There are so many gawkers peering over the fiscal cliff at the moment, it seems foolhardy to join them, especially without being a federal budgetary expert. However, Catholic teaching has as much to say on the federal budget as it does on any other moral issue – and the budget is a series of vital moral decisions. The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists that "economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit and power; it is ordered first of all to the service of the entire human community." Lest we forget the miniscule foreign aid portion of the federal budget (less than 1 percent), note that, by "entire," the Catechism means the global human community. The Catechism goes on to hold businesses or, more precisely, the people who run businesses, responsible for both the economic and ecological effects of their business. And it demands that employers and employees work together and negotiate any problems that might arise. Radical Catholicism in action! But wait, there’s more! Catholic teaching recognizes that government plays a role in economics as well. Government, our church says, is a regulatory agent, charged with protecting individual freedom, private property, stable currency and efficient public services. Government also needs to be involved in protecting people who may fall off personal fiscal cliffs. Involved, but not completely responsible. In yet another radical Catholic teaching, the Catechism insists that we all have a role to play in rescuing people who cannot save themselves from financial disaster. In fact, financial rescues are part of our pro-life beliefs. The church insists that we protect the sanctity and dignity of life. As defined by church teaching, dignity requires that every person have access to food, clothing, water, shelter, education, health care, and meaningful employment. While we also believe it is part of human dignity to allow people to do what they can for themselves (subsidiarity), we understand that when people can’t provide for themselves, we must help to ensure their dignity (solidarity). Subsidiarity and solidarity are complementary concepts, applied together for the benefit of the common good. Catholicism is not a political or economic strategy. It does not set out neat little equations for government to use to determine what level of revenue best corresponds to what level of spending cuts. Rather, it asks each of us to determine through prayerful consideration of the needs of the poor, and how our individual economic decisions as well as our collective decisions as a country, will best ensure dignity for all, particularly the most vulnerable. It establishes basic premises for us to start from, such as remembering that we are not talking about "takers" and "producers" but about human beings, all equally worthy of living a life where basic needs are met. We also begin with the principle that policy decisions, consumer decisions, investment decisions must enhance economic opportunity and social justice. Once we have those principles in mind, we can set about the business of discerning which policies we believe will most effectively promote the common good and protect the poor. Finally, we must communicate those beliefs (i.e., witness to the faith) to our elected officials and through our personal economic activities. It isn’t easy always easy to be Catholic, but it is far more fulfilling than gazing at the fiscal cliff.
Stay Connected With Us