Thursday, December 27, 2007

Catholic Social Teaching & Public Leadership

The current presidency of George W. Bush, contains essential elements of Catholic social teaching with his compassionate focus on the immigration issue and a clear pro-life stand, among other issues.

It has led to some difficulty with his political party, but by following principles he feels are more important to his political careers than allowing those principled positions to be subject to political whim, he represents among the best of the expectations of Catholic social teaching for public leadership.


19.
The Church, the sign in history of God's love for mankind and of the vocation of the whole human race to unity as children of the one Father[21], intends with this document on her social doctrine to propose to all men and women a humanism that is up to the standards of God's plan of love in history, an integral and solidary humanism capable of creating a new social, economic and political order, founded on the dignity and freedom of every human person, to be brought about in peace, justice and solidarity. This humanism can become a reality if individual men and women and their communities are able to cultivate moral and social virtues in themselves and spread them in society. “Then, under the necessary help of divine grace, there will arise a generation of new men, the moulders of a new humanity”[22]. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, # 19)