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Appleton, WI

Oct 5: Day by Day with Father Bill

MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

-From Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility

Four Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
III. The Common Good

(49) Human dignity is respected and the common good is fostered only if human rights are protected and basic responsibilities are met. Every human being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights possible, and a right to access those things required for human decency – food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing, freedom of religion and family life. The right to exercise religious freedom publicly and privately by individuals and institutions along with freedom of conscience need to be constantly defended. In a fundamental way, the right to free expression of religious beliefs protects all other rights. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities — to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. Rights should be understood and exercised in a moral framework rooted in the dignity of the human person..
(50) The economy must serve people, not the other way around. It is therefore necessary that an economic system serve the dignity of the human person and the common good by respecting the dignity of work and protecting the rights of workers…
(51) We have to care for God’s creation…(It) is a duty of our faith and a sign of our concern for all people, especially the poor, who “both everyday experience and scientific research show” suffer “the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment…” The threats to the environment are many. Pope Francis, consistent with both St Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, has recently lifted up pollution, climate change, lack of access to clean water, and the loss of biodiversity as particular challenges.

Father Bill +