During his recent visit to the
United States, His Holiness Pope Francis emphasized our shared responsibility
for greater harmony between that which we view as secular and that which
constitutes our humanity. He
persistently reminded all Americans of our fundamental law as members of We the
People of the United States of America.
The governing law of our
relationship was forged as an agreement among the founding members of We the
People (as binding upon them and all future generations) through authority from
Nature’s God, our Creator, and the Supreme Judge of the world. That which is secular derives its existence
from humanity, as well as from the Earth’s Creator. Witness these express acknowledgments in the
Declaration of Independence: “the separate and equal station to which the Laws
of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them”; “they are endowed by their
Creator”; “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world”; and “with the
protection of divine Providence”.
Moreover, Pope Francis reminded us
that: “truths must constantly be reaffirmed, re-appropriated and
defended”. In support of this he
reflected upon the fact that our Nation has constantly had to exercise effort
to reaffirm, re-appropriate and defend the truths set forth in our charter as
the sovereign of this great Nation.
His Holiness Pope Francis reminded
all humans that we are endowed by our Creator with human rights. His message is that all things have come
through the Creator. Men and woman are part
of Creation. Therefore, all of Creation
shares rights through men, women and the Creator. He acknowledged that this is often beyond
scientific study and thus beyond our comprehension.
Thus, Pope Francis described the
bigger picture: “The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on
the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect
for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor,
the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned,
those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a
statistic.” “Such understanding and respect call for a higher degree of wisdom,
one which accepts transcendence, self-transcendence, rejects the creation of an
all-powerful élite, and recognizes that the full meaning of individual and
collective life is found in selfless service to others and in the sage and
respectful use of creation for the common good.”
Pope Francis focused on the
sanctity of men, women and society, frequently referring to human rights, dignity,
as well as fraternity. He also
referenced aspects of human dignity which are beyond scientific study and thus
beyond our comprehension. He acknowledged
the family as the primary social institution; the foundation upon which we
build all others. He reminded us that the
“pursuit of happiness” is through our daily struggle to build a better life for
our families. He reiterated that the
identification, honoring and fulfillment of human rights are humanity’s shared responsibilities
to one another. This is that to which
American citizens have agreed in our Declaration of Independence, which
agreement is supported through our mutual pledge of our lives, fortunes and
sacred honor.
Pope Francis expressly referenced
portions of the Declaration of Independence and invoked champions of the
Declaration of Independence, including Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr.
and others. He utilized four Americans to inspire Congress: Abraham Lincoln
(liberty), Martin Luther King Jr. (liberty in plurality and non-exclusion),
Dorothy Day (social justice and the rights of persons) and Thomas Merton
(dialogue and openness to God). He
emphasized “cooperation” and asked that we cooperate “generously for the common
good” calling for “a renewal of that spirit of cooperation”. To Congress he observed: “Politics is . . .
an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one
the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests
in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social
life.” The Declaration of Independence
was the first agreement in the United States which expressly mandates such
spirit of “cooperation”.
The Constitution derives its
authority from We the People, and thus through We the People, likewise from the
same Creator. He emphasized “governments
exist to protect and defend” human rights.
Such purpose of governments is expressly mandated by the Declaration of
Independence. As the sovereign of the
Vatican City State through his meetings with the President, Congress, and the
General Assembly of the United Nations, Pope Francis emphasized the intention
of the Creator that there should be greater harmony between that which is viewed
as secular and the religious conscious of all.
The government, capitalists and other secular elements of human life and
society should honor and respect religious freedom, not suppress it.
Furthermore, Pope Francis noted
that the modern, secular enforcement of the First Amendment to the US
Constitution is a violation of freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause must not be utilized
to limit the exercise of the human right to religious freedom in the “public
square”. To do so serves to suppress the
exercise of religious freedom; it elevates spurious and unconstitutional
secular objectives above human rights. He
referenced Moses as an example of a historical, religious person who shared the
same purpose as Congress. He reported
that although fulfillment of our promises to each other remains our shared
goal, the United States of America, the United Nations, the European Union and
many other collective democracies share Judeo-Christian origins, including
substantive contributions by Catholics. In mentioning this, his purpose was not
to diminish the importance of the free exercise of religious consciousness for
all religious belief; rather it was to reiterate the common source of authority
humans receive from their Creator, Nature’s God.
He warned us about “today’s
widespread and quietly growing ‘culture of waste’.” He reminded us that “The
fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts,
especially in its causes. I know that many Americans today, as in the past, are
working to deal with this problem. It goes without saying that part of this
great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth.” “To enable these real
men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be
dignified agents of their own destiny” through “the right to education”,
“lodging, labour, and land” as minimums, as well as “spiritual freedom, which
includes religious freedom”. He called upon business to create jobs as “an
essential part of its service to the common good”. The Declaration of Independence expressly
contemplates the human right to pursue happiness, as well as other human
rights. It also provides: “And for the
support of this Declaration . . . we mutually pledge to each other our Lives,
our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
At each and every venue, Pope Francis
manifested hope that mankind would embrace the “pursuit of the common good” as
the chief aim of politics beginning with “[e]ach son and daughter of a given
country [having] a mission, a personal and social responsibility”. Pope Francis expressed support for capitalism
when it serves the common good.
Capitalism is comprised of humans.
When it serves only a fraction of all humans and not the common good, it
is not doing its part in our shared responsibilities or obligations as humans
to identify, honor and fulfill the human rights of all humans. The founders of
We the People of the United States of America fully understood Pope Francis’
concerns regarding unfettered capitalism, markets without real limits, social and
economic exclusion, and so on. America’s
founders rejected the notion that the few who possessed extraordinary wealth
should rule. Rather, our founders and
early members of We the People entered into an agreement among all Americans
that all of our lives, fortunes and sacred honor should serve each member (and
all members) of We the People. In other
words, all Americans have already agreed with Pope Francis: “Money must
serve, not rule!” Beginning in 1776
and continuing thereafter, the Agreement among We the People mandates that
wealth must serve to fulfill the human rights of all Americans and that the few
who have extraordinary wealth shall not rule the many. The Declaration of Independence evidences all
Americans’ agreement to Human Rights Capitalism.
During his recent visit, His
Holiness Pope Francis tailored each of his speeches or homilies to his
audience. Nonetheless, Pope Francis
emphasized that to which all American citizens have already agreed. Moreover, Pope Francis reminded us that: “truths
must constantly be reaffirmed, re-appropriated and defended” and that
throughout our history our Nation has constantly had to exercise effort to
reaffirm, re-appropriate and defend the truths set forth in our charter as the
sovereign of this great Nation.
Referring to that which is agreed upon in the Declaration of
Independent, Pope Francis referred to human rights, the role of government, our
mutual pledge and so on as “principles in social and political law”. In other words, “a governing law of conduct”
to which all members of We the People have already agreed. From Lincoln’s lectern at Independence Hall,
Pope Francis called upon each of us to be “responsible citizens”, renewing
“society from within.”
Pope Francis’ messages are memorialized in the
Declaration of Independence. From the
lectern used by Lincoln when he delivered his Gettysburg Address, Pope Francis’
final message is for America to lead as it once did by honoring its original and
continuing Agreement. In other words, he
has challenged America (and its citizens) to once again serve as a world leader
based upon our Declaration of Independence.
Pope Francis encourages us to
utilize our elders “who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience”, “they
keep working to build up this land.”
