Charity and Justice
How does the Church understand the relationship between "the necessary commitment to justice and the ministry of charity"? Pope Benedict XVI gives a twofold response.
The first response has to do with the service of the faith to politics. The "just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics" (n. 28b). The Holy Father recalls the Church's teaching on "the distinction between Church and State," and the proper autonomy of the State. Church and State, however, are related to each other. The State safeguards the practice of religion, and the Church is a significant free community within the State, contributing to the good of all.
The State has the purpose of serving justice, "which by its very nature has to do with ethics." The State must constantly seek what is just, purifying itself of "a certain ethical blindness caused by the dazzling effect of power and special interests" (n. 28c).
Politics and Faith
In the State's pursuit of justice for all, in accord with the demands of ethics, the Church provides an essential service. The State strives to know what is just by means of human reasoning. Faith in God necessarily leads to the purification of human reasoning, to the enlightening of the mind clouded or darkened through the commission of injustices. The Church's social teaching which is the fruit of faith in God helps the State to purify anything in its policies and law which is unethical and, therefore, unjust. The Church does not attempt to impose its properly internal teaching and discipline upon others but to present its teaching on the natural moral law as a fitting means of pursuing justice (n. 28d).
It will be helpful here to remind ourselves that the autonomy of the State does not mean autonomy from ethics, from the natural moral order. The Church calls the State, as she calls herself, to respect and uphold, in all things, the order with which God has created us and our world.
The Church presents her teaching which is founded on right reason, that is, "on the basis of what is in accord with the nature of every human being." She does so, in order to assist those responsible for the political order to form their consciences, in accord with the common good, and so to act ethically. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that "the Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest" (n. 28e).
It is clear that the Church does not invade the proper autonomy of the State, but she serves the State by advancing what is right and good for all. "She has to play her part through rational argument, and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper" (n. 28f). The Church, by her very nature, must tirelessly work so that the common good is served by the State, in accord with what is the proper responsibility of the State.
The Necessity of Charity
The second response of Pope Benedict to the question regarding the relationship of justice and charity is the reminder that charity "will always prove necessary, even in the most just society." In other words, we must remember that the ordering of the State, in accord with the requirements of justice, will never take away the need for us to care for each other with love. The State cannot respond to the multiple situations of suffering, in which what is most needed is "loving personal concern." When the State attempts to provide by itself for all of the needs of its citizens, including the love of neighbor for neighbor, it fails and devolves into a bureaucracy.
Regarding the relationship of the State to the need of charity, Pope Benedict XVI declares:
We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives which arise from the different social forces and in which are united free will and closeness to those needing assistance (n. 28g).
The Holy Father points out that our care for one another in need must address, not only our material needs, but, more importantly, our spiritual needs. Here, the Holy Father notes the fundamental error of Marxist philosophy which reduces man to material reality only, thinking, as Pope Benedict writes, that man lives "by bread alone" (Mt 4:4). By so thinking, Marxism "demeans man and ultimately disregards all that is specifically human" (n. 28g).
