of
religious isn’t a blessing in disguise? Ann Svenson
Roswell
Leftist Influence
To the Editor:
As a student in Catholic grade school in the early sixties
we regularly prayed for the conversion of Russia. I know
my church has been significantly influenced by various
leftist organizations and ideas in the past 20 years or so,
but your three articles on Nicaragua, Thursday, August 4,
border on hilarity were it not for the fact that many
Catholics will read them as gospel.
Gentlemen, and ladies, let’s be somewhat impartial. It is
obvious how Father Gerry (Conroy) feels about the entire
situation. Do they really wear halos, Father? ...
It appears the Catholic publications and bishops are
leading the hammer and sickle bandwagon around the
world. Who financed Pol Pot? The British? Did we learn
nothing from Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Cuba?
Is it any wonder Catholics no longer listen to their leaders
as they once did. We are not fools. Many of us do not
believe in the unilateral disarmament our bishops propose,
nor do we believe your radical left articles.
Your articles and attitudes surely warm the heart and
help Yuri Andropov and friends sleep better at night. You
do their work for them. _ . . n T
Dominic C. Lemma
Braves --
We Still Believe
There seems to be no end to Dodger Blue luck.
Our West coast rivals have amassed wins galore,
catching our Atlanta Braves and wiping out their
comfortable lead.
Good luck for the Dodgers. Rough luck for our
Braves.
But we will not yield. This is our year. The
great comeback is upon us. We believe that the
bats will speak and the Braves will streak.
The Atlanta team has given us a summer of
cheers and excitement. We love them, they are
champions - each and every brave one of them.
Come on Braves -- we still believe.
- NCB
The Week
In Review
NAMES AND PLACES - Pope John Paul II prayed
publicly Aug. 28 for Emanuela Orlandi, the Vatican
teenager missing since June 22. It was the first time he
had done so in more than a month. The pope also said he
always prays for Mehmet Ali Agca, the young Turk who
tried to kill him in 1981. However, he did not mention
Agca by name, referring instead to him as “the person of
my attacker.” Letters claiming to be from those who
kidnapped Emanuela said that she would be freed if the
pope would say that “Mehmet Ali Agca is a human being
like Emanuela Orlandi” and should be treated as such.
MARYKNOLL FATHER Roy Bourgeois and Oblate
Father Larry Rosebaugh, jailed in Columbus, Ga. for
protests at Fort Benning against U.S. training of
Salvadoran soldiers, remain in “good standing” with their
Religious communities, the groups said Aug. 24. The two
priests and an Army Reserve warrant officer from Salem,
Ala., were each charged Aug. 23 with three counts of
violating an Army exclusion order and two counts of
impersonating an officer. The three refused bond and so
have been held in the Mucogee County Jail in Columbus,
where they undertook a fast from solid food which they
hope to continue until the Salvadoran soldiers leave the
fort in late September. They have been examined by a
physician, according to a spokesman for Concerned
Citizens for Latin America.
AROUND THE NATION - The Missouri Supreme
Court has ruled that under Missouri law a living fetus is
legally a person. The court, in an interpretation of the
state’s wrongful death law, said a husband and wife have
the right to sue for damages on behalf of their stillborn
baby because of alleged negligence in medical care for the
pregnant woman and her fetus. The attorney for the
parents said the decision had no direct bearing on
abortion because most abortions are performed before
viability and because the case before the Missouri court
involved medical negligence rather than the intentional act
of abortion.
FEWER SUNDAY MASSES will be celebrated in the
Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn, after Jan. 1, but those
which remain should be of higher quality, according to a
new directive from Archbishop John R. Whealon. The
directives call for no more than one Saturday-night
for-Sunday-obligation Mass in each parish, dropping most
Masses at which the church is less than half full,
scheduling Masses at least 90 minutes apart and
eliminating Sunday afternoon Masses. Basing his actions
on recommendations by the Archdiocesan Priests Senate,
he cited as reasons the exhaustion level of priests called
upon to celebrate “too many Masses” with insufficient
attention to the quality of the liturgies. He asked for a
“sympathetic understanding of the total picture” from
those in the laity who may be upset by the changes.
INTERNATIONALLY - Flare-ups in the 19-year-old
civil war in Chad have hampered Catholic Church
activities in the African country, especially in the capital
of N’Djamena, according to FIDES, the news service run
by the Vatican in mission areas. In the capital area, the
most urgent problem is rebuilding structures, including
the Catholic cathedral, destroyed by bombings, FIDES
said.
