THE COMMON GOOD AND RULE OF LAW

 

THE COMMON GOOD AND RULE OF LAW

The Catholic Church teaches that “It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society.”  (I rely in this article on teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1897-1917.)  There are three necessary elements which must exist for the promotion of the common good: 1 – Respect for the fundamental, inalienable rights of human persons; 2 – Access to culture and what is needed for social well-being (i.e., food, clothing, education, the right to establish a family, etc.); 3 – Peace and security.       

The authority of the state exists to promote the common good.  It is necessary because of the nature of human beings, who cannot create a society without it.  A society falls into chaos when there is no legitimate authority to which the people owe respect and obedience.  This authority must be rightly constituted and use morally licit means to enforce just laws and ordinances.  In the organization of powers, “It is preferable that each power be balanced by other powers and by other spheres of responsibility which keep it within proper bounds.”  Moreover, the principle of subsidiarity should be observed, so that what can be done better or equally well at the local level should not be done at a higher level (i.e., the FBI should not be writing traffic tickets).   

In my opinion the failure of authorities to resist the looting, burning and violence of protestors in the summer of 2020 was a moral failure and misuse of power since those who were entrusted with it did not do all they could to protect lives and property.  The failure by authority to enforce laws which exist to preserve peace and order is an abuse of power.  I also believe that authorities are failing in their responsibility when they allow illegal protests in front of the homes of judges, as is happening to some Supreme Court justices.  It threatens the rule of law.  The laws to prevent such protests exist to protect the independence and integrity of the judiciary.  The decisions of judges should be based on their reading of the law and not on fear of harm to themselves or their loved ones and property.  Such threats should not be tolerated any more than the payment of bribes. 

Great harm is caused when laws to protect the peace and to secure human life and property are not enforced.  I witnessed its consequences when I was a pastor in what were called “the badlands” of West Kensington.  Criminals with a long history of arrests and convictions were continually let out on the street where they returned to their crimes and created new victims and abused their old ones.  This continues to happen today in the United States and contributes to an environment of crime and violence in inner city neighborhoods.  For the sake of the common good, for the innocent residents, and even for guilty perpetrators, laws need to be enforced, and there must be punishment imposed on those who break them.  An example of how the dereliction of authority hurts even perpetrators was brought to my attention in a conversation with the then-police captain of the Twenty-Fifth Precinct in the case of a young man who had just been gunned down in the neighborhood.  He had a long history of arrests on his record and he should have been in jail.  The captain sadly noted that he would be alive if he had been serving time in prison.  Maybe with enforced confinement, he might have participated in programs that would have given him the skills and motivation to change. 

The common good requires laws to be enforced with a view to justice and fairness.  Enforcement should not be too lenient nor too harsh.  Our system recognizes this by granting authorities a certain amount of flexibility.  However, their decisions should always seek to promote respect for the law, the security of citizens, the protection of public and private property, justice for victim(s), and when possible, a chance for the reform of the offender.  In our fallen world the ideal is not always achievable, but for the sake of the common good the three principles set forth in Catholic social teaching should inform the creation of civil laws and their enforcement.  Faith is not required for these principles to be recognized as reasonable and necessary.  The public should demand it.  Humans can flourish only when they live in an environment where there is a stable, secure, and just public order.