porf.ethics3

The Priority of Labor

over Capital

Respect for Human Dignity

at Work

Respect for

Basic Human Rights

Social Dimension of Private Property

Preferential Option for

the Poor

1. Priority of Labor Over Capital• Capital has the tendency to improve

PROFITABILITY at the expense of LABOR.

Hardest hit is the rate of salaries and benefits of personnel

reducing manpower through EARLY RETIREMENT

Ethical Option

… morally acceptable if

1. all other alternatives, options are exhausted.

2. There is an imminent danger of bankruptcy or closure.

“Human activity proceeds from man: it is also ordered to him. When he works, not only does he transform matter and society, but he fulfills himself. He learns, he develops his faculties and he emerges from and transcends himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is more precious than any kind of wealth that can be amassed. It is what a man is, rather than he has, that counts. Technical progress is of less value than advances towards greater justice, wider brotherhood, and a more humane social environment. Technical progress may supply the material for human advance

but it is powerless to actualize it.” - GS, 1965, 35

1. Priority of Labor Over Capital• Capital is impossible without labor and labor is hopeless is hopeless without capital.

• Historical Factors conflicts between labor and capital

Black Slavery

Self/autonomous worker of Industrial Revolution

a highly respected member of the production team

the bigger the business = the bigger the conflicts

1. Priority of Labor Over Capital• Philosophical Factors

1. Economism

- sees LABOR solely according to its ECONOMIC purpose / a worker as a body that works and perspires – and nothing more

- not as a member of the a family who feels the burden of work or enjoys it, a personality who needs to rest, to pray, to recreate and to socialize

2. Materialism

- consumerism (happiness due to material possessions)/ eudaemonism (happiness due to economic prosperity)

- labor as an instrument of production

In Ethics Capital should be at the service of labor and not labor at the service of capital

1. Priority of Labor Over Capital

• Labor is not a commodity, but an asset and a valuable resource.

• Labor are REAL PEOPLE with emotions, tendencies and reactions as those of the managers/ who unlike machines, are motivated by human needs and legitimate desires.

“It follows by no means that those who work daily in such an enterprise are to be considered merely as servants…” Mater et Magistra, 83

As “image of God, ” the human person’s natural mission is to subdue the earth and dominate it. By his labor, he honors the gifts and talents received by him from the creator.

Person is the subject of work/ not its object.

Labor is intrinsically and naturally NOBLE, first am0ng other M’s MONEY, MATERIALS, METHODS AND MARKETS.

2. Respect for Human Dignity

at Work• Labor is GOD’s people – the IMAGE of the LIVING GOD

• Contrary Effects of Work

1. When it becomes the CHIEF determinant of human dignity, an INDEX of human worth, it dehumanizes men and their relationships. 2. Since work promises money, pleasure and power, it can invite selfishness.

2.Respect for Human Dignity

at Work

• Sharing in the Creative Activity of God - “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” – Gen. 1:28

- Through his work, man continues to develop and perfect the whole creation as he advances in the discovery of the resources and values of creation.

- Work for the sake of salary kills creativity.

- Since people are not similarly gifted with the tools of productivity (intellect), it becomes an obligation for those gifted to care for those less endowed. (Ethics and the Filipino, Ramon Agapay, 84)


at Work

• Gospel of Work

a. Jesus was once a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth. b. He appreciates and respects human work in his discourses.

“ He looks with love upon human work and the different forms it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facets of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father” – LE 26

• The Cross and Resurrection of Christ

a. Work and Christ Paschal Mystery – LE 27 b. Fruit of human work better ordering of human society, furthering of Christ’s kingdom in anticipation of the “New Heaven and New Earth” ( Rev 21:1)


at Work• “Man is not the means to be used to economic development. It is economic development that must be the means to the development of man. ( Quoted in The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Dec. 13, 1996, p. 2)

• It is therefore improper to reduce man to one of these aspects ( social, political and economic) or to any combination of them only.


at Work• Three Spheres (where man is developed as the subject of work)/necessity of work

- PERSONAL > Man expresses himself and his personality in work. “a man by his work gives his imprint to it, acquiring as he does so, perseverance, skill and a spirit of invention” (PP 27)

- FAMILY > Work makes family, the first school of work. > Inculcating in the children the necessity and nobility of work “The family is simultaneously a community made possible by work and the first school of work ( LE 10)


at Work

• Three Spheres (where man is developed as the subject of work)/necessity of work

- SOCIAL > through the work of its citizens nations develop > through collective effort ( hopes, aspirations, hardships and joy shared together occasions to be with others and a commitment to do something for others (CA, 31) and find themselves as brothers and sisters (PP 27)

> Our work defines our roles in society and shapes most of the directions and dynamics of our lives.

“Homo vivens

est gloria Dei”

“The glory of God is man fully

alive…”

St. Irenaeus

3. Respect for Basic

Human Rights• Reality - Violations of Human Rights 1. Man is considered nothing more than as instrument of production or a necessary item in a consumer economy. 2. Politicians treat them as fertile soil for gimmicks. 3. To exploit other people’s unpreparedness and ignorance and to give them in doleouts what is due to them in justice is the vilest action against the dignity of any human person.


Human Rights• Reality - Violations of Human Rights 4. Massive poverty, broad daylights killings and kidnappings, rapes, torture, detention without trial; OFW’s returning physically brutalized, if not, dead; police brutalities, fighting between the government forces and the rebels; international debt.

- $ 59.8 billion = P 3.35 trillion = P 41, 000 per Filipino - 94 % of the total revenues foreign debt services “ Payments of debts should not result in hunger and despair for nations.” – CA 34-35


Human Rights• Reality

- OFWs

- Possible Types of Exploitation of Filipino migrant workers face abroad:

1. lack of avenues for redress of grievances

2. excessive workload and deregulated working hours

3. deceptive contractual arrangements, physical abuse and sexual assault

4. maltreatment

5. rape and forcible abortion

- Carmelita Dimson, Director in charge of DOLE’s Welfare and Employment Office


Human Rights• Nature - Human rights are prerogatives given by God to man which are inalienable, fundamentally important, unconditional, unchangeable and common to all human beings. ( Pacem in Terris, 1963, The Landmark in the acceptance by the Catholic Church of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

- Human rights and duties

- Fundamental rights of human beings exercise of human dignity

UN Declaration of Human Rights (Dec. 30, 1948) Article No. ( 1-21 individual rights)

1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

2. Everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without

distinction…

3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;

5. No one shall be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment.

6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

7. All are equal before the law …

8. Everyone has an access to competent national tribunals

9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing 11. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent

until proved guilty.

12.No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.

13. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state/ right to leave any country, including his own and to return to his country.

14. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

15. Everyone has a right to nationality/ no one shall be deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

16. Men and women of full age, without any limitation have the right to marry and to found a family with full consent.

17. Everyone has the right to own property.

18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

20.Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

21. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country/right access to public

service in his country.

(22-30 social rights)

22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security –for fee development of his personality.

23 .Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment/ right to equal pay for equal work./ right to just favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

24.Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

25.Everyone has the right to a standard of living/ motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.

26.Everyone has the right to education( at least in the elementary stage)/ directed to the full development of human personality and to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedom.

27.Everyone has the right to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

28.Everyone is entitled to a social and internal order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

29.Everyone has duties to the community…/ rights and freedom of an individual shall be subjected to such limitations as determined by the law.

30.Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

4. Social Dimension of

Private Property• Nature - Right to private property - it includes the following:

1. The prerogative to freely dispose of your properties, i.e., to use, consume, sell, donate, or bequest it. 2. The exclusive claim to the fruits produced by your properties, whether they are natural or industrial 3. The right to exclude others from acting upon your properties; and 4. The right to restitution in the event of unlawful deprivation or damage to your properties.

- Personal reason Right to private property is a necessary right to exercise personal responsibility and self-actualization towards a more creative development


Private Property• Nature - Right to private property - Moral reason It provides one with a sense of independence, as it serves as a protection for your freedom. - Social reason It enables one to provide for the support and development of those who are entrusted to your care.

- Psychological reason It has brought about personal initiative, drive and enterprise.


Private Property• Two factors that make it a conditional right - Personal Needs You are not, and no one is, justified to possess, to own, to keep for your exclusive use what you do not need, particularly when you know in conscience there are many others lacking necessities in life.

- Needs of the Community You are not to exercise it detrimental to the common good.


Private Property• Property right is not an absolute right.

“ By virtue of their origin and nature, by the will of the Creator, worldly goods and riches are meant to serve the utility and progress of each and every human being. Thus each and every person enjoys a primary, fundamental and absolute inviolable right to share in the use of these goods. All other rights, including the right to private property and free trade, are subordinate to this right.” (Evangelization at Present and in the Future of Latin America)

• The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.

• The rich have no right to get richer while the poor get poorer.

• God created and destined the earth and all its resources and fruits it contains fro the benefits of all human residents of this planet.

• The Divine Will ordains that all created things and natural resources be shared fairly by all members of the human family under the guidance of justice and as tempered by charity.

5. Preferential Option for

the Poor

• It is a Christian Preference.

- “ …He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor” Lk 4:18

- equally applies to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living

- embraces those who are hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care and above all those without hope of a better future ( to ignore these realities is to be like the rich man in the story of “The Rich and Lazarus”)

5. Preferential Option for

the Poor• A personal choice, but can be a corporate choice

“In Solidbank we believe that business has a responsibility to help society, principally its less

fortunate members…

We shall not lose sight of our fundamental mission of enhancing our shareholders’ return on investment…

But at the same time, we recognize that there are opportunities for us to make a meaningful impact in the lives and living conditions of certain underpriviledged

communities deserving of our financial and moral support”

- CSR ( Corporate Social Responsibility)

social investment/ resource –sharing/ business ethics concretized

Right to Adequate Work and

Full Employment

Right to Due Process Versus

Employment at Will

Right to Security of

Tenure

Right to Just Wage and

Compensation

Right to Good Working

Conditions, Social Security

and Health Benefits

Right to Organize and Join Unions

Right to Strike

Why do I work?

“Work is a means to connect oneself within and around the family circle, be it in the form of doing menial tasks like washing and ironing clothes at home or simply fulfilling one’s specific duties in the office.

Work is sharing of oneself wit the rest of God’s creation;

Work is a therapy;

Work is a ‘buffer’ to one’s financial and social life;

Work is an expression of one’s creativity;

Work is a road to realizing one’s dreams;

Work is an opportunity for polishing virtues;

Work is a source of one’s happiness;

Work is a right that should not be denied any person.

Just as God is a worker via his awesome creation, he likewise intends the human person to possess the basic freedom to work, using all the talents he is endowed with, so as to reach his true destiny which is called perfection.”

- Maritess P. Manuel, Accounts specialist, Development Bank of the Philippines.

• The Right to Adequate Work and Full employment

- Currency crisis in 1997 -99 East Asia

- a fundamental right ( Right to work is part and parcel of the right to life and the duty to sustain it.)

- a constitutional right

ART 2, Sec 9 - The State shall provide full employment and improve the quality o f life.

ART 13, Sec 3 - “The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all… guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organized, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law… entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work and a living wage… also participate in policy and decision- making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.”

• The Right to Due Process versus Employment at Will

- Employment at will ( Employers and corporate owners may dismiss at will for good cause, for no cause, or even for causes morally wrong, without being thereby guilty of any legal wrong.)

- Effect labor as mere means of production/ properties of capital

- Employees’ rights to due process ( They can appeal a decision or action made by a superior in order to get a rational explanation of the decision and objective review of its propriety.)

- Conditions of a due process:

1. Clear and simple notice of rules. 4. Objective determination of the

2. Consistent administration of these rules. fact

3. Fair and impartial hearing. 5. Non-liability of the innocent.


- Labor Code

Sec. 1 SECURITY OF TENURE AND DUE PROCESS

No worker shall be dismissed except for a just or authorized cause provided by law and after due process.

Sec. 2 NOTICE OF DISMISSAL

Any employer who seeks to dismiss a worker shall furnish him a written notice stating the particular acts or omission constituting the grounds for his dismissal . In cases of abandonment of work, the notice shall be served at the worker’s last known address.

Sec. 5 ANSWER AND HEARING

The worker may answer the allegations stated against him in the notice of dismissal within a reasonable period from receipt of notice. The employer shall afford the worker ample opportunity to be heard and defend himself with the assistance of his representative, if he so desires.

Sec. 6 DECISION TO DISMISS

The employer shall immediately notify a worker in writing of the decision to dismiss him stating clearly the reason thereof.

Sec. 7 RIGHT TO CONTEST DISMISSAL

Any decision taken by the employer shall be without prejudice to the right of the worker to contest the validity or legality of his dismissal by filing a complaint with the Regional Branch of the Commission.


- Labor Code

Sec. 8 PERIOD TO DECIDE

Cases involving the dismissal of worker shall be decided by the Labor Arbiter within 20 working days from the date of submission of such case decision.

Sec. 9 REINSTATEMENT PENDING HEARING

The Secretary may suspend the effects of the termination pending resolution of the case in the event of prima facie finding that the termination may cause a serious labor dispute or is in implementation of a mass lay-off.

Sec. 10 CERTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT

A dismissed worker shall be entitled to receive, on request, a certificate from the employer specifying the dates of his engagement and termination of his employment and the type or types of work on which he was employed.

Sec. 11 REPORT OF DISMISSAL

The employer shall submit a monthly report to the Regional Office having jurisdiction over the place of work all dismissals effected by him during the month, specifying therein the names of dismissed workers, the reason for their dismissal, the dates of commencement and termination of employment, the positions last held by them and such other information as may be required by the Department for policy guidance and statistical purposes.

p 109

• The Right to Security of Tenure

- a basic right of public and private employees

- It means …

- Regular/ Contractual/ Probationary/ Casual worker

Reality ( Mr. Business can afford to worry less about going to hell when he dies than going to jail or paying a fine sooner or later.)

p 109

- Just causes for termination: Serious misconduct or willful disobedience/ gross and habitual neglect of the worker’s duties/ crime against the employer and his/her immediate family members

- Workers can also be terminated due to redundancy, retrenchment and the installation of other labor- saving devices to prevent losses. (1 month)

- Even if there is a just cause for dismissal, business may still rule against dismissal from work because this right is essentially related to the right to life and the natural duty to sustain it.

The right to life obviously rules overall.

• The Right to Security of Tenure

- Is sickness a ground for termination?

Yes, one may terminate the service of an employee who has been found to be suffering from any disease and whose continued employment ids prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his own health as well as to the health of his co-workers.

p 112

- Can a worker terminate himself?

• The Right to Just Wage and Compensation

- In the legal sense, it is the minimum wage.

- It was set to protect low-paid employees against all types of exploitation.Is sickness a ground for termination?

-What is legally accepted as minimum wage may not necessarily be just.

Church and Economic – Social Life

• Church – human development ( must promote the good of every man and of the whole man – PP 14)

Injustice

Economic Level• in the concentration of land and wealth in the hands of the few, • urban-industrial and management – capital, • problem of poverty.

Social Level• in population pressures, • disintegration of the family, • graft and corruption.

Church and Economic – Social LifeHUMAN WORK

• Christian Meaning of Work ( LE) 2. subjective sense human person with the following principles:

a. Work is for man, not man for work. b. Priority over Capital

2a. Work is for man, not man for work.

- Technology instruments at the service of workers neither to enslave, nor deprive them of the right to work


HUMAN WORK

• Christian Meaning of Work ( LE) 2. subjective sense human person a. Work is for man, not man for work.

- Three Spheres (where man is developed as the subject of work)/necessity of work

PERSONAL > Man expresses himself and his personality in work.

“a man by his work gives his imprint to it, acquiring as he does so, perseverance, skill and a spirit of invention” (PP 27)

FAMILY > Work make family, the first school of work. > Inculcating in the children the necessity and nobility of work “The family is simultaneously a community made possible by work and the first school of work ( LE 10)


• Christian Meaning of Work ( LE) 2. subjective sense human person a. Work is for man, not man for work.

- Three Spheres (where man is developed as the subject of work)

SOCIAL > through the work of its citizens nations develop > through collective effort ( hopes, aspirations, hardships and joy shared together occasions to be with others and a commitment to do something for others (CA, 31) and find themselves as brothers and sisters (PP 27)

> Our work defines our roles in society and shapes most of the directions and dynamics of our lives.


• Christian Meaning of Work ( LE) 2. subjective sense human person b. Priority of Labor over Capital

> Labor is always a “primary efficient cause and capital remains simply as an instrumental cause” – LE 12

> not to be treated as a mere instrument of production, nor a commodity to be sold and bought in accordance with the law of “supply and demand.- LE 6 > Every type of work has its human value and the primary value is not the type of work but the one who performs it:

the PERSON


• Contrary Effects of Work

1. When it becomes the CHIEF determinant of human dignity, an INDEX of human worth, it dehumanizes men and their relationships. 2. Since work promises money, pleasure and power, it can invite selfishness.

• Sharing in the Creative Activity of God

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” – Gen. 1:28

- Through his work, man continues to develop and perfect the whole creation as he advances in the discovery of the resources and values of creation.

- Work for the sake of salary kills creativity.

- Since people are not similarly gifted with the tools of productivity (intellect), it becomes an obligation for those gifted to care for those less endowed. (Ethics and the Filipino, Ramon Agapay, 84)


• Gospel of Work

a. Jesus was once a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth.

b. He appreciates and respects human work in his discourses.

“ he looks with love upon human work and the different forms it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facets of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father” – LE 26

• The Cross and Resurrection of Christ

a. Work and Christ Paschal Mystery – LE 27

b. Fruit of human work better ordering of human society, furthering of Christ’s kingdom in anticipation of the “New Heaven and New Earth” ( Rev 21:1)


RIGHTS OF WORKERS 1. Just Remuneration for Work Criteria for a just wage based on the official documents of the Church: Quadragesimo Anno (Pope Pius XI, Mater et Magistra (Pope John XXIII, Rerum Novarum(Pope Leo XIII and Laborem Exercens (Pope John Paul II

a. Enough to support the worker or those under his/her care i. Living Wage -not simply what has been agreed upon between the worker and the employer -nor what is being stipulated in the existing law of the land -What is legally accepted as minimum wage may not necessarily be just.

ii. Family Wage “The norms of justice and equity . . . requires that workers receive a wage sufficient to lead a life worthy of a human being and to fulfill family responsibilities properly.” – MM 71

b. State of business c. The public economic good d. The contribution of the individual to the economic effort (MM 75)


RIGHTS OF WORKERS 2. Right to Protection and Social Security

a. The workers must enjoy certain benefits. “A human being also has the right to security in case of sickness,

inability to work, widowhood, old age, unemployment, or in any other case which he is

deprived of the means of subsistence through no fault of his own.” – PT 11

The social benefits cover the “expenses involved in health care, especially in the

case of accidents at work and medical assistance should easily available for

workers if possible cheap or even free of charge” – LE 19

b. Workers should be treated as human beings, giving them free time to rest

(at least Sunday on a regular weekly basis, holidays or vacation), and

attend to their obligation. – RN 31; 57-60; PT 19; LE 19

c. A good working environment


RIGHTS OF WORKERS 3. Right to Qwnership

a. Private ownership is not an absolute and unconditional right. “God intended the earth and all that it contains for the use of every

human being and people.” – GS 69

“No one is justified in keeping for his exclusive use what he does not need, when

others lack necessities.” – PP 23 b. Just ownership of the means of work, sharing by the workers in the

management and/ or profits of business, so called shareholding by labor - LE 14


RIGHTS OF WORKERS 4. Right to Organize Trade Unions

a. To ensure that the interest and rights of workers are protected

b. It is derived from the fundamental right to free association. “Among the basic rights of the human person must be counted the right

of freely founding labor unions. . . To represent the workers and to contribute to

the proper arrangement of economic life.” - GS 68

c. It also aims to organize activities that will foster their self education to be more.

- LE 20 d. Labor Unions ( LE 20) - It is the mouthpiece for the struggle for social justice, not a

struggle against others. - It has certain limitations. - Abuses of it can lead to misfortune and destruction not only

of property but most valuable human life. - It must not play politics.


RIGHTS OF WORKERS

Question of Strike

1. It is a collective withdrawal from work on the part of the laborers unless their demand

are met and granted.

2. Issue on Strike and the Church

“This method is recognized by Catholic social teaching as legitimate in the proper conditions and within just limits. . . while admitting that it is a legitimate means, we must at the same time emphasize that a strike remains, in a sense , an extreme means. It must not be abused; it must not be used especially for political purposes. . . abuse of the strike weapon can lead to the paralysis of the socio-economic life, and this is contrary to the requirements of the common good of society.” – LE 20

3. For a strike to be moral, the following must be present: a. There is a sufficient and just reason for it; b. The intended good results must be proportionate to the evil effects; c. The means employed are lawful.


DUTIES OF WORKERS

1. Prepare oneself. for the task he wishes to pursue.2. Render the services conscientiously.3. Up-dating one’s knowledge.4. Maintain respect, honesty, fraternal charity and justice with his employer.5. Never consort with “agitator” or men of evil principles.

DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS

1. Respect the human dignity of the workers.2. Appreciate their work/3. Never treat them as slaves for making money;4. Never assign them task beyond their strength, do not employ them in work

suited to their age or sex;5. Give them commensurate wages;6. Provide for their health and social recreation;7. Provide them time for the practice of their religion;8. Instruct them on how to use their money wisely;9. Instruct them to love their family;10.Provide them with opportunities for promotion.


CHURCH and ECONOMICS

• Economic decisions are moral decisions that affect human beings.

• They should be carried out humanely and morally.

• The true aim of economy for men to develop a dignified life

“All of economic life recognize the fact that we are all God’s children and members of one human family, called to exercise a clear priority for the least among us.” – CA 35

HOUSING, HEALTH, POPULATION GROWTH

The State

Responding to the Call of Justice and Love

• Origin and Meaning of the State

1. Manifestation of the Divine Ruler Worship Representative of God

2. As a result of power struggle

3. For the satisfaction of basic needs ( utilitarianism)

4. From the Social Teachings of the Church

a. Socio-theological interpretation - Leader worship contradicts Sacred Scriptures (Mk.12:17/ vs.

deification of the state) - The leader of the State is not the presence of God (Only Christ is

the appearance of God). - The State’s power is meant to put order in the society (Rom. 13:3-

4). - The power of coercion vested in the State is only in this world. - The state can degenerate into an ungodly power ( instead for the

common good, can be a source of terror and evil in the land). - The State’s authority is from God ( Rom. 13:1-2).

The State


• Origin and Meaning of the State

4. From the Social Teachings of the Church

b. Socio-philosophical interpretation

The STATE

- the highest social form of a people - grounded in natural law, - serving the perfection of its earthly well-being, - resting on the might and right, - the supreme expression and highest guardian of the common

good.

• Principle of Subsidiarity - State’s intervention taking into consideration what private individuals

or enterprise can and should do by themselves and allowing them to do it.

The State


• Political Authority - constitutive element of the state

- form “ auctoritas” - Latin verb, “ augere” to increase/ to enrich - the power or the institution meant for the enrichment and promotion of

those over whom it is exercised.

- Two kinds of authority: 1. Personal ( superiority of a person) 2. Official or Social ( will of the society through an election)

“ A social life can not exist among a number of people unless the presidency of one to

look after the common good; for many as such, seek many things, whereas one

attends only to one.” – St. Thomas

- has its root in God and was given by God to serve Him. – Gen 1:28; Sir. 17:2

- must be exercised in service.

“ whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be

first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served

but to serve. – Mk. 10:43 -45

The State


• Political Authority - may be

1. legitimate one who acquired power through an explicit consent of the

citizens and performs its God given duties 2. illegitimate one who claims or gets hold of power unjustly, by the

use of 3 F’s: force, fraud and fear) - special issue: continuous misuse of one’s power contrary to the common

good 1. citizens have the right to resist their tyrannical ruler and strive for

his/her removal 2. using legal means available, 3. resisting passively through non-violent refusal to obey the law, or 4. using active non-violent means ( mobilization of public opinion, mass demonstration, general strike)

The State


• Duties of Citizens towards the State - Love of one’s country

1. manifested in their faithfulness to the welfare of the country in times of calamities,

pain, hardships or success.

2. manifested in their readiness to help the country in just causes.

3. must not be limited to a narrow nationalism without considering the rights and

welfare of other countries.

“ richer countries have the duty to help the poorer ones in the spirit of love and

justice.” – Mater et Magistra, John XXIII

- Civic Responsibility and Participation

1. participate in the affairs of the state and be responsible citizens.

2. respecting the norms of the state ( traffic laws, sanitation, election and paying of

taxes)

The State


• Vigilance for the sake of the State

- eliminate negative elements vs. peace and harmony - participation in military services and in war

• Common Good - defined as “ the sum of those conditions of social life by which

individuals, families and groups can achieve their own fulfillment in a

relatively thorough and ready way.” – GS 74

- good general interest

connotes not only the exterior conditions and material things,

but also moral and spiritual values perfects, achieves and completes the human person as

rational and free human being

provides peace, security, confidence and happiness.

The State


• Common Good - Essential Components:

1. public external order ( protection of life, property/ respect of freedom

and rights/ security and the exercise of justice and equality)

2. public well-being and prosperity ( Mater et Magistra, John XXIII)

> employment, respect for the rights of workers, public

services, wages and prices, have regards for future generation

3. intellectual, moral and spiritual development

- Conditions in attaining Common Good

1. Freedom 2. Protection of Basic Rights 3. Promotion of Every Individual 4. Social Authority

The State


• Politics - Historical Aspects: 1. Graeco- Roman Matrix

a. Plato’s Political Idealism > Reality = ideas ( true self) and phenomena > Politics is reduced to ethics. > Kings must be philosophers.

b. Aristotle’s Political Realism > State is a natural consequence of being human. > Ethics is reduced to politics.

2. Patristic Period – Middle Ages

a. St. Augustine of Hippo > Ideal state = led by Christian leaders and citizens live

in accordance with the Christian Ideal b. St. Thomas Aquinas > Political authority = a necessity in attaining the

common good + a transcendent end

The State


• Politics - Historical Aspects: 3. Modern Period

a. Francisco Suarez ( 1548-1617) > Political authority = a natural necessity for man +

citizens’ will > Politics = a natural part of the whole society.

b. John Calvin ( 1509-1564) > Political authority = a necessity as long as we are

physically human > a reaction to the idea - Law is no longer necessary

because Christ has liberated us from its

bondage.

c. The necessity need of man to be fully realized Other communities are inadequate.

The State


• Politics - Historical Aspects: 3. Modern Period

d. Separation of politics and Christian Ethics > Politics is commonly defined as the art of government

and public service. > from the Greek word, “polis,” – city Political act every decision or action by the city or

state Political task to manage a city or state e. Philippine Constitution > Politics is meant for the good of civil society. f. Reality > Politics becomes an arena where interests of the

powerful and the rich few always tower over the weak and the poor. > Public office has often become the means of

enrichment, influence and power for self and family interests.

The State


• Politics - Mentality that separate Morality from Politics:

1. Bourgeoisie mentality

a. existed among the bourgeoisie of the 19th century b. shuns morality for it is not important in political matters. c. focuses on self-interest ( liberalist mentality).

2. Marxist/ anarchist mentality a. Individual does not count. b. What matters is the will of the state. c. The individual is just an organism that exists for the will

of the state. d. Consequently, morality loses its importance. e. Do not bow to any other authority, even to God.

3. Machiavellian mentality 4. Hegelian mentality

The State


• Church and Poliitcs - Church Involvement in Politics:

1. teaches that morality and politics can not be separated.

2. involves in the total human development of the people.

3. CBCP – Faith = religious and moral dimension of

life. Every human activity = flows from the intellect and will

( which has a religious and moral dimension,

either leading one to grace or to sin)

Therefore, human activity( politics) has a religious and moral

dimension. 4. not to grab for power, a. but to take care of the people’s welfare and morality and b. guide the them towards integral human development.

The State

Responding to the Call of Justice and Love • Church and Politics

- Church Involvement in Politics: 5. has the duty a. to get involve in political action ( involves doing

something to influence and affect the policies of the state), b. but never in partisan politics.- GS 76

6. Influencing government policies and actions through: a. Collective action against graft and corruption, human

rights violations and socially-aggressive development projects; b. Engaging in legislative advocacy, electoral activities c. Monitoring and being involved in government projects.

“ This is evangelization: the PROCLAMATION, above all, of salvation

from sin; the LIBERATION from anything oppressive to man; the

DEVELOPMENT of man in all his dimensions, personal and communitarian; and, ultimately, the RENEWAL of society

in all its strata through the interplay of the Gospel of Truth and

Man’s concrete total Life.” – CBCP, The bond of love in Proclaiming the

Good News, Jan. 29, 1977

The State


• Church and Politics - Basis for the Church’s Involvement in Politics: 1. The Gospel and the Kingdom of God call the Church to Political

Involvement.

a. Mk 1:15

b. The act of repentance and believing in the Gospel through > renewing our lives, > defending and promoting the values of the kingdom ( justice,

peace, truth, love, freedom, equality, mercy and reconciliation) > proclaiming and live those values in all aspect of our lives. 2. The Church’s mission of integral salvation involves the temporal

sphere, not only the spiritual.

3. Salvation is liberation from personal and social sin, including sin in the

political sphere. EVANGELIZING politics and FORMING the CONSCIENCE who are involve in politics.

The State


• Church and Politics - Basis for the Church’s Involvement in Politics: 4. The Church has the option for the poor also in the field of politics. > ensuring that the gov’t policies do not favor the rich at the expense

of the poor

5. At the core of the Church’s mission is the integral development of the human person who is affected by politics. - Moral religious truths that should guide and transform

politics: 1. Human dignity and solidarity are first principles of politics. 2. The common good is the goal of political activity. 3. Authority and power are divine trust for service. 4. Between political community and the Church, there should be mutual collaboration.

Trapoby Yano

Jueteng at illegal logging may sideline rape at kidnappingDealer ng shabu at uzi commander ng private army

May ari ng subdivision stockholder ng corporationLandlord na land grabber pa anak ka ng bobong tanga

May misis pero siyam and kabit na-addict kay sabik na sabikAng kapal mo hindi ka manipis ginu-good time mo lang ang aming buwis

Mas maraming absent kesa sa present di ginagawa kaniyang assignment.

Wala sa congress panay ang beauty rest.

Ang hirap mong hulihin. Lahat kaya mong bilhinWala kang silbi (@X) sa a min.

Trapo, trapo ka kasi. Trapo, trapo ka kasi.

Di na binoboto pero nananalo (2X)And sarap mong ihawin. Ipalamon sa mga pating. Wala kang silbi sa

amin.Daming kalokohan, pero napagtatakpan.

Documents

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