Social Concern Notes

Using this parable, explain the proper relationship between the following terms:
State, Land, Citizens, Government.

Sample Answer: People require land in which to provide for their needs: food, shelter, family life etc. In order to live in peace and security, it is often necessary for people to protect their persons and their land from hostile aggressors. For this reason the people organize a government to attend to this concern. The people give the government authority and the means to carry out his task. The government is to carry out the will of the people and is responsible to the people.

Our theme today is the Hong Kong government's speedily proposed Anti-Subversion law: Article 23.

"Then the Pharisees went off and began to plot how they might trap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, accompanied by Herodian sympathizers, who said: 'Teacher, we know you are a truthful man and teach God's way sincerely.'"

To everyone's surprise the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders, got together with their hated enemies the Herodians. The Pharisees despised the Herodians because they collaborated with and "flunkied" for the Roman government. We ask: "What brought these enemies to form an alliance?" Simply said: "national security." They feared that Jesus might be a subversive and a danger to "national security."

Let's try to describe the situation in more detail. Both the Herodians and the Pharisees perhaps admitted that Jesus was a good guy. They probably liked some of the things that Jesus did. Jesus went by himself into the desert to pray for forty days. No problem! Jesus cured sick people and passed out relief goods. Great news! Jesus told nice stories about God being merciful and forgiving. No problem! Jesus taught the poor that one day after death they would enjoy an eternal wedding banquet. No problem! Nor did they accuse Jesus of being insincere:

And Jesus replies: "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

Jesus gives this brusque and flippant response and makes a fool of his questioners in public before the ordinary citizens.

According to these leaders, Jesus might upset the delicate balance between the security needs of the Roman Empire and those of the local Jewish inhabitants. Already big mobs were following Jesus. Jesus was a charismatic speaker and had a simple but politically subversive platform -- the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes were okay for an individual here or there but, if practiced by large groups, they could constitute a danger to the existing political order. And sometimes Jesus said things that could weaken the people's respect for their leaders' authority. So they concluded that Jesus might be a potential danger to "national security".

Everyone wants to live in peace and security. The terrorist bombings disturb all of us. We want these people to be caught.

At the present time in history, the planet earth is divided up according to States or Countries. In the simplest of descriptions, at some time in ancient history people occupied a particular piece of land. They hunted and farmed. Occasionally another tribe would wander onto their area and the inhabitants would politely ask them to "get lost." At other times the visitors wouldn't leave and there would be conflict. So the inhabitants decided to appoint a few people to make slingshots and keep guard against any marauders. Since these guards couldn't farm, the folks paid some taxes. Later, the population grew and they needed more guards. They also had to organize themselves to build roads, post-offices, collect garbage and perform all sorts of services. So they chose some of their members to be the government.

God had no objections if that was the way the folks wanted to arrange things if they always remembers that God owned the land and they administered the land as stewards and that all the world was one family. God wanted everyone to live in peace and security.

The term "national security" has a second meaning and embodies a philosophy that contradicts the social teachings of the Catholic Church. The words ""national security"" describe a school of nineteenth century political philosophy. [Clauswitz.]. This philosophy is said to have influenced Hitler. Today "National Security Ideology" is prevalent in many parts of the world. Catholics need to study carefully the Hong Kong proposed Article 13. The Catholic must distinguish society's legitimate security needs from the "National Security" philosophy.

This "National Security Ideology" teaches that ordinary citizens are nice and 'mean well.' But they are not interested in politics. They are children when it comes to politics. "We, the government, are highly motivated, trained, educated and wise." We must treat you like children to protect them. By obeying us you will be safe. If they love China, your country, you must love and respect us-your government. TRUST US! IT IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!"

In the "National Security Ideology", there are two kinds of religion: "Good religion" and "bad religion."

"Good religion" teaches Chinese Catholics to pray in Church, hold orphanage parties, and support all government policies and directives.

"Bad religion" advocates the social teachings of the Catholic Church. "Bad religion" teaches fundamental human rights, stewardship, participation and subsidiarity. "Bad religion" speaks the truth. "Bad religion" disobeys unjust laws. "Bad religion" teaches that all governments are ultimately responsible to their citizens. "Bad religion" teaches that there is a basic wisdom in the general population. "Bad religion" teaches that the combined citizenry in the long run is not naive, stupid or can't be bothered. "Bad religion" and experience teach that all power without accountability becomes self-serving.

"Violations of human dignity and human rights can never be justified, even for the security of the nation." [Emphasis added] (Pope John Paul II, Pope John Paul II statement at Malacanang Palace on February 17, 1981, Sunday Examiner, March 6, 1981.)

"The "National Security Ideology" has chosen geopolitics and strategy as its privileged, or based sciences... Another classical definition is that of the Geopolitics Institute of Munich which played a relevant role in preparing the rise of nazism between 1923-1932: 'Geopolitics is the science of the relations between earth and political processes. It is based on the fundamentals of geography, especially political geography, that is, the science of the political organism in space and at the time of its pattern. Moreover geopolitics furnishes political action with necessary weapons as well as the orientation for political life as a whole. In this way geopolitics becomes an art, the art of conducting practical politics.'" (Jose Comblin, The Church and The National Security State, Orbis Books, New York, 1979, pp. 66-68.)

Parents protect their child from danger. The child cannot understand why he may not play on the busy street. The parents restricts the movements of the child for the "child's own good."

	National Security State		Social Teachings of Catholic Church
1.	The first priority is survival of the nation.	1.	The first priority is to live in full dignity as children of God.
2.	The Government knows best what is best for the country. People are like children, and are not to be trusted.	2.	People have the right and capacity to participate in their government.
3.	The Church should not meddle with politics, and should only address "religious" concerns.	3.	The Church's mission is to incarnate the gospel into every sphere of human life.
4.	The enemy is diabolical and/or irrational.	4.	"Love your enemy." Destroy your enemies by making them your brothers and sisters. God is at work in the lives of all peoples.
5.	All the fault lies on the enemy side.	5.	"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."
6.	Victory is the result of military preparedness.	6.	Victory is meaningless unless it is built upon world-wide justice and charity.
7.	The economy must support the military as its first priority.	7.	The economy must first of all support a life of human dignity for all.
8.	In the interest of national security, it is often necessary to curtail the rights of workers.	8.	There is never a justification to limit the rights of workers to a just wage and to working conditions in keeping with their human dignity.
9.	All legitimate authority resides in the government.	9.	All legitimate authority originates from the people.

(This comparison is based on the research of Fr. Eugene Thalman entitled: Let Your Heart Be Bold: A study of Church National Security in Korea, Philippines and Taiwan: Part 1: Korea., Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples)