editorial" "
Not even a State “neutral” from an ideological point of view can “reduce religion to a private fact”, but must “recognise and appreciate its role in public life”: so said Bishop Reinhard Marx , of Trier (Germany), chairman of the German Justice and Peace Commission, on intervening in the debate on “Christian roots”. He emphasized, in particular, the social thought of the Church in relation to evangelization and the teaching role of the bishop. The proclamation of the Gospel also involves the need to spread the social message of the Church, as Pope John Paul II has repeatedly emphasized. That’s why it cannot be limited to purely theological questions. Preaching the Gospel also means tackling the question of social justice with the message of the liberation and integral dignity of man. Each of these two tasks has its own time and place; but each of them is incumbent in particular on the bishop. To be able to anchor Catholic social doctrine more deeply in the Church, it is essential that the bishop emphasise in his preaching the close link between spirituality and responsibility for the world: a link that is sometimes described as the relation between ‘mysticism’ and ‘politics’, considering mysticism in the more general sense of devotion and piety and politics as the general appeal to all Christians to transform the world, and the social situation, in the spirit of the Gospel. In this sense, charitable activity should be a quite normal activity for each diocese and parish; otherwise the authentic message of the Gospel would be dissimulated. While charity and Catholic social doctrine are closely linked, however, they are not wholly identical. The social doctrine of the Church and the social action of the Church, beyond the service of charity, aim at overcoming the structures of injustice and promoting reforms in the political sphere for the good of mankind. Therefore, it is aimed first of all at the protagonists of the economic, social and political world. It wishes to encourage the laity to involve themselves in these fields. For this reason, it is good that there exist, apart from the parishes, Christian associations and organisations working in the spirit of Catholic social doctrine. It is above all necessary and this too is one of the bishop’s tasks to encourage competent Christians to get involved in politics, in the economy and in the trades unions, with a view to changing the world through their personal witness and their ethical and social action. It is very important that the bishop, with his community, establish a dialogue with the various groups of society, including non-Christian groups. The bishop should form relations not only inside the Church but also with industry, society and politics. Of course, dialogue cannot always prevent conflicts. Nonetheless, the positions of the Church produce an effect not only through public declarations, but also through the initiatives taken to arouse trust and direct contact between the bishop and people of responsibility in society. In the past, Catholic social doctrine has somewhat ignored the area of political ethics and has concentrated instead on issues of work, the family and social justice. If however we want to pronounce in favour of democracy, and even of pluralism and I’m convinced we should do so we should insistently recall Catholic social doctrine. After the failure of the great ideologies of the twentieth century, it is the message of the Church on man, society, the economy and social justice that has retained its value.
