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A paper written for Social Ethics Class. I found that St. Augustine's book the City of God includes the five social ethic principles which are known today. Shows what Jesus meant when he said, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's".
Citation preview
INSTITUTE FOR PASTORAL THEOLOGY
The Metaphors in the City of God and Social Ethic Principles
Prepared by Theresa Marie Lynn
Presented to Prof. Stephen M. Matuszak, S.T.L.
Social EthicsIPT 5321
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Pastoral Theology
Ave Maria UniversityAve Maria, Florida
Kansas City, Missouri
5/17/2009
Saint Augustine uses the metaphors of two cities, whether expressed as the “earthly city” and “heavenly city” or as the “city of man” and “City of God” to assist the Church in relating to the world the priority of the things of God over the things of man, and in particular, over the state.
Saint Augustine uses the metaphors of two cities, whether expressed as the “earthly city” and
“heavenly city” or as the “city of man” and “City of God” to assist the Church in relating to the world the
priority of the things of God over the things of man, and in particular, over the state. It was the “gospel
which first made the two things, the city of man1 and the city of God, of Church and state.”2 Since Christ
spoke the word, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God, the things that are
God’s” (Mt. 22:21), the Church has had a clear directive in which to understand how to live under
“secular” authority while being true to her mission in the world. This simple but direct teaching of Christ
helped the Christians of the nascent Church understand their place in imperial Rome.
The persecutions of Christians under the pagan Roman emperors hindered the development of
any new doctrinal teachings to be proclaimed by the Church. The Church had to hide underground to
protect herself, until in 313 AD the Emperor Constantine issued an order of tolerance against the
Christians with the Edict of Milan. At this same time the ecclesial Christian community merged with
state authority. In this new ecclesial relationship the Emperor also helped develop Church doctrine. The
Church could hold councils to clarify Church teaching. The first council was called by the Christian
emperor, Constantine, who called the Council of Nicaea in response to the Arian heresy, to clarify that
Jesus was truly God. This relationship of the secular ruler also being involved in the development of
doctrine, in the early Church, was to change when in 410 AD Rome fell to the Goths.3
When Rome fell, the “Christians were blamed because since Christian doctrine taught
renouncement of the world; consequently, it could turn the citizen away from the service of the state”.4
At the same time, society as the people of God had known it since Old Testament times when their own
covenantal family was grouped under a magisterial, visible King, ceased to exist. Albeit at times they
were ruled by an evil empire, the structure was what they were familiar with. When the people of God
wondered how they could live their lives without a Roman emperor to guide them, God raised up a
Bishop in Hippo to develop a doctrine about the Church that would provide a new religious understanding
of the Church and her place in the world.
2
Saint Augustine’s work, entitled, The City of God, explained the fall of Rome in religious and
spiritual metaphors. He explained to the people in The City of God that there was a “gulf” between heaven
and earth. This “gulf” would prevent any earthly kingdom from really being married to a communion of
a body of people that originates at the spiritual level.5 This is because “human history is only meaningful
in the context of a transcendent dimension.”6 The Church exists in history so that she can influence that
history by preaching the Gospel.7
The City of God would help the Church remain distinct from the political authority as future
nations throughout the European empire converted to Christianity. The City of God would help the
Church understand that even when the nation that ruled them had declared itself an official Catholic state,
that it’s true Head was Jesus Christ8, and that it was rooted in a body of people that resulted from the
death and resurrection of one man rather than by the creation of a nation. And the people would know that
they don’t have an earthly king, but a heavenly King.9
In The City of God Augustine used the distinctions of the “earthly city”10 and the “heavenly city11
to explain to the people of God how they would navigate their lives without the imperial nation of Rome
as they had known it. He explained the civil society12 of Rome as the “city of man”.13 Charles Cardinal
Journiet in the Theology of the Church explains that the city of man is the temporal level where he acts a
members of the earthly city engaged in the cares of the earthly life of humanity.14 Saint Augustine taught
that as Rome had fallen, the whole earthly city being temporal like the city of man would one day fall,
too.15
Saint Augustine explained that the doctrine of the Redemption was “the activity of the incarnate
God in His historical earthly activity”.16 Christ’s Body, the Church, dwelled in the earthly city. If human
history at times tried to destroy the spiritual life of the people of God through trials and tribulations17,
their hope was in Christ who won Redemption for them on the Cross. Their hope for justice lies is in
their final beatitude in the City of God where, “True justice reigns in that state of which Holy Scripture
says: ‘Glorious things are said of thee, O City of God.”18
3
As doctrine has developed since Saint Augustine wrote The City of God, the Church has
identified that man has a “vocation which transcends the limits of the created universe, of society and of
history. Man’s vocation is his ultimate end: God himself.”19As Saint Augustine wrote in The City of God,
“this is a pilgrimage of this mortal life.”20 The City of God brought to light that humanity in general was
1 Saint Augustine, The City of God. Transl. by Gerald G. Walsh, SJ, Demetrius B. Zema, SJ, Grace Monahan, OSU, Daniel J. Honan, (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1958), p. 336. “…It is here that the Scripture makes some mention of that other society, the city of man as I call it, but this is only in so far as was necessary to bring the city of God into clearer light by contrast with the city opposed to it.”
2 Henri de Lubac, Splendor of the Church, (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1986), p. 165.3 City of God p. 8.
4 City of God, Forward by Etienne Gilson, p. 8.
5 John Vidmar, OP, The Catholic Church through the Ages: A History, (Mahwah, NY: Paulist Press, 2005), p. 67. “So great was the gulf between heaven and earth that no human institution such as the state, however Christian in its policy, could hope to bridge the gap.” [hereafter, Vidmar].
6 Matuszak, Stephen M. “Social Ethics” Coursenotes, (Ave Maria, FL: Ave MariaUniversity/Institute for Pastoral Theology, Spring 2009), p. 23. [hereafter, CN].
7 Ibid, p. 24.
8 Pope John Paul II, Promulgated. Catechism of the Catholic Church. (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), 792. [hereafter, CCC].
9 Charles J. Chaput, Render Unto Caesar, (New York, NY: Doubleday; advance copy, 2008), p. 76. “We must not have “messianic” expectations of the state.”
10 City of God, p. 464.11 Ibid.12 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,
(Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), #417. “Civil society is the sum of relationships and resources, cultural and associate, that are relatively independent from the political sphere and the economic sector.” [hereafter, Compendium].
13 City of God, p. 329.“in the case of Cain and Abel, what we see is the enmity between the two cities, the city of man and the City of God.”
14 Charles Cardinal Journiet, Theology of the Church, (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2004), p. 273. [hereafter, Journiet].
4
an earthly city in a process of formation21 and would not be completed until, they “see the New Jerusalem,
a city coming down out of Heaven as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2).
Saint Augustine’s metaphor regards the autonomy Church and state within the temporal order.
He separated the earthly city from the heavenly city, because the heavenly city is supernatural and the
earthly city is natural. In the same way the soul and the body are separate, yet the life is the soul.22 This
is analogous to the Church and state which are “at present inextricably intermingled, one with the
other.”23 Pope Leo XIII agreed with this theology and updated it to say that “there must, accordingly exist
between these two powers a certain orderly connection, which may be compared to the union of the soul
and body in man.”24 This means that, although, the Church and political community have “mutual
autonomy”, it does not entail a separation that excludes cooperation between the two in a way suitable to
the circumstances of time and place.25 The two powers must work together for the common good.26
Before the fall of Rome, the citizens were bound to religious beliefs and sacred rites of the state.27
The life of the citizen could not be separated from the head of the state because in addition to imperial
15 Vidmar, p. 65. “..fall of Rome was a tragic thing, but symbolic of the inevitable fall of the earthly city.”
16 Ibid.17Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, Lumen gentim, Liberia Editrice Vaticana (Vatican City:
http://www.ewtn.com/ LIBRARY/councils/v2church.htm, 1964.), 9.
18 City of God, p. 75.19 Compendium, #47; CCC, 2244.20 City of God, p. 239.21 Compendium, #46 “…everything as belonging to God, originating in God and moving towards
God.” #50 – “…straining toward eschatological fullness”. 22 City of God, p. 479, Book XIX, Chapter 26.23 City of God, p. 206.24 CN, p. 9. [Pope Leo XII, Rerum Novarum].25 Compendium, #425.26 CN, p. 81.
27 Ibid, p. 14 – 15 “everything in the family was divine” [see footnote p. 15].5
power, he was considered a god, too. But, Jesus separated religion from the state when he told the
people to “render therefore the things that are Gods to God” (Mt. 22:21). He was pointing out that Caesar
was not a god, but he was owed some type of allegiance when he said, “render therefore to Caesar the
things that are Caesars” (Ibid). Since Christ used the coin, which is the medium of exchange for goods
and services to explain the parameters of political authority, he was most showing that Caesar had
political authority that included the right to collect a just tax.28 God had authority over the spiritual and
religious life of man. Caesar could no longer have both roles. Man was not to render to Caesar what
belongs to God. Caesar cannot attempt to make the “temporal power divine or absolute: God alone can
demand everything from man.”29
Saint Augustine expressed God’s authority over the state. He wrote, “God has providence over
political societies.”30 This teaching does not eliminate the need for the people of God to follow civil
laws.31 Saint Augustine wrote in The City of God that in the earthly city the Church “has no hesitation
about keeping in step with civil law.”32 God is the author of society and, therefore, any rule over it is
necessary because of the responsibilities assigned to it.33
Political authority is a component of the civil life, but God has put limits on political authority.
Pope Leo XIII dictated the limits on public authority over civil life in Rerum Novarum. He wrote that the
public authority should go no further than necessary to strengthen and safeguard citizens34 because the
natural social relationships of man existed before the state.35 Jacques Maritain explained this in the
twentieth century:
28 Compendium, #379. “At the same time, temporal power has the right to its due: Jesus does not consider it unjust to pay taxes to Caesar.”
29 Ibid.
30 City of God, p. 111.31 Ibid, p. 113. “When it is considered how short is the span of human life, does it really matter to a man
whose days are numbered what government he must obey, so long as he is not compelled to act against God or his conscience?”
32 Ibid.33 Compendium, p. 393.
6
“Man is a person, made for God and life eternal, before he is constituted a part of the city, he is constituted a part of the family society before he is constituted a part of political society.”36
A person living in the earthly city must have the “freedom to direct himself towards his ultimate
end”.37 So, they must not be denied the freedom to worship God and recognized as a “civil right” by the
state.38 The state must understand that the salvation of souls and the worship of God is “subject to the
power and judgment of the Church”. 39 Subsequently, it should “suborder itself” to the Church and should
allow the Church full religious freedom. The Church teaches that this is a duty to respect religious
freedom. This duty requires that the political community guarantee the Church the space needed to carry
out her mission.40 This will be in keeping with the command to “give to God the things that are Gods”
(Mt. 22:21).41
Another reason why Saint Augustine uses the metaphor of “city of man” and the “City of God is
because the “city of man” is the city where men live according to the flesh, or are sinful, and the other is
of men who live according to the spirit.42 Since the fall of Adam, in the earthly city man is, “split within
himself”.43 He struggles between virtuous prudential action and choosing what is sinful. Sin has affected
society since the “very onset of history…man set himself against God and sought to attain his goal apart
34 Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, Liberia Editrice Vaticana.http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xxiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html), #14. [hereafter, RN].
35 RN, #27. “Man precedes the State, and possesses, prior to the formation of any State, the right of providing for the substance of his body.”
36 Jacques Maritain, The Person and the Common Good, (Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame Press, 1966), p. 74. [hereafter, Maritain].
37 Compendium, #4838 Compendium, #42239 Ibid.40 Ibid, #424
41 Ibid.7
from God.”44 Pope John Paul II in Centesimus annus expresses man’s quandary over choosing the good
is because he doesn’t understand that he transcends earthly realities. This is why man may find it difficult
to choose between doing good or doing evil. He writes:
“there is a denial of the supreme insight concerning man's true greatness, his transcendence in respect to earthly realities, the contradiction in his heart between the desire for the fullness of what is good and his own inability to attain it and, above all, the need for salvation which results from this situation.”45
Saint Augustine encouraged the early Christians in Rome to put their hearts and minds on the
“City of God”46, the heavenly Kingdom. The heavenly kingdom transcends the temporal city of man. It
is the spiritual realm where the Church is situated.47 God does not dwell in the buildings made of stone in
the city of man, but within a community of believers.48 They should recognize that their true happiness
lies in the heavenly city, so they should “be in the world, but not of the world” as they live Christian lives
(cf Jn. 17:14-16).
The hearts of the faithful in Christ are as a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells.49 It is a hidden
place of the salvific encounter with the Holy Spirit.50 For this reason, “a single soul is worth more than the
whole universe of material goods. There is nothing higher than the immortal soul, save God.”51
Therefore, when Saint Augustine encouraged the faithful to put their hearts and minds on God rather than
the temporal world, he was pointing out that there is a hierarchy of values within society that
42 City of God, p. 295, 301. 43 GS, 13.44 Ibid.45 Pope John Paul II, Centesimus annus, (Liberia Editrice Vaticana.
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus_en.html), 13.
46 City of God, p. 24. “A city that observes the laws of true justice, whose head is Christ.” Borrowed from Scripture. Suggested to St. Augustine by Ticonius, See footnotes.
47 Journiet, p. 273.
48 Philip Hughes, History of the Church Vol. II, (New York, NY: Sheed and Ward, 1949), PDF version, p. 13.
8
“subordinates the physical and the intellectual dimensions to the interior and spiritual ones.”52 By the
virtue that man has a soul he must necessarily see himself as human person made in the image and
likeness of God.53 Pope John Paul II wrote in Centesimus annus:
“society must be guided by a comprehensive picture of man which respects all the dimensions of his being and which subordinates his material and instinctive dimensions to his interior and spiritual ones.”54
To guide society in having a picture of the spiritual nature of man is one reason why the pastors
of the Church have expressed that man is “the path of the Church”. 55 Christ’s mission was the salvation
of men, but he had to leave to go back to his Father (cf Jn. 14:26) so he entrusted to man to the Church.56
Since the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, the pastors of the Church have expressed that man is a
creature that is mysterious until “the mystery of the incarnate Word provides the light for man to
understand his most high calling.”57 While the “heavenly kingdom is wayfaring on earth58 the faith of the
pastors seeking an understanding of man,59 comes with understanding man as a human person. Vatican II
in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World declared:
“For the beginning, the subject and the end of all social institutions is and must be the human person.”60
“Humanism” is a particular belief regarding the meaning of the human person. In societies today
there is a humanism that limits affirming man to leading an ethical life and aspiring to the greater good of
humanity.61 This is a type of humanism sounds good, but it sees man as only a part making up the whole
49 Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentim, (Liberia Editrice Vaticana. http://www.ewtn.com/LIBRARY/councils/v2church.htm, 1964), 4. [hereafter, LG].
50Pope John Paul II, Dominum et vivificantem, (Liberia Editrice. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/ohn_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_18051986_dominum-et-vivificantem_en.html), 67.
51 Maritain, p. 61.52 CCC, 1886.53 See also, The City of God, p. 239 and others. “…we are men, created to the image of a Creator, whose
eternity is true, His truth eternal, His love both eternal and true, a Creator who is the eternal, true and lovable Trinity …”
54 CA, 369
of humanity; as a means to the end. In studying the reality of man, Pope Paul VI in Populorum
Progressio said that “what must be aimed at is a complete humanism.”62 Teachings without a complete
humanism divide man from his soul. This causes “political philosophies which are based upon a
materialistic conception of the world and life.”63 A man who has to live under this type of political society
is “blind to the realities of the spirit.”64 He become responsive to only what belongs to the world of
matter, socially man is only a number to be used as a means to the end of the goals of the political
authority.65
The Church’s approach to the human person is “wholistic”, meaning as Saint Augustine said,
man “is a single human whole”, which includes a spiritual nature in union with one that is material.66 In
the twentieth century Jacques Maritain states the same wholistic approach in the anthropology of man:
“soul and matter that are two substantial co-principles of the same being, of one and the same reality.
55 Pope John Paul II, 14. Redemptor hominis. Found in David J. Twellman, D.M., “Pastoral Theology” Course Notes. IPT 5322. Ave Maria, FL: Ave Maria University, Spring 2009.
56 Gaudium et Spes, (Boston, MA: Daughters of St. Paul, 199), 22. [hereafter, GS]. “The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him Who was to come,(20) namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear.”
57 GS, 1.58 City of God, p. 46559 Pope John Paul II, Promulgated. Catechism of the Catholic Church. (Washington, D.C.: United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), #158. [hereafter, CCC].
60 CCC, 1881, GS, 25.61 Stephen Matuszak, “Toward an Integral Humanism”, (Maritain Slide Presentation), Slide #6.
[hereafter, Maritain presentation].
62 Maritain presentation, Slide #3.63 Jacques Maritain, The Person and the Common Good, (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre
Dame Press), p. 90. [hereafter, Maritain].
64 Ibid, p. 91.65 Ibid.
10
This reality is called, “man”.67 Man is a being made in the image of likeness of God (Gen. 1:26) and
ordered to participate in the Divine life by the means of a supernatural soul. The Pastoral Constitution of
the Church at the Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, stressed man’s share in the Divine life
through a share in Divine Wisdom: “mans’ intellect surpasses the material universe for he shares in the
light of the Divine mind.”68
In addition, the world, the whole cosmos, must be seen from a wholistic approach. God planned
for everything to work together for the His Glory. So, that man could know His effects and what He is
like, He entered into the physical realm so that man could know himself as a spiritual being. Together
through the recapitulation of Christ to make all things new (Eph. 11:10; Rev. 21:22) Christ who is “the
center of human history”69 returned all things to his Father and so now man has been restored back to
communion with God through the mediation of His son Jesus Christ.
No, longer must the soul rely on a Levitical priesthood to perfect the sacrifices of man, but it relies
on grace and in cooperation with the grace through an action oriented to the good, man can contribute to
perfecting and sanctifying the world. This is the wholistic approach, man body and soul, the interior life
and the active life of man interdependent70 in order to bring forth fruit for the kingdom. Man, body and
soul participates in the city of man, in imitation of the high priest, Christ, by striving to make things new.
But, man is not the Savior of the world his "priestly" role extends from the "common priesthood of the
faithful" and is ordered to service.71
In addition, there are principles man must keep in mind to know how to work toward the common
good. The church defines the common good as "the sum of those social conditions in which men,
66 City of God, p. 525.67 Maritain, p. 36. 68 GS, 15.69 Compendium, #31.
70 Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, The Soul of the Apostolate, Trans. by A Monk of Our Lady of Gethesemani, (Rockford, IL: Tan Books, 1946), p. 58.
71 CCC, 1591.
11
families and associates can more completely and more easily perfect themselves."72 Inherent in the
principle of common good is the theology of the universal call to holiness.73 The City of God was written
by Saint Augustine to help the people of God focus on their spiritual life as having priority over their
temporal lives. But, that their purpose as Christian, while living in the earthly kingdom is built into the
principle of the common good. It has spiritual significance because just as in the spiritual life, perfection
is the aim, the aim of the common good is the "perfection and fulfillment in social life of the whole human
personality."74 When Christ connects the sons of God to their temporal order by giving to Caesar what is
due him, he is connecting the whole person, their active and spiritual lives to the economic, political and
social realms.
Society as a whole must work toward the common “good of all the people.”75 It is how the people
of God working in the kingdom with help the earthly city “attain its full meaning”. By working together
in interdependence of one another, they will find fulfillment in the earthly city by existing “with” and
“for” others.76 Saint Augustine writes in The City of God that “common pursuit knits men together into a
‘people’…but there is no such good for those who live irreligiously or do not serve God.”77
Societies that realize an incomplete humanism see religion as the “opium of the people”.78 These
societies do not allow for the “virtue of religion” which is justice toward God.79 Without justice toward
God “who is love” (1 Jn. 4:8), society, as Pope Paul VI also stressed in Popularum Progressio could not
72 GS, 74.73 LG, 5.
74 Maritain, p. 17 [see footnote].75 Stephen M. Matuszak, “Social Ethics” Coursenotes. (Ave Maria, FL: Ave Maria
University/Institute for Pastoral Theology, Spring 2009), slide #7. [hereafter, Coursenotes].
76 CN, Slide #2, “The incomparable dignity of the human person.”77 City of God, p. 470.
12
become “a civilization of love.”80 Only love is capable of transforming the relationships between men in
society.81 It must be present and permeate every social relationship.82
Men as they live in the city of man as members of Christ's body are united to the City of God or
the heavenly kingdom by their love for God and for one another. This love is agape because it is love
that is grounded and shaped by faith.83 For true civilization to exist, one must love his neighbor as
himself, since, love of neighbor is inseperable from God “who is love”.84 A people acting out the
theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity requires a political authority that allows freedom and is just,
with a humanistic perspective that integrates the whole person.
Each teaching in social ethics is united to the created soul of the Church which is charity.85 If
charity is not present in social teaching then the tasks in social teaching to bring hope and faith to the
people will not come to fruition. As Saint Paul said, if you do works without charity, you are just a
clanging cymbal – a gong (1 Cor. 13:1). The Catechism says that “a ‘society’ is a group of persons bound
together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them.”86 This principle is love.
Love is the only line of reasoning that will persuade men to live in unity.87
78 Karl Marx, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_of_the_people).“The quote originates from the introduction of his 1843 work Contribution to Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right”.
79 CCC, 1807.
80 Pope Paul VI, Popularum Progressio, [found in Laity Today: Gaudium et Spes Thirty Years Later], (Vatican City: Pontifical Council for the Laity, 1996), 42.
81 Ibid.82 Ibid, #581.83 Pope Benedict XVI, Dues Caritas Est. Liberia Editrice Vaticana, (Washington, D.C.: United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops, May 2007), 10.
84 CCC, 1878.85 Journiet, p. 168-169.86 CCC, 1880. See also, The City of God, p. 295: “His first purpose was to give unity to the human
race by the likeness of his nature. His second purpose was to bind mankind by the bond of peace, through blood relationship.”
87 Compendium, #207.13
Saint Augustine appreciated the injustice that God permitted in the city of man, or Rome, during
that time because it permitted the Christian to grow in charity toward those that had less.88 When the
Roman emperors saw the love of the Christians for one another, it was a new way of man living together
in what is known as the Catholic social teaching principle of “solidarity”. Solidarity “highlights the
intrinsic social nature of the person”89 to find himself by making a sincere gift of himself to others.90
Jesus of Nazareth makes the connection between solidarity and charity. In the light of
faith...solidarity seeks to go beyond itself. One’s neighbor becomes “the living image of God the Father,
redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit.”91 The
people of God must love each other, even their enemies and recognize that men have “composite times
that unite men and social groups among themselves”.92 Everyone must be willing to make a contribution
to the common cause, so that in solidarity rises to the rank of a “fundamental social virtue.”93
When persons in society work together to achieve a common goal for the common good of all
this naturally engages another principle that is essential to civil society, the principle of “subsidiarity”.
Subsidiarity offers economic, institutional and juridical assistance to “lesser social entitites”94 like
“family, groups, associations and local territorial realities.”95 The principle of subsidiarity will help man
in the earthly city create relationships that will “strengthen the social fabric”96 of a community. Thus,
there will be increased solidarity that will move people to work together for the common good.97
88 City of God, p. 89 CN, slide #25.90 GS, 24.91 Compendium, #196.92 Ibid, #194.93 Ibid, #193.
94 Compendium, #156.95 Ibid, #185.96 Ibid.97 CN, slide #29.
14
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that society is essential to the fulfillment of the
human vocation.98 The most high calling that the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council referred to is the
calling to realize their dignity as persons through the principle of “participation”. The principle of
subsidiarity implies participation99 by man to “contribute to the cultural, economic, political, and social
life of the community to which he or she belongs.”100 Pope John Paul II in Christifideles Laici expressed
this participation by the laity in their communities as necessary in order to
“be leading characters in this development-in some ways to be creators of a new, more humane culture-is a requirement both for the individual and for peoples as a whole.”101
Each member of the Body of Christ has an individual apostolate that is indispensible to the
mission of the Church.102 This mission is to “spread the kingdom of Christ through the earth for the glory
of God the Father.”103 The Church wants to bring all men to Christ to help ready the kingdom for the
return of its King. To participate in the mission not only helps to sanctify the person for eternal beatitude,
but it sanctifies the economic, political and social structure and institutions God established on earth, “to
give it life in Christ.”104
Saint Augustine points out in The City of God that in the heavenly city, “temporal goods” are
used “with a view to the enjoyment of eternal peace.”105 Eternal peace is the “fullness of life” and it
comes with eternal beatitude; at our “last end”. But, God gives men “good gifts”106 to help them realize a
98 CCC, 1886.99 Compendium, #189.100 CN, slide #23.101 Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici,
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici_en.html) (accessed 3/18/09), #5.
102 Apostolicam Actuositatem, (Liberia Editrice Vaticana http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html), 1. [hereafter, AA].
103 Ibid, 2.104Ibid, 16
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“temporal peace”107, now, here in the earthly city. Saint Augustine’s reflection was the forerunner to the
social teaching known as the “universal destination of the earth’s goods”.108 The goods of the earth are to
be available to all persons, so they have the necessary sustenance for life.109 “Good gifts” are to be shared
by the whole human race. They include things Saint Augustine said are “blessings that lie all around
us....daylight, speech, air to breathe, water to drink, everything that goes to feed, clothe, cure , and
beautify the body.”110 He said they are “granted” and “are meant for the mortal peace of mortal men…”111
It is the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order” that each person has the right to the
common use of goods.112
Saint Augustine said that “a shadow, as it were, of this eternal City has been cast on earth…”113
This shadow of the eternal city can be seen when the “good gifts” are used to assist one’s neighbor.114
This teaching keeps in mind that social realities such as prosperity and poverty must be interpreted in the
light of the Gospel.115 The poverty of Jesus and his own personal attention to the poor and their concerns
has developed the social teaching principle of the “preferential option for the poor”.116
105 City of God, p. 459.106 Ibid, p. 458.107 Ibid, “temporal peace” will come with “health, security, and human fellowship…needed to
preserve this peace or regain it..”
108 Compendium, #171.
109 Ibid, #171.110 City of God, p. 458.111 Ibid112 Ibid, #172.113 City of God, p. 325.114 Ibid.115 Pope John Paul, II, Novo Millennio Inuente, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/
john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte_en.html),52.
116 CN, slide 17.16
Social ethicists call Saint Augustine’s principle of the people of God of looking forward in hope
to their life in the heavenly city the “eschatological principle”.117 Because man is not focused on finding
fulfillment in the goods of the earth but knows fulfillment comes with God in Heaven, his life on earth
does not become the “end-all” to his existence.118 Because man is not preoccupied with finding a utopia
on earth, and realize the goods of the earth are not the highest goods, he will remain detached to do the
work of God in the kingdom.119 Not having an inordinate desire for goods, man will remain in control of
his passions. This frees man to be “living in the world, but to be not of the world” (Jn. 17:14-16).120 It
seems the eschatological principle is “the best antidote to an undue attachment to the temporal order.”121
The social teaching for the Church has identified three fundamental values to assist man in
building a society in which he can realize his potential as a human person. The three fundamental values
are “truth, freedom and justice”.122 To seek truth is a duty all men and women must fulfill if they are to
witness to Christ who is “the truth that sets men free” (Jn. 3:32).123 The Church teaches that God gave
every man “the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being.”124 It is a sign to the world
that man has freedom within society when his dignity as a human being is being respected by political
authority.
117 Mark Brumley, The “Eschatological Principle” in Catholic Social Thought (http://www.acton.org/files/8213646.pdf), p. 6-7. (hereafter, Mark Brumley].
118 Pope Benedict XVI, Spes Salvi. Liberia Editrice Vaticana, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-vi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html), 4. “Christians here on earth do not have a permanent homeland but seek one which lies in the future: present society is recognized by Christians as an exile; they belong to a new society which is the goal of their common pilgrimage and which is anticipated in the course of that pilgrimage.”
119 Mark Brumley, p. 6-7.120 Compendium, #18.121 Mark Brumley, p. 6-7.122 CN, p. 12 slide, 35.123 CCC, 21.04.
124 Compendium, #199.17
Saint Augustine pointed out to the people of God in his work, that there was a lack of freedom
under the pagan emperors.125 Justice is closely linked to freedom, because if the political authority is just,
then it will recognize the dignity of the human person, and subsequently the persons in the earthly city
can realize a true participation within society. They will be able to participate with the freedom to
worship as they please, to grow their family, to work and to own property.126
Even though, it seemed that a society could flourish without the three fundamental virtues of
truth, freedom and justice because Rome had prospered and had “long duration” under the pagan gods,
their happiness “was a thing of glass”…of mere glittering brittleness”, as evidenced by its fall.127 Rome
was not a “true republic because justice was not practiced.”128 The prosperity in Rome, Saint Augustine
said, was “due to the true God…deigned to bless the Empire with increase.”129 His providence allowed
Rome to prosper so that when Rome which was material and built by human hands, fell, the people of
God would know that they cannot put their faith in what man builds.130 He saw the temporary greatness
that Rome had achieved as part of God’s plan. If the “political virtue in their own order”131 can build a
city, just think of what a city will be like with the addition of the supernatural virtues of faith, hope and
charity to animate the cardinal virtue of justice, aligned with the truth, “that sets men free” (Jn. 3:32) and
with the freedom to worship the one true God in Latreia: a city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Mt.
5:14)!132
Saint Augustine’s work remains timely, as political philosophies based upon a materialist view of
man continue to threaten the dignity of the human person.133 Saint Augustine’s metaphor of the two cities
is presented alongside Pope Paul VI’s aim that the city of man should transform into a civilization of love.
From the nascent Church to the 21st Century, Catholic social teaching bears witness to the unchanging
truths about the nature of the human person.134 The Church does not tire of proclaiming that man is
created in the image and the likeness of God and is ordered to participate in the Divine life while awaiting
125 City of God, Book III.
126 City of God, (Just as in some societies today, in pagan Rome, the lower class did not own property. They lived at the expense of the state.), p. 113.
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the heavenly kingdom. Defining the principles of Catholic social teaching is ongoing as man encounters
new problems135 within society. As Pope John Paul II said at the end of his Encyclical Centesimus annus,
“the Church finds herself still facing ‘new things’; the term first expressed by Pope Leo XIII in Rerum
Novarum. But, the Christian knows that even with new problems that must be addressed in social ethics,
as Saint Augustine said, Non est quod habet extremun: What has an end does not last.136 So we have hope
because we know the newness we await will come in its fullness at the Lord’s second coming.137
127 City of God, p. 75.128Ibid.129 City of God, p. 86.130 Mostly found in City of God, Book V.131 City of God, p. 20. “political virtues in their own order testifies to the supernatural specification
of the Christian virtues both in their essence and their end.”
132 Ibid, p.112. “…for the only road to this Society of the Blessed is true piety, that is, that religious service or latreia (to use the Greek word) which is offered to the One true God.”
133 Maritain, p. 90.134 CN, p. 9.135 “problems”; a term used by Jacques Maritain to relate to the materialist philosophies of man that threaten
the human person.
136Saint Augustine, The St. Augustine Life Guide, Transl. Sylvano Borruso (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine’s Press, 2006) p. 3.
137 Pope John Paul II, Centesimus annus, (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus_en.html), 62.
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