A Stand for Dignity
Today is a landmark anniversary for many of my generation and, in particular, for Christian Democrats. The occasion took me by surprise, but I cannot let it pass without sharing some reflections.
Sixty years ago – April 11, 1963 – the landmark document Pacem in Terris was promulgated. The papal encyclical by Pope St. John XXIII is among the foundational components of Catholic Social Teaching, but the message had broad impact around the globe.
The Latin title derives, as is the custom with encyclicals, from the first words of the pope’s statement, “Peace on earth,” which is also its overarching theme. Written in the short aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), with Americans and many in the international community on edge after the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Soviet Union and its western ally, Cuba, the document made broad appeal to catholic leaders and, for the first time, “all men of good will” in an appeal for peace among nations and a rejection of weapons of war.
The pope built his position by affirming the dignity of human beings, the rights (e.g., life, freedom, safety and opportunity for development) they enjoy universally, and the call to mutual understanding and respect among nations and people. The Cold War would endure for decades, but his 1963 message was a splash of cold water in the face of a global population that had become strangers to that notion of peace.
John XXIII omitted no ages or stages of life, in outlining human dignity:
“Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood.”
The document goes on in development of these human rights, notably singling out the rights of women, and making appeal to involvement in the political sphere: “[M]an’s personal dignity involves his right to take an active part in public life, and to make his own contribution to the common welfare of his fellow citizens.”
This was the last of eight encyclicals by John XXIII, and his second social encyclical. Following on Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher) “on Christianity and social progress” this landmark statement on human rights came at a pivotal time in American history.
I submit that the reflection deserves as much, if not more, attention today as it did 60 years ago. Human society has developed or advanced in the last six decades, but it gives examples of wanton disregard for the human dignity to which John XXIII called us. The daily headlines bear it out: abortion, euthanasia, sexual abuse, physical and verbal assault, mass shootings, religious persecution, rejection of immigrants, unjust wages and labor practices. The list is endless.
Our nation needs leaders who will uphold human dignity and right injustice rather than casting aspersion on the opposing political party. The American Solidarity Party must be, in principle and promise, a source of such leaders.