{"id":743,"date":"2012-06-04T18:33:55","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T22:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=743"},"modified":"2012-06-04T18:33:55","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T22:33:55","slug":"the-role-of-the-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/the-role-of-the-government\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of the Government"},"content":{"rendered":"

It should be quite obvious to anyone who regularly follows the national news that this is a presidential election year.\u00a0 While we believe in the separation of church and state, this does not mean we ignore our faith in issues before the government.\u00a0 We must hold to the principles of right and wrong that we have because of our faith.\u00a0 I have written before on this and you can read that at http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/sj\/sjcitizenship.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I have been listening to the news on this year’s election, one point I think needs to be considered before<\/em> deciding what candidate we will vote for is what do we expect the government to be doing for us.\u00a0 There seems to be a large percentage of the people who think the government should fix everything.\u00a0 Of course, some of these people are the same ones who think the government should stay out of people’s lives.\u00a0 (The current question of religious liberty<\/a> comes to mind here.)<\/p>\n

For instance, many people think the government should fix the economy.\u00a0 I do not believe the government can fix the economy.\u00a0 This is not meant to be a negative statement about the government.\u00a0 Rather, while the government can influence the direction and stability of the economy, I do not think it is possible for the government to fix the economy by itself.\u00a0 The economy is very dependent on the actions of individuals, businesses, and in today’s world, our own national economy is heavily influenced by the economies of other countries.<\/p>\n

So, what is the role of government?\u00a0 First, let me quote from another part of my website (“Important Concepts in Catholic Social Teaching”)<\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0principle of subsidiarity states that all decisions and actions should\u00a0be handled at the lowest level possible.\u00a0 In other words, a\u00a0national government should not impose laws for issues that can be handled appropriately at the city level.\u00a0 The reverse is also\u00a0true.\u00a0 The national government should not expect a lower level to\u00a0handle situations that are beyond its means.\u00a0 It was first\u00a0introduced as the principle of “subsidiary function” in Quadragesimo Anno<\/a> <\/em>that states, “The supreme authority of the State ought,\u00a0therefore, to let subordinate groups handles matters and concerns of\u00a0lesser importance, which would otherwise dissipate its efforts\u00a0greatly.\u00a0 Thereby the State will more freely, powerfully, and\u00a0effectively do all those things that belong to it alone because it alone\u00a0can do them” (paragraph 80). <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also direct you to Peace on Earth<\/a>, <\/em>the encyclical written by Pope John XXIII in 1963.\u00a0 The entire encyclical speaks on the subjects of rights and duties but Part II specifically addresses the relationship of individuals and the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, the government exists to serve the needs of the people.\u00a0 Our United States Constitution<\/a> opens with the words “We the people.”\u00a0 <\/em>Our Constitution was written for the people by the people, not the government.\u00a0 I enjoy you to check out the links I have provided and think about what it is that you believe our government needs to work on and vote in accord with this and the principles and values in which we believe.\u00a0 That is our right and freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peace,<\/span><\/p>\n

Fr. Jeff<\/span><\/p>\n

For Further Reading<\/span><\/p>\n

Rights and Responsibilities<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It should be quite obvious to anyone who regularly follows the national news that this is a presidential election year.\u00a0 While we believe in the separation of church and state, this does not mean we ignore our faith in issues before the government.\u00a0 We must hold to the principles of right and wrong that we …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘The Role of the Government’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-bZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":744,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}