Full Human Flourishing
June 22, 2025
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God; and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God . . . for the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants . . . pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.” –Romans 13:1, 6-7
As we continue the Jubilee Year of Hope, this weekend we celebrate the Jubilee of Governments. The United States of America began with a Declaration of Independence, overthrowing the rule of King George III and the government of Great Britan, so there’s a little bit of tension with authority that is part and parcel of the American ethos. We like to question authority and do not tend to accept status quo situations. In many ways, this has served us well as a nation. We are a nation that values exploration, ingenuity, inventiveness, and the entrepreneurial spirit. This way of viewing and relating to authority can become problematic, though, if freedom becomes all about individualistic self-gratification at the expense of the common good.
From the perspective of Catholic Social Justice, government is not a necessary evil, simply restraining those who would use violence to limit the rights and freedom of other citizens, but a positive good seeking “to create a human environment that offers citizens the possibility of truly exercising their human rights and of fulfilling completely their corresponding duties.” (Compen-dium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 389) For several years, we have seen a growing attitude in our country, influenced by libertarianism that values only the primacy of the rights of autonomous, individual freedom without reference to freedom’s corresponding duties (Catholic Social Justice views human rights as rising out of our duties to ourselves, each other, and the common good). This attitude leads some people to believe that the only legitimate political authority is the smallest version of government needed to provide for the defense of citizens, their rights, and their property, that taxes are theft, etc. Catholic Social Justice sees that governments are established to promote solidarity among people and to promote full human flourishing through their laws and policies, without ever violating fundamental human rights because “the human person is the purpose and foundation of political life.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 384)
Beginning today, the bishops of the United States have asked us to observe Religious Freedom Week. One of our most precious rights, enshrined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, is the free exercise of religion. This right flows from our duty to honor God through how we live our lives. This right is more fundamental than simply the “right to worship.” Even outside of religious services, human beings have the right to live their faith in its complete integrity and to have their faith shape their political involvement (provided that this is done in a manner that respects the religious freedom of all people). This means that Catholics advocate for robust conscience protections that would never force someone to lose their livelihood or be imprisoned due to because they conscientiously object to performing actions that would violate their religious or moral beliefs. We also advocate for moral positions such as when earlier this week the Archbishop for the Military Services and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Timothy Broglio released a statement on the current state of immigration policy and enforcement in our nation, “Law enforcement actions aimed at preserving order and ensuring community security are necessary for the common good. However, the current efforts go well beyond those with criminal histories. In the context of a gravely deficient immigration system, the mass arrest and removal of our neighbors, friends and family members on the basis of immigration status alone, particularly in ways that are arbitrary or without due process, represent a profound social crisis before which no person of good will can remain silent. The situation is far from the communion of life and love to which this nation of immigrants should strive.”
Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), when we commemorate in a peculiar way the great gift of the Eucharist. We have the privilege of receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus each week at Mass. The last words that we often hear from the priest or deacon as we leave the eucharistic assembly each week is, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” How do we announce the Good News of our renewed Communion with the Lord and our neighbor? By glorifying the Lord by our lives, through the way we proclaim the love of Jesus in our thoughts, words, and deeds throughout the week. Our reception of Holy Communion is not simply a “Jesus & me” moment that ends when we leave the church building. It is meant to have personal, sociological, and political implications in our world. When our hearts are transformed by the selfless, compassionate love of Christ, we are to go out and let that love transform our homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, cities, states, countries, and world. The world is crying out to become Eucharistic: a place where divine love is given and shared, transforming hearts and minds, brining us into greater unity as sisters and brothers under our Father who created us in love, through love, and for love. “In order to make society more human . . . love in social life—political, economic, and cultural—must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 582)
May our celebration of Corpus Christi, Religious Freedom Week, and the Jubilee of Governments truly become a “Eucharistic Revival” of truth, justice, mercy, and compassionate love in our hearts, our church, and throughout our world!