Pastoral guide : some challenges and possibilities for implementing the universal mission of the Church Cc(.;Vl^ 0(1,0 CK?i,'\ -hs^^w\cfL~ . bi.vAs^O'^ ^-j- vOc-w'toi ciwiLl T'ejtoL^ ’^T^'^Ho'TccV auiclc, • A:b o %cx3S PASTORAL GUIDE SOME CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE UNIVERSAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH . . . designed to assist diocesan programs for implementing the Church's teaching about international justice, global development, world peace . . . Division of World Justice and Peace United States Catholic Conference 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005 FOREWORD In December 1969 delegates from more than thirty dioceses and representatives from ten national Catholic organizations met under the auspices of the Division of World Justice and Peace, United States Catholic Conference (USCC), for an intensive three day seminar in which they examined the international issues of development and peace in the light of relevant contemporary Church teachings and U.S. foreign policy. The sixty-five participants represented a wide range of clergy and laity engaged in education, the lay apostolate and social action. One of the purposes of the seminar was the preparation of a guide to assist dioceses throughout the nation in implementing the Church’s teaching about international issues. The suggestions pre- sented in this Pastoral Guide are the results of the work of the delegates under the general editorial guidance of staff members of the Division of World Justice and Peace and a drafting committee selected from among the delegates. We can only hope that this Guide makes some contribution to the growing body of substantial material designed to assist the Church in its essential task of continual renewal. Monsignor William McCormack, Archdiocese of New York, Chairman of the Committee Mr. Mathew Ahmann, Archdiocese of San Antonio Monsignor Henry Bezou, Archdiocese of New Orleans Mr. James Norris, Catholic Relief Services—USCC Monsignor Robert Peters, Diocese of Peoria February 1970 Mrs. Jane Wolford, Archdiocese of Detroit OeadcHfiec Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/pastoralguidesomOOunit INTRODUCTION Among many episodes of the Second Vatican Council, perhaps none illustrated the in- sights of Pope John XXIII or the ultimate purpose of the Council so well as one which occurred toward the end of the first session. Addressing the assembly of bishops, Cardinal Suenens, Archbishop of Belgium, said, “We must say something about the very life of the human person. We must speak of social justice; we must define a theology and practical duty of rich nations toward the impoverished Third World. The Church must speak about international peace and in a way that can help enlighten the world." Reacting to Suenens’ appeal, Pope John rejoiced: “At last the Fathers are beginning to understand what the Council is for." The entire world, Christians and others, is still discovering its implications. Since the Council ended in 1965, we have witnessed a torrent of powerful global move- ments — the visible emergence of the people of the Third World living in impoverishment, alienation and oppression; the formation of military-industrial complexes on both sides of the Iron Curtain; the explosions of infor- mation and population; the dissolution of monolithic communism; the acceleration of the world’s arms race; breakthroughs of incredible proportions in technology; outbursts of violence in South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and severe riots in the United States, Europe, Japan and mainland China; and the release of great energies for Christian unity. In these tumultuous times, we are reminded of Vatican ll’s enlightened vision, “Chris- tians cannot yearn for anything more earnestly than to serve the men of the modern world with mounting gen- erosity and effectiveness” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 93). / However, the overriding imperative concerning service to the impoverished and alien- ated masses of the world is not a call to charity; it is a demand for justice. While charity has come to mean a personal expression of individual, spontaneous generosity, justice—on the other hand—is communal and ordered. Justice becomes real through the political process; it is the collective action of people moving through their legis- lative and social processes so that inalienable human rights receive the guaranteed protection of the community at large (Populorum Progressio, cf. n. 12, 13, 33). Justice — on the international level — does not amount to rich nations giving out of their abundance to poor nations, setting up paternalistic relationships between donor and recipient. Rather, justice is aimed at insuring equal treatment among brothers and at removing barriers to human progress which are man-made. It is precisely to this issue—the just service of man and the implications that service has for world peace—that this Pastoral Guide is addressed. 2 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS Christian theologians have always held that mankind is one and the world is one. Such a view is no longer restricted to the world of theory; it has become an undeniable reality. We are indeed living in a “global village,” in which each man’s condition is common knowledge. Theology has also always main- tained that it is precisely to those who are impoverished that the good news of the Gospel must be witnessed. The special concern of the Church must always be to go to the destitute, the oppressed, the exploited, so that what was a human desert may bloom with God-inspired dignity and creativity. The indictment of Scripture is lucid in this regard; the judgment of the “just” will be based on the sincerity of their response to that divine injunction (Matt. 25: 35 ff.). Unfortunately, Christian justice is not yet the “undeniable reality” that global physical unity is. Religious values are indispensable for man's complete development and the develop- ment of all mankind. In this era of revolutionary scientific breakthroughs, man faces the option of a more human life for all men or an enslavement to his own technological inventions. Christians have a unique and continuing obligation to contribute in this process of integral human development—in integrating material development with the spiritual. For Christian concepts to make their impact in the community in our country today, they must be actualized at the diocesan and parish level. Vatican II reminded us that “since the People of God 3 live in communities, especially in dioceses and parishes, and somehow become visible in them, it is also up to those to witness Christ before the nations” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 37). Resources and ingenuity are not lack- ing in our nation for the necessary educational effort and most importantly, for motivating the will for this task. Educated and concerned bishops, clergy, religious and laity, functioning through diocesan and parish pastoral councils can give dynamic leadership. The present danger lies not in expecting too much but in settling for too little, and succumbing to psychological negativism. As a nation we possess the material resources and technological genius to fulfill our responsibility in helping to promote the transition for all men ‘‘from less human conditions to those which are more human” (Populorum Progressio, n. 20). However, it is futile to presume that the task is not formidable. Recently the American Bishops expressed their grave concern about the effectiveness of the Church’s role in the world’s affairs: Within recent years the Church has maintained the high level of its official teachings in encyclicals, in Council, in Synod, in papal addresses. She has borne dramatic witness to principle in Mater et Magistra, in Pacem in Terris, in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, at the United Nations, and in Populorum Progressio. She has addressed herself to social justice, world peace, the political order, the underdeveloped nations. By all this, many were moved to put their hopes in her. If Catholic performance does not match Catholic promise, then truly we shall have failed. If our deeds contradict our statements, then we shall have doubly sinned. We were warned once: ‘‘It is not your encyclicals which we despise; what we despise is the neglect with which you yourself treat them!” (American Bishops Pastoral, The Church in Our Day, January, 1968) Referring to efforts at closing the ‘‘highly sensitive administration gap” between Cath- olic promise and performance. Monsignor Joseph Gremillion, secretary of the Vatican Commission on Justice and Peace, recently said such an agency as the Pontifical Commission ‘‘should have been set up in 1891 at the latest to implement Pope Leo XIM’s encylical Rerum Novarum on the rights of the worker.” He further commented that an agency of this kind could have been the operational arm of the Church implementing the dictates of that 4 papal document. Transition from promise to performance is both arduous and salvific. Initiatives taken on the level of the dioceses and parishes in the areas of international justice, development and world peace, interpret- ed in the light of the Gospel, can foster a great Christian ferment in the local community to which the People of God can respond in a positive and creative way. The material that follows was designed to provide some general guide to assist dio- ceses to implement the Church’s social teachings relevant to international issues. The Guide was prepared in response to a growing volume of inquiries from bishops, priests, laity and religious about programming possi- bilities, and it is in this spirit that this Pastoral Guide was developed—to suggest “possibilities” for diocesan ex- ploration. The suggestions are not intended to be exclusive or limiting: rather they are indicative of general areas for implementation. 5 AREAS FOR EXPLORATION 6 I. AWARENESS AND ATTITUDES ... we deplore the lack of a stable, persevering national concern for the promotion of the international com- mon good. This is reflected in the fickleness of public interest in and Congressional support of foreign aid. It is reflected also in a seeming insen- sitivity to the importance of trade agreements beneficial to developing nations. (American Bishops Pastoral, Human Life in Our Day, November 1968, cf. Chapter 2) Recent studies suggest the relatively meager level of factual information among citizens about U.S. interna- tional issues and relevant Church social teachings.^ However, it cannot be stated that anything like a com- prehensive survey has been made in this regard among U.S. Catholics. Assessment of public awareness and attitudes might best be achieved by a diocesan-wide survey. Presumably, results of such a survey would vary among dioceses due to differences in such factors as economics, education, sociology and urbanization. The goals of a survey are twofold: A. To learn the popular impressions and attitudes held by U.S. Catholics about our nation’s involvement in international affairs (e.g., How does the U.S. com- pare with the other nations in supporting foreign aid and other Federal programs? What should be the limit of U.S. intervention abroad? How does the U.S. aid bill compare with the defense budget?) and official teachings of the Church on these questions (e.g. Pas- toral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Populorum Progressio, American Bishops Pastoral cited above, “The Catholic Conscientious Objector”). B. To develop a cadre of laity involved in the im- mediate task of conducting the survey, leading toward their more extended involvement in promoting the issues after the survey is completed. On the basis of the results of the survey, a strategy for educational programming can be developed. Results of the survey should be programmed to receive wide coverage by local mass media. Design of the question- naire and the conduct of the survey might be con- tracted with competent experts in the field. Manpower to conduct the campaign could be recruited from existing diocesan organizations such as the Diocesan Council of Catholic Men, the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women or the Knights of Columbus. 1 “Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: The Case of Foreign Aid" by Alfred 0. Hero, Jr., World Peace Foundation, Boston, Mass. “The Impact of Vatican II,” A Survey of the Laity of the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., the Becker Research Corporation. “Detroit Survey,” the Institute for Continuing Education, Archdiocese of Detroit. “Evaluation of Diocese of Davenport,” National Council of Catholic Men. AWARENESS AND ATTITUDES 7 II. EDUCATION FOR INTERNATIONALISM The National Conference of Catholic Bishops pledges its united effort to- ward forming a climate of public opin- ion for peace, mindful of the Coun- cil’s advice that "government officials . . . depend on public opinion and feeling to the greatest possible ex- tent” (n. 82). We will therefore, through existing and improved agen- cies, support national programs of education for Catholic Americans and for all Americans in collaboration with all religious groups and other organi- zations. (American Bishops Pastoral, Human Life in Our Day, November 1968, cf. Chapter 2) Education bears a special responsibility in prepar- ing present and future generations to deal with our contracting planet in a way that can help reduce ethnocentrism and contribute to concerted attempts to solve the world’s problems. Both institutional struc- tures and more flexible education programs provide dioceses not only opportunities for intellectual ex- changes concerning global issues but also channels for constructive action. 8 A. Educational Institutions The basic premise underlying school programming for international issues is the urgency of the ques- tions to be dealt with. Education of students to the Church’s teachings relevant to international issues has to address itself to both fact and strategy. Two priorities are crucial: to alert the educators and to challenge the students. Programming aimed to assist these two educational publics follows: 1. Seminar for Educators. Organize 2-4 day seminars on international issues under the auspices of the Dio- cesan School Office (or comparable diocesan agency) in which all teachers in the diocese participate. a. Purpose: Expose reality by examining the con- dition of men on the planet and the relevant Church doctrine. Learn about, study and discuss such issues as the economics of the arms race, ecological prob- lems and social problems (e.g., alienation, oppression, poverty in the Third World). b. Objective: Through reflection and dialogue, af- fect attitudes so that individuals will experience in- creased realization of their responsibility to make moral choices that are rooted in Christian belief, prompted by the teachings of the Church and implicit in the message of the Gospel. Provoke questioning among the participants as to how to bring these issues to the consciousness of students in view of classroom regimen, school activities, curriculum changes, col- lateral readings, parent attitudes, teaching meth- odology. 2. Traveling Workshops. Organize teams of 2-4 per- sons (including students) to tour diocesan schools on week-ends presenting an eight-hour workshop aimed toward long-range global development. As a prelim- inary measure, cooperation of the faculty of the local school is necessary if the program is to have long- range value. a. Purpose: Focus on attitudes about international issues, including international development and world peace. b. Methodology: Encourage sharp interaction among participants: agitate and provoke students to defend their ideas in front of others. c. Follow-up: Student involvement designed to in- crease the students’ awareness of global conditions, and organized to direct their efforts toward their Con- gressional representatives. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 9 B. Adult Education Adult education is a process of creating an aware- ness directed toward meaningful, effective action. International issues can be — must be — the sub- stance of a diocesan program for adult education. While most of the material in this Guide is related to adult education, one specific model — a “Day of Awareness”—may be of value. What follows is an outline of an education-for-action program designed to be sponsored at the level of the diocese, deanery or parish. The detailing assumes diocesan sponsor- ship,—i.e., the entire program (preparation, study- sessions, the “Day”, and follow-up) is under the or- ganizational responsibility of some designated diocesan agency, e.g.. Diocesan Department of Adult Education, Pastoral Council or Council of Men or Women. Re- sponsibility includes coordinating the work of several committees. The flexibility of the design allows for adaptability to each locality and creativity on the part of local adult groups. The model thus, is suggested in the spirit of Populorum Progressio: “. . . it belongs to the laymen, without waiting passively for orders and directives, to take the initiative freely and to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws and 10 structures of the community in which they live” (n. 81). Diocesan Education-for-Action Program The purpose of the overall program is to promote an awakening among the participants to the needs of the poor and the oppressed of the world, and also an awareness of the responsibility to other nations of the Christian citizens living in the richest nation in history. Examination of factors which lead to the exploitation of the poor nations should receive high priority. In varying degrees, this awakening and awareness is to lead to spelling out means whereby the efforts of local Catholics can be brought to bear on the growing problems of world hunger, disease, misery and war. How answer, in practical terms, at the level of the parish, the question: Are we our brother's brother? How implement the response? 1. Study Sessions. Weekly two-hour discussions on an appropriate text in individual parish groups should span a two or three month period. Highly recommended is Pope Paul's encyclical On the Development of Peo- ples (Paulist Press edition with study guide by Bar- bara Ward). Efforts here must strive for maximum parish participation. (Adult Education Committee) Particularly involved in these discussions should be members of the designated diocesan agency who will organize not only the discussions but also the “Day of Awareness” program which is linked to the study sessions. 2. “Day of Awareness,” A major speaker is the highlight of the “Day." The theme of the major ad- dress should be the condition of the planet; the speech should stress that individual acts of private charity cannot adequately minister to the needs of the Third World: large, coordinated, multilateral assistance pro- grams are imperative; the role of U.S. in world affairs should be examined, also, the tendency in the U.S. to- ward isolationism or imperialism. In addition, a panel of three persons to be selected from among local inter- national businessmen, ex-Peace Corpsmen, or over- seas missionaries can give an essential local flavor to the “Day.” The issues of world hunger and human freedom deeply involve secular affairs, such as the need for government financial and technical assistance in un- derdeveloped nations and preferential overseas trade policies. Since one of the objectives of the “Day” is to help people understand, for example, that when they pro- mote just legislation by the U.S. Congress in the field of overseas development they are doing “church work,” it is advisable that the events of the “Day” be or- ganized within a religious setting, biblical and para- liturgical. (Liturgical Committee) The subject matter of world hunger is tough and complex. Problems are not solved with simplistic answers. Display of facts and scenes at the site of the “Day” is essential. (Educational Committee) 3. Follow-up. Essential in the planning is the realiza- tion that secular society is active, and has been for some time, in energizing programs which support the ideas detailed in Pope Paul’s encyclical On the De- velopment of Peoples and Pope John’s Pacem in Terris, An important contribution the “Day” can make to the locality is to alert Catholics to these move- ments and encourage them to give their active sup- port. A survey of the extent of international involve- ment on the local scene can be helpful, for example. Peace Corps, PAVLA, foreign student-teacher ex- change programs. How can these programs be better promoted in the community? Is there a local United ADULT EDUCATION // Nations Association, a League of Women Voters, World Federalists, Foreign Policy Association? Are Catholics supporters of these worthwhile programs? Responsive laity can become chief implementors of diocesan pro- grams, such as those suggested in other sections of this Pastoral Guide. (Refer also to comments relevant to Adult Education in Section V: Christian Responsi- bility and the Legislative Process.) 12 C. Education for the Clergy Vatican II in the Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, recognizing that the clergy should be able to make adequate response to contemporary man’s questions, urged that priests be well acquainted with “the documents of the Church’s teaching authority and especially of councils and the Roman pontiff’’ and with the advancements of “human culture and the sacred sciences” (n. 19). Current efforts by American Bishops in their program for priestly formation are essential. Equally critical in this formation is the need to introduce and augment the international aspects of the Church’s teachings so that these permeate clergymen’s understanding and attitudes. For purposes of stating some options as training possibilities, the subject of clergy education is subdivided into two categories. Suggestions which follow are intended to apply as well to houses of study for religious communities of men and women. 1. Seminarians. The following suggestions are de- signed to introduce aspects of international social justice and world peace into seminary training: a. Improve sociology courses presently taught in seminaries. Faculty for such courses should be given adequate training in the field. If no such courses exist in seminaries, the local ordinary could recommend that such courses be included in the training of his seminarians. b. Equally important is provision for courses on international issues in seminarians’ training. c. Include in-depth study of recent papal en- cyclicals about world peace and justice, i.e., Popu- lorum Progressio, Pacem in Terris, Mater et Magistra, and Council documents, e.g., Gaudium et Spes and the American Bishops pastoral of November 1968. The course must challenge students’ conceptions and at- titudes about such issues as war-peace, nationalism, conscientious objection. Curriculum needs to include course matter designed to implement Vatican’s ll’s “conviction that the horror and perversity of techno- logical warfare ‘compel us to undertake an evaluation of war with an entirely new attitude.’ ’’ (Pastoral of November 1968) d. Involve seminarians in internationally oriented learning experiences, such as week-end seminars at the United Nations and overseas assignments. 2. Ordained Clergy. In-service training possibilities for clergymen include the following: a. Priests’ Senates could arrange conferences on international issues. If the diocese is too large for a single conference, arrangement can be made on a deanery basis. It is essential that the structure of meet- ings allows for maximum discussion and feedback. b. In-depth study should be made of recent Chuch statements relevant to international peace and justice, particularly examining implications of these teachings as they affect understanding of such issues as the role of the nation-state, citizens’ conscience in regard to war and peace. EDUCATION FOR THE CLERGY 13 III. CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE AND MILITARY SERVICE If war is ever to be outlawed, and re- placed by more human and enlight- ened institutions to regulate conflicts among nations, institutions rooted in the notion of universal common good, it will be because of citizens of this and other nations have rejected the tenets of exaggerated nationalism and insisted on principles of non-violent political and civic action in both the domestic and international spheres. (American Bishops Pastoral, Human Life in Our Day, November 1968) In the background for any program ministering to conscience in regard to military service, of course, is a tradition of biblical interpretation and the Church’s relevant social teachings expressed in encyclicals, the Vatican II Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, the American Bishops Pastoral of No- vember 1968 (cf. Chapter 2) and the statement “The Catholic Conscientious Objector" (October 1969). The clear teaching of the Church is for peace; Church policy is essentially a peace policy. f4 Draft Counseling Program. Draft counseling is the collection, study and dissemination of all informa- tion regarding military service and the Selective Service system. In such a program the individual is provided counseling designed to assist him to make a responsi- ble decision in the context of such issues as the sov- ereign power of the nation-state and its obligations to secure the common good and the individual’s view of justice and peace. A distinction thus is made be- tween war-resistance counseling and draft counseling. 1. Purpose. The purpose of beginning and maintain- ing a draft counseling program sponsored by the dio- cese is to provide a needed pastoral ministry to meet a widespread and serious conscience problem facing American Catholics. The experience of youth counselors around the na- tion indicates that neither young people nor their fam- ilies are very knowledgeable about their options or rights regarding military service. The seriousness of the situation is heightened by the fact that the draft is one of the most severe conscience problems facing youth today. A survey of high-school-age and college- age youth can easily disclose the popular knowledge level of Selective Service requirements and options, as well as the degree to which knowledge of relevant Christian teaching is a factor in making judgments. 2. Considerations. Among the key elements to be considered in providing draft counseling are the fol- lowing: a. Some programs should adopt an ecumenical approach. The questions implicit in the areas are not uniquely Catholic, and many youths relate more ef- fectively to an ecumenically based operation than to the traditional Church structures. However, if an inter- faith program is not feasible, a diocese still has an implicit responsibility to provide an appropriate re- sponse to this serious conscience-oriented problem. b. An appropriate beginning might be the con- vening of a seminar for interested priests, ministers, school counselors, interested laity. Such a meeting could examine the condition of the need in the com- munity, provide pre-counseling information and recruit counselors. c. Counseling information must be disseminated widely on military service and draft options to students in high schools and colleges, to teachers and coun- selors and to families. Since one distinct dimension is the Church’s teaching relevant to war-peace and the nation-state, appropriate treatment of the issues for girls in high schools and colleges should not be over- looked. d. Provision must be made to reach youth in dis- advantaged areas so that minority groups, who are par- ticularly vulnerable to misinformation or no informa- tion, are provided with proper guidance. Efforts should not be overlooked to reach public high school stu- dents. e. Staff and budget considerations: provision may need to be made for full-time coordinator and secre- tary, additional volunteers as trained counselors, office and other necessary expenses to promote the program and provide on-going training for counselors. 3. Resources. The Division of World Justice and Peace-USCC can provide and/or give reference to cur- rent information about Selective Service and military service training staff to be available to dioceses for consultation, surveys of current activities in the field, and an advisory association of counselors. CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE /5 IV. UTILIZATION OF MASS MEDIA Gentlemen of the press (and other communications media): it is up to you to place before our eyes the story of the efforts exerted to promote mu- tual assistance among peoples, as well as the spectacle of the miseries which men tend to forget In order to quiet their consciences. (Populorum Progressio, n. 83) A communications-oriented cadre of concerned citizens should attempt to persuade newspapers, TV and radio stations to review their treatment of international de- velopment and peace-keeping news. An outline of a diocesan program follows: A. Prepare guidelines to assist diocesan team of “media-watchers” designed to signal international is- sues, such as trade, development, justice and peace. The guidelines should include the major related issues which should be getting local media coverage. B. Closely scrutinize diocesan press coverage of in- ternational issues. To make Pope Paul's accolade of the 16 Church more meaningful: “The Church possesses as her characteristic attribute a global vision of man and of the human race” (Populorum Progressio, n. 13), the diocesan press should strive for excellence in cov- erage of critical international issues. C. Periodically invite leaders of local mass media (e.g., newspaper editors, TV and radio station man- agers) to sessions to talk over the need for reporting the full record of development and to express to them real citizen interest in reporting in depth. D. Utilize radio talk shows. Suggest topics such as national priorities and military spending to local sta- tion outlets. Offer personnel to appear with an- nouncer in answering questions from radio audience. E. Provide a consistent, persistent and timely cam- paign of “Letters to the Editor” of local secular press, highlighting pertinent international issues. F. Local media usually reflect local tastes and often cater to local activities. The media are capable of re- inforcing too narrowly defined sense of nationalism which can restrict a global vision so essential in bringing about international justice and peace. It is necessary, therefore, that the cadre of media watchers themselves have global vision. Otherwise this effort will ony re-inforce parochialism which is already pervasive in society. V. CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY AND THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS Government officials: it is your concern to mobilize your people to form a more effective world solidarity, and above all to make them accept the necessary taxes on their luxuries and their waste- ful expenditures, in order to bring about development and to save the peace. (Populorum Progressio, n. 84) The magnitude and complexity of the challenges and problems implicit in pursuing international justice, de- velopment and world peace are too great to be left exclusively to the responsibility of elected officials. Precisely for this reason. Pope Paul appealed to the Church membership to exercise its Christian obliga- tion. We ask our Catholic sons who belong to the more favored nations to bring their talents and give their active participation to organizations, be they of an official or private nature, civil or religious, which are working to overcome the diffculties of the developing nations. They will certainly desire UTILIZATION OF MEDIA /7 to be in the first ranks of those who collaborate to establish as fact and reality an international morality based on justice and equity. (Populorum Progressio, n. 81) The movement toward a more just and peaceful world order, therefore, requires effective contributions from many components of society. Among them are the teaching Church’s expressions of its moral discern- ment, an enlightened Christian laity sensitive to the needs of the less fortunate as well as to their own responsibility in the political process, and government leadership willing to pursue efforts to achieve a more human life for all the inhabitants on the planet. Implicit in this integral effort is the need for con- temporary education programming by the Church. For Christians to implement their “global vision of man and of the human race” they must possess an adult understanding of the national legislative process, the issues which can move through this process and the ways in which the process can be affected by re- sponsible citizens. It is precisely here, at the point of the political act, that Christian citizens can express their responsibility in international development. Training courses given under diocesan auspices, de- signed to sensitize Christians to their essential role as J8 LEGISLATIVE PROCESS citizens, are consonant with the Church’s pastoral ministry to modern man. It is appropriate to note that all parishioners live within the boundaries of U.S. Congressional districts. As mature and enlightened residents of "diocese-districts,” Christian citizens can contribute to the establishment of an international morality based on justice and equity. An outline of a plan for implementing the Church’s role follows. A. Promote formation of cadres of concerned Chris- tian citizens prepared and equipped to gather the facts about the status of international development in less developed nations and current U.S. overseas assistance programs, including military involvement. Informa- tion gathering should include facts about arms sales abroad, treaty commitments, level of armed forces and their deployment. Precise knowledge of the voting record of the local Congressman on these issues should also be included. B. Conduct education campaigns (several months duration) prior to U.S. Congressional actions on pertinent international legislation, such as USAID, U.S. contribution to the United Nations and military expen- ditures. Synchronize campaign efforts with “media- watchers.” (Refer to Section IV: Utilization of Mass Media.) C. Stimulate the convening of citizens with their Congressmen for discussion of development and peace issues. It is particularly important during political cam- paigning to expose citizens and candidates to give- and-take on these issues. D. Encourage the formation of citizen groups which would promote and recommend for public office those candidates who will actively campaign for and rep- resent the “global vision of man and of the human race.” LEGISLATIVE PROCESS /p A WORD ABOUT DIOCESAN ORGANIZATION In order to respond to the pressing global needs facing the world and the Church, Pope Paul established the Pontificial Commission Justice and Peace ‘‘to arouse the People of God to their mission at this time.” Corresponding to the Vatican Commission, the American Bishops created the Division of World Justice and Peace of the USCC to assist agencies and institutions of the Catholic Church in the U.S. in their re- sponse to this ‘‘most weighty task.” By issuing this pastoral guide, it was not intended that dioceses proliferate organi- zations and committees. Diocesan structures are generally designed to accommodate the needs and resources of the local community, and consequently they vary widely among dioceses. For this reason, no attempt has been made to define the specific characteristics of a diocesan organization. The major emphasis has been on pro- gramming because it was felt that what was needed was amplification of possible areas in which dioceses might become operative. Determination of appropriate structures will follow when programming has been designed. The essential organizational element to be noted is the need to establish a diocesan instrumentality through which international issues can be broadcast. Pope Paul’s mandate to the Pontifical Com- 20 mission appropriately applies to a diocesan counterpart, i.e., “to arouse.” Therefore, the chief activity of a dio- cesan entity is to arouse, to promote, to catalyze. It is not just another committee or task force which is en- visioned. Rather, the field of activity is the entire Christian community which must be assisted in arriving at a new awareness of its life in the world. The instrumentality should attempt to inject the concern of world development, inter- national justice the war-peace into all levels of diocesan and parish life. What is needed is to coalesce people and resources of the established Church organizations and energize the formation of new groups at the diocesan level. Along with those who have been active in international programs, individuals must be sought who have not been closely associated with established organizations, but who have, nonetheless, a particular talent and interest in the endeavor. People must be convened and set into action who might not have responded were it not for the existence of this international issues-oriented effort. If energy is not released, then other elements, other re- sources, other people must be brought into the matrix. The issues are too crucial to be allowed to lie hidden in a dormant paper organization. Diocesan programs in the field of social justice and domestic peace have parallels in international issues. These two areas, domestic and global, are not to be seen in competition with each other; the poor of the Third World are not to be pitted against U.S. poor. Diocesan programs promoting justice and peace must be integrated. Efforts of such diocesan agencies as Urban Task Forces, Social Action and Human Relation Committees are functionally complementary to efforts of an internationally oriented diocesan entity and vice versa. This paralleling and complementary feature is perhaps best illustrated in the field of political and social action. Organizations through which diocesan campaigns are directed to affect legislation and implement domestic social justice (e.g., open housing, school integration, welfare rights), should be seen as appropriate avenues to promote the Church's interest in international social justice (e.g., U.S. foreign assistance, trade agreements, arms lim- itation, support of the United Nations and its related agencies). Catholics must be helped to see that the demands DIOCESAN ORGANIZATION 21 for open housing in America are part of the same garment of social justice as are the needs to remove U.S. trade barriers against imports from the poor nations. For pragmatic reasons, assignment of international issues might be made to specific subcommittees within such existing organizations as Priests’ Senates, diocesan, parish and pastoral councils. The prime concern, however, cannot be with the form the structure should take. What is essential is that the global issues of international justice, development and world peace receive high priority in the assignment of the time and talent and resources of the dioceses of the Church in America. 22 Single copy 30< Bulk rates on request 0 1 ' *.j "If Catholic performance does not match Catholic promise then truly we shall have failed , . . American Bishops Pastoral, January 1 968