The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 317: International Justice and Solidarity

Episode Date: November 13, 2023

Internationally, there is often a large gap in the resources between countries. The Catechism explains the justice and solidarity that should exist among all nations, rich and poor. Rich nations have a duty of solidarity, charity, and justice to support nations who are unable to fully ensure their own development. Fr. Mike emphasizes that direct aid is not all the Church advocates for, but that we also have a duty to help reform these nations. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2437-2442. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to The Catechism in a Year Podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in Scripture and passed down to the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together to our heavenly home. This is day 317. We are reading paragraph 2437 to 2442. As always, I am using the ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the foundations

of faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a year reading plan. By visiting ascensionpress.com slash c-i-y. And lastly, you can click follow or subscribe to your podcast after daily updates and the other notifications. Why does it say it's every day? I don't know.

They just told me to mention all those things every single day. And so if you like being reminded of them, then you don't need to hit the 30-second skip ahead twice. You can just listen to all of it as I said, it's day 317, paragraph 2437 to 2442. We're looking at now and I towards international, not like international governance international politics really international justice and solidarity between nations hence the term international the recognition here paragraph 2437 teases up again kind of like yesterday and says on the International level inequality of resources and economic capability is such that it creates a real gap between nations. On one side, there are nations that possess a ton. That's my paraphrase. On the other

side, there are nations that are in greater need. And so what is the relationship between nations? What is the international or economic global relationship amongst countries? And so we're going to look at that a little bit here, particularly with an eye to justice. Remember, we don't necessarily, or advocating or saying any particular policies are the answer, but we're looking at what are the principles, what are the virtues by which we should be looking at

this very often, very, very complicated reality of living in a world where we're all, in many ways interconnected, even at the same time Some are strong some are weak and yet sometimes the strong countries Don't necessarily have the right decisions and sometimes the weak countries don't necessarily have the right leaders and we're all broken And so how do we approach this brokenness on an international level? Well, we look at these two terms justice and brokenness on an international level. Well, we look at these two terms, justice and solidarity.

The idea of, can I give a person or a country, a people, what they do, justice and solidarity? Can I see others as my brothers and sisters in humanity, right? So as we look at that today, we're looking at, as I said, a complex issue through the lens of principles and through the lens of virtues. So as we do that, let's call to mind, not just call to mind, our Father, let us call upon our Father and we pray right now.

Father in heaven, we do praise you and we glorify you, we thank you. We thank you for where we find ourselves. We thank you for the leaders that you have given to us when it comes to our nations, when it comes to our countries. We thank you for them. We ask for your blessings upon them. Lord God, whether we appreciate them or do not appreciate them, whether we value them or don't value them, we thank you. And because it is your command that we pray for those who lead us, we now bring them before you. We bring their needs before you, we bring the responsibilities that are on their shoulders

before you, and we ask that you please guide them in wisdom, guide them in courage. Lord, fill them, make them many women of great justice and solidarity of courage and compassion. And help us to be those same kind of people. Help us to be many women of justice and compassion, of courage, and of great solidarity. Help us to see in our neighbor, both our neighbor who is right next to us and our neighbor who is far from us. Help us see you in our neighbor, particularly in the poor and the weak. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. In the name of the Father, in of the Son, in of the Holy Spirit, amen, it is day 317, we're reading paragraphs 2437 to 2442.

Justice and solidarity among nations. On the international level, inequality of resources and economic capability is such that it creates a real gap between nations. On the one side, there are those nations possessing and developing the means of growth, and on the other, those accumulating debts. Various causes of our religious, political, economic, and financial nature today give

the social question a worldwide dimension. There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent. It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the perverse mechanisms that impede the development of the less advanced countries. In place of abusive, if not usurious financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations and the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development, redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values. Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves, or have been prevented from doing so by tragic

historical events. It is a duty in solidarity and charity. It is also an obligation in justice if the prosperity of the rich nations has come from resources that have not been paid for fairly. Direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries.

The efforts of poor countries working for growth and liberation must be supported. This doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labor. The peasants, especially in the third world, form the overwhelming majority of the poor. An increased sense of God and increased self-awareness are fundamental to any full development of human society. This development multiplies material goods and puts them at the service of the person and his freedom. It reduces dire poverty and economic exploitation. It makes for growth

and respect for cultural identities and openness to the transcendent. It is not the role of the pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms. It should always have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the gospel and the teaching of the church.

It is the role of the laity to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice. All right, the way our paragraph 2437 to 2442. Okay, we're talking about justice and solidarity among nations. So we have recognized complex issues. There is a real inequality, a real gap between nations. On the one side, nations that possess and developing the means of growth on the other,

those are accumulating debts. And so, therefore, what do we do? That is the big question. And that is the question that is raised by paragraph 2438. It says that, it says that it says, there must be solidarity among nations, which are already politically interdependent.

Okay, we work with each other somehow. Goes on to say, it is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the perverse mechanisms that impede the development of the less advanced countries. So, are there, again, perverse mechanisms? Are there things that keep poor people poorer or poor nations poorer, goes on to say, in place of abusive, if not userious financial systems,

iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be substituted, that's the problem, right? There's three examples. Abusive, if not userious financial systems, inequitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be in place of those things, a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development. And so that's, we just have to understand this. And so rich nations and the churches,

the churches saying to read that rich nations must be like rich individuals. So rich individuals, if I am a steward of many resources, and we're going to talk about this in the upcoming days, if I'm a steward of many resources, so I have an abundance, and I meet and encounter people who do not have an abundance, then it is my responsibility as a Christian to do what I can to actually help them now. Keep in mind, to do what I can to actually help doesn't mean I necessarily give all of my stuff away. It means to do what I can to actually help them now. Keep in mind to do what I can to actually help. Doesn't mean I necessarily give all of my stuff away. It means to do what you can to actually help. And so rich nations have a great moral responsibility

toward those which are unable to ensure the means of development by themselves or have been prevented from doing so by tragic historical events. That's a duty of solidarity, right? I see in other people my brother and sister, and also charity. It's also an obligation, another duty, injustice, if the prosperity of the rich nations has

come from the resources that have not been paid for fairly. And so we're looking at this. And once again realizing this is a complex issue in it, the church is saying, pause over this if we're in a place of forming opinions. Like if we're in a place right now of forming our opinions about what is our own particular nation's role on the international stage, then we these are some of the things we have to keep in mind. Now again, we're not advancing any policies, but we're proposing principles.

So as an example, one of the principles is direct aid. So 2440 says, okay, so direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate extraordinary needs caused by natural casacere fees, epidemics, and the like. Okay, great. So direct aid is an appropriate response. That is something you can do. But it was hard to say, but it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting solution to a country's needs. That is necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions. Now, the question is, is it the role of those countries who are providing aid to be the ones who reform the international and economic financial institutions?

Meaning, not just how they relate to these nations, but is it the role of the, I will say, wealthier nation? Is it the role of the wealthier nation to come in and redefine what that particular weaker nation or poorer nation, what they believe in, what their values are. This is a big, big question. And so the church, I do, I do not, I do not believe the church advocates this entry into another country and saying, here, we're wealthy. We're going to give you this aid provided that you change into X, Y, and Z. I don't know if that's actually what the church advocates. The principle, of course, is that direct aid is an appropriate response at the same time. That direct aid doesn't take care of the underlying wounds, right?

The underlying reform that needs to happen. Now, at the core of all of this, of course, is we're driven by the love of God. We're driven by the reality of God. We're driven by the reality that the true God is a God of justice. Therefore, paragraph 2441 says, an increased sense of God and increased self-awareness are fundamental to any full development of human society. And so we just need, this needs to be part of when we approach the poor, whether the poor are among us or the poor are far away from us. When we approach economic disparity,

us or the poor are far away from us. When we approach economic disparity, it is driven by the awareness of God, love of God, and because of that love of our neighbor. Lastly, 2442, the church reminds us that the pastors of the church, the Pope, the Bishop, priests, is not their role to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. That task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful. And so that recognition of here, you say, well, I want this this bishop to be more involved in politics. I want this this priest you have pastors of the church who are willing to wait into political discourse, and that's completely fine. That's why, is why, because here's hopefully a well-reasoned and moved by truth, moved by justice, saying, here are the principles that the Catholic Church proposes to this world for a good-ordered society,

that the pastors should be able to teach what we're talking about right now. But when it comes to those intervening directly in the political structuring and organization of social life, that task falls to the lay faithful. So it's a most people who are listening right now. And you're called upon this. He says this, when you do this, when you respond to this, it should always have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the gospel and the teaching of the church. And that's all of us, of course, right? That's one of the reasons why, at least in the United States, we don't, the church doesn't belong to any political party because we recognize that there are

good things and bad things. There are strengths and there are weaknesses in every political party. There is no political party that is strictly speaking Catholic, and not only are there no parties that are strictly speaking Catholic, but there probably couldn't be. Because in order to have a political party, you need to be political. You need to advance policies. And the church only proposes principles. And that's a big difference. So Catholics can disagree. In many ways, on policies provided that we are in agreement on principles. Hope that makes sense. Hope that makes sense. I think it does. It makes sense to me. Anyways, talking today about justice and solidarity, that reality that we give to another,

what does there do, and we realize that we belong to each other. Tomorrow we're going to talk more fully about the love for the poor. That every one of us are called to cultivate this. Scripture says very, very clearly, that God loves those who are poor. He loves those who mourn. There's a special care for widows and orphans, those who are vulnerable. And we also have to have the heart of God

and God loves the poor. And so we have to pray for that kind of heart as we keep saying, I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. It cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.