The Vatican plays a leading role in global debates about violence and war, economic development for poorer countries, and the distribution of resources. To make its views better known, in 2004 the Vatican published a compilation of Church statements, many of which oppose key policies of the Bush administration, especially on the war in Iraq, the role of social justice, and the need for greater equity in the world economy.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church cannot be conveniently dismissed as the work of trendy lefties in the Church. It is the most considered and comprehensive publication on such a range of issues ever issued on the authority of a pope. Pope John Paul II instructed the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace to prepare the 525-page document, and it was revised carefully by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Despite its diplomatic language, this collection of papal and other church statements is a very strong criticism of US unilateralism and its imperial tendencies. The Church favours international co-operation, and insists repeatedly that freedom must be secured on the basis of social justice, equity and respect for human rights.
Significantly, the Compendium opposes ethical relativism that reduces moral principle to self-interest or the imposition of force. The Church is renewing its claim to be a key custodian of the just-war tradition, but extends this commentary into the entire realm of social justice in the international economy.
The Compendium does not seek to bind Catholics in conscience to accept its views as if they were doctrinal statements central to faith. Although the Church affirms strongly its moral principles, judgments about social, economic and political matters of their nature are less definitive. Such judgments do not depend solely on the authority of the Church, but more on the force of the arguments themselves in changing circumstances. Hence there may be room for debate or changes of position.
However, the Church takes very seriously Christ’s words to feed the hungry, care for the sick, the homeless and people in distress, and so considers concern about war, poverty, hunger and injustice as part of its core business. It engages in efforts to improve the human condition, not primarily by invoking superior insight into technical matters but by engaging in earnest conversation about human needs and encouraging the search for more adequate solutions.
What then does the Compendium tell us about the