The following appeared in a September 17 story on Catholic World News.
Asked by a reporter for his “take” on “this big schism between the social justice Catholics and the pro-life Catholics,” vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan distinguished “non-negotiable issues” like life and marriage from prudential judgments.
“I, as a conservative Catholic can no more claim sole justification for my political views than a liberal can for theirs,” Ryan told David Brody of CBN News. “The social Magisterium is very broad in allowing the lay [faithful] to exercise what we call prudential judgment to apply their principles to the problems of the day.”
“Now, there are key issues, intrinsic issues, life and marriage and things like this, that are really non-negotiable, and the Church is very clear on that,” Ryan continued. “But on other issues, of economics and such like that, that’s a matter of prudential judgment.”
Ryan added: Now what we believe as practicing Catholics, as conservative Catholics is that our job is to go after the root cause of poverty, to try and eradicate poverty. When we talk about ideas, principles like subsidiarity in conjunction with solidarity and preferential option for the poor what that means is we believe in civil society. We believe in individuals in their community and solidarity with one another working to create a better common good for everybody; helping people in need, protecting the voiceless like the unborn. These things are central to who we are and the notion that you can divorce these principles, these matters of faith between private life and public life that doesn’t jive with the thinking of a Catholic.
“And so sure there are differences of opinion on how to achieve an end. We believe in attacking the root cause of poverty not simply treating the symptoms so it’s more tolerable and that means having a vibrant civil society and when government gets too big and too intrusive and too dictatorial then it crowds out civil society. It makes it harder for those institutions that are the mediating institutions between the person and their government to flourish; churches, charities, civic organizations.
“When my boys go to Cub Scouts they learn values at Cub Scouts. When we put the Pinewood Derby together or the Raingutter Regatta, when my daughter gets involved in her local charities or things like this, this is what ties people together and the notion that the government is the center of our society, of our economy, in our life is just a notion that is foreign to us who are people of faith who believe in these principles.”
To read original story, click here.
These boys really pour their hearts and talents into these little miniature racing cars!
Proud to be an Asst. Scout Master, St. Boniface Troop 73, Anaheim, CA
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher,
Sounds like a well written article…I enjoyed reading it, it has plenty of logic and truth! The tone is positive and one to move forward with.
CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH:
SUBSIDIARITY – 1883, 1885, 1894, 2209.
COMMUTATIVE JUSTICE – “without which no other form of justice is possible” – 2411.
All Church teachings from the Magisterium must be taken in entirety.
Anyone who does not ALSO include subsidiarity and commutative justice in all social justice teachings is wrong, and not promulgating the true teachings of the Catholic Church.
Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not covet thy Neighbors goods. Envy is a capital sin.
Non-negotiable:
ABORTION – the murder of innocents for convenience.
HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE – sodomy
FREEDOM of RELIGION.
Commutative Justice requires that all governments – including the USA pay its debts.
The USA is approx $16 TRILLION dollars in debt.
Continued spending and waste in government must be addressed by the USCCB Social Justice Committees.
Without Commutative Justice – “no other form of justice is possible”.
To quote Bishop Aquila: “we can not spend what we do not have”.
Now if only Paul Ryan could teach those so-called “nuns” along with those politicians and laymen that call themselves “catholic”, and all of those that support them (especially the priests) in their very confused frame of mind, we could just see this country turned back to God once again. +JMJ+
On my Honor as a Scout, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law: To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Need I say more!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Asst. Scout Master, Troop 73, St. Boniface, Anaheim, CA
Hear, hear! Kenneth. Well said. I was a Den mother and still have my little car I made for the den mother’s race after the boys’ pine wood derby. Such fun for all involved!
Spot on!
“Now what conservative Catholics is that our job is to go after the root cause of poverty, to try and eradicate poverty”
“there are key issues, intrinsic issues, life and marriage and things like this, that are really non-negotiable, and the Church is very clear on that,”