Vatican tells Catholic politicians to uphold church teaching

The Vatican has told Roman Catholic politicians that they have "the right and the duty" to uphold church teachings on bioethics, reproductive choice, the family and other issues governed by moral law.

With the approval of Pope John Paul II, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Jan. 16 published a 19-page "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life" addressed to Catholic bishops as well as politicians and other laity involved in public life.

"A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals," the document said.

Issues subject to moral law, it said, are those involving bioethics, abortion, euthanasia, experiments on human embryos, Catholic education, the protection of minors, drug abuse, prostitution, religious freedom, economic development, justice and peace. There was no direct reference to cloning, which the Vatican opposes, or to the death penalty or war, both of which it finds acceptable only under extraordinary circumstances.

The document, signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who as prefect of the congregation is the Vatican's highest authority on faith and morals, said that the Catholic Church respects the separation of church and state but that moral and ethical values remain transcendent.

"For Catholic moral doctrine, the rightful autonomy of the political or civil sphere from that of religion and the church - but not from that of morality is a value that has been attained and recognized by the Catholic Church and belongs to the inheritance of contemporary civilization," it said.

In Washington, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., welcomed the document and said the church owes a "debt of gratitude" to its members who work in the public sector.

"Catholic men and women can make a great contribution to the political sphere by their participation, and by bringing to that process their properly informed convictions based in moral principles and essential values which are rooted in our nature as human beings and in our Catholic faith," Gregory said.

He cautioned, however, that Catholic politicians "cannot subscribe" to any value that embraces "moral relativism" by denying the "non-negotiable" ethical principles espoused by the Vatican document.

In an apparent attack on the imposition of strict Sharia law in some Islamic countries, the document said, "In practice, the identification of religious law with civil law can stifle inalienable human rights."

But it rejected the view that "ethical pluralism is the very condition for democracy."

"Democracy must be based on the true and solid foundation of non-negotiable ethical principles, which are the underpinning of life in society," it said.

The document noted that today's political leaders must grapple with problems "never faced by past generations." They will succeed only to the extent that they base their actions on "the centrality of the human person," it said.

"Legislative proposals are put forward which, heedless of the consequences for the existence and future of human beings with regard to the formation of culture and social behavior, attack the very inviolability of human life," it said. "Catholics, in this difficult situation, have the right and the duty to recall society to a deeper understanding of human life and to the responsibility of everyone in its regard.

"In the face of fundamental and inalienable ethical demands, Christians must recognize that what is at stake is the essence of the moral law, which concerns the integral good of the human person," the document said. It criticized laws allowing abortion and euthanasia, but not "extraordinary treatments, which is morally legitimate," and stressed "the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo."

The document said that Catholic politicians must safeguard and promote traditional, monogamous marriage "in the face of modern laws on divorce" and give no legal recognition to "other forms of cohabitation."

It asserted the "inalienable right" of parents to freedom over the education of their children and the need for society to protect minors and provide protection from drug abuse and prostitution, which it called "modern forms of slavery."

"In addition," it said, "there is the right to religious freedom and the development of an economy that is at the service of the human person and of the common good, with respect for social justice, the principles of human solidarity and subsidiary, according to which the rights of all individuals, families and organizations and their practical implementation must be acknowledged."

The document said peace is not a secular value, as "certain pacifistic and ideological visions" may hold, and that it involves questions more complex than "summary ethical judgments" allow.

"Peace is always the work of justice and the effect of charity," it said. "It demands the absolute and radical rejection of violence and terrorism and requires a constant and vigilant commitment on the part of all political leaders." (RNS)