It’s the economy, stupid!” Readers may
remember that catchphrase from Bill
Clinton’s first bid for the US presidency
in 1992. A top adviser invented the line to
help Clinton-the-candidate keep his
campaign focused on economic issues, and
the strategy proved successful. Around the
Vatican these days, someone should put up
a sign that says, “It’s natural law, stupid!”
Such a slogan would deal with the
speculation that Pope Benedict is “going
green” or that he will write a major
document on the environment. The Pope is
obviously concerned about the future of the
planet, but he’s hardly a card-carrying
environmentalist. Rather, he has focused on
green issues as a way to connect people with
a more fundamental idea – that the world
(Earth, sky, animals, human life) is created
by God. And in this Creation there are laws
at work, i.e. natural law.
The Pope believes in fundamentals. And
this is the one that provides the foundation
of all his social and moral thinking. That’s
why the International Theological
Commission (ITC), which met in Rome this
week, continues drafting a document on
natural law. It will try to demonstrate that
the concept is the foundation on which the
Church’s ethical and moral teachings are
based. The goal is to prove that the Church’s
moral guidelines are valid for all human
beings and not just for Catholics. It is
believed that the ITC document will form
the basis of the Pope’s next encyclical, which
will treat some environmental themes in
the context of a broader reflection on all
social issues. But don’t expect it to be a
classic social encyclical in the line of Rerum
Novarum or Centesimus Annus. It will be
something more fundamental – an
encyclical that clarifies the philosophical
premises of the Church’s social teaching.
Fonte:http://www.thetablet.co.uk/pdfs/1515/bookmarks/#pagemode=bookmarks
