THE TABLET
August 30, 2008

Faithful and Good Citizenship

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

How often do we hear, where did the summer go?  It seems to be almost a universal experience that we mark the summer between the holidays of Memorial Day and Labor Day, and Labor Day seems to come so quickly. 

What is Labor Day about?  Is it just another three-day weekend?  What does it really signify?  Certainly it is about the dignity of human labor.  The origins of this civil holiday certainly stem from the work of organized labor in our country trying to bring dignity to the workplace and workers.  The historical alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the labor movement has had its ups and downs during the last century.  I would believe it is safe to say, however, that the teachings of the Roman Pontiffs made it clear that the dignity of labor and the worker should be respected by all.

A longtime tradition of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been to issue a statement commemorating Labor Day.  This year, it was the province of Bishop William Murphy, the Bishop of our neighboring Diocese of Rockville Centre to issue the statement since he is this year’s chairman.  Last year it was my privilege to issue the Labor Day Statement.

In the statement, which is available on the USCCB Web site (usccb.org), he cites the historical personage of Msgr. George G. Higgins, whom I knew personally and lived with in the staff house when I worked at the USCCB in Washington.  Msgr. Higgins might be called one of the grandfathers of the relationship between Church and organized labor in this country.  He was well-grounded in Catholic social teaching and was able to apply it to many situations over the years. 

The world is constantly changing and “the new globalized world,” as mentioned in this statement, reminds us to recognize that globalization is itself a “neutral fact,” as the statement also observes.  “It depends on who takes advantage of the current global economy and how it is put to use.  Our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has suggested that this process offers ‘the hope of wider participation in development,’ but warns against its risks of ‘worsening economic inequality’ ” (May 26, 2007). 

Truly, labor has become an international commodity, which is certainly unfortunate.  Internationalizing the labor market is a byproduct of globalization.  To see labor as a commodity and laborers as functionaries in an economic system hearkens back to a quasi-Communistic view of man’s labor.  It is certainly true today regarding the millions of undocumented immigrant workers whose function is part of our economy and who do not enjoy full legal status although they contribute to an economy that needs their labor.

Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that we must see all the aspects of a problem before we make studied decisions.  This certainly is true in regard to the situation of labor in our world today.

This Labor Day marks a midpoint between the two party conventions that will nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates for our consideration in November. The Bishops of the United States have issued a challenging statement entitled:  Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.  I, myself, was very active in chairing the committee that moved this statement to the Conference.  It becomes ever-clearer to me that the statement was exactly what Bishops should say in the face of a very complex election process and very complex moral issues.  As I have said over and over again, it is not the province of the Church to tell anyone for whom to vote.  It is our responsibility to form consciences.  Forming consciences means that we must think about the moral issues that affect our society and nation.

As Bishop Murphy’s statement and the Bishops’ statement on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship tell us, there are links and distinctions between the fundamental duty to oppose what is intrinsically evil and the obligation to pursue the common good.  All political choices have moral implications and Catholics may never directly choose to support the candidate who does not oppose what is intrinsically evil, such as the destruction of unborn life.  How important it is to keep our political decisions in line with our well-formed moral consciences.  My intention in the intervening weeks between now and the election is to speak more about this important statement.

Today, it is most important that we see the implications of forming consciences of faithful citizenship and the economic situation we face in our country.  Because the unemployment rate continues to rise and energy and food prices also continue on an upward trend, we cannot help but be concerned about the impact on those who are most vulnerable, the poor who live on fixed incomes, be they senior citizens or family units.  It has been said clearly by the Bishops that our Church does not have only one moral issue, but there is certainly a hierarchical ordering of moral issues.  Protection of innocent life is the preeminent moral issue on which we should form our consciences.  Without life, all the other moral issues have no consequence.

As we continually evaluate our candidates for the highest office in the land, we must “put out into the deep,” further than perhaps we would like to go, beyond party loyalties and ethnic sensitivities, and look at the real moral issues that demand our attention as Catholic voters.  As we enjoy this venerable institution of Labor Day, let us concentrate on the work of forming our consciences so that we can truly be faithful and good citizens.

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