Catholics and Democracy

Here (thanks to ZENIT) is a news account of a "congress held Oct. 7-10 in Bologna" dealing with "the complex and often controversial relationship between politics and faith." The participants included Cardinal Camillo Ruini:

The principal contribution Catholics can make to democracy today, noted Cardinal Ruini, is to defend the transcendence of the human being, notably the transcendence that implies our capacity to know and transform reality. In this sense it is a mistake to imagine that the Church is opposed to scientific progress, as it is often accused of being in conflicts over bioethical questions. But scientific progress should not cut itself off from ethical principles, he added.

Liberty is another important dimension of human transcendence. This liberty, the cardinal said, must respect the principle that the person is an end in himself and should never be reduced to a means. Only by respecting this principle does it make sense to talk of the rights that are common in modern democracy.

Pope John Paul II also contributed to the discussion:

A current threat to this authentic democracy is the tendency to relativism, added the Pontiff. This relativism can lead to the error of thinking that adhering to the truth is an obstacle to the democracy. But the truth as revealed by Christ is a guarantee for the human person of a full and authentic liberty, the Holy Father said. This truth, he continued, is the best antidote against ideological fanaticism, be it of a scientific, political or religious nature.

And, "the common good" was a central theme for the congress:

At another round-table discussion, Ornaghi called on Catholics to contribute to this reorientation of democracy. His call was echoed by another ex-president of the Constitutional Court, Cesare Mirabelli. In an interview Wednesday with Italy's Catholic daily, Avvenire, he explained that Catholics can play an important role by ensuring that democracy pursues the common good of society, rather than the more-limited interests of partisan groups.

Milan's archbishop, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, also called for a greater attention to the common good in the political process. In his speech the archbishop explained that the Church's social doctrine, based on the Gospel, has an important role to play in providing an anthropological base for democracy.

This anthropological foundation is needed so as to avoid false ideas about the human person, social relations, sexual matters and relations with the world. Democracy should be centered on the person, he argued, but too often it seeks to manipulate or even destroy, instead of fomenting, personal development.

Cardinal Tettamanzi also spoke of a number of dangers for democracy. Among the threats he identified were ethical relativism, populism, and an excessive concentration of media and economic power. He called upon Catholics to help renew the moral and civil conscience of Italy by means of the promotion of values such as solidarity, subsidiarity and respect for the law.

Rick