It would take a braver man than I to tackle the issue of the Referendum head on. (In any case, since the course starts on 24 September, the key issue will have been resolved by then!) But both Archbishops have urged participation and Archbishop Cushley specifically mentions 'Catholic Social Teaching' in his message:
'I encourage you, in the light of Catholic social teaching, carefully to consider the issues and to do your civic duty on the day itself.' (Full statement from both Archbishops here.)
I suppose you could probably base an entire course on teasing out what such a reflection would involve. (Don't worry! I won't!!) But I'll make a couple of points as a way of introducing topics which will crop up over the ten weeks.
First, there is no expectation that reflection for a Catholic is any easier than for a non-Catholic: it's not as though the Church has a list of rules which can sort out the decision more quickly. Indeed, by highlighting a number of issues that might otherwise have escaped our notice, Archbishop Cushley in particular seems to be encouraging a deeper and more complex reflection on how to vote.
'Urged by the love of Christ, we are called, to be citizens who contribute positively to the common good and who strive always to consider others and their good before our own. We are called to promote peace, integral human development and authentic human rights, and to have a special care for the poorest and the weakest in society.'
How we reflect on practical action is primarily a matter of practical wisdom (Greek: phronesis; Latin: prudentia). We'll look at this more closely on the course, but Aristotle's understanding of practical wisdom (which has been an important basis for Catholic thinking in this area) is this:
'So far from offering a decision procedure, Aristotle insists that this is something that no ethical theory can do. His theory elucidates the nature of virtue, but what must be done on any particular occasion by a virtuous agent depends on the circumstances, and these vary so much from one occasion to another that there is no possibility of stating a series of rules, however complicated, that collectively solve every practical problem. This feature of ethical theory is not unique; Aristotle thinks it applies to many crafts, such as medicine and navigation (1104a7–10).' (Extract from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Aristotle's Ethics here.)
Secondly, there are nevertheless key values or principles that Catholic reflection on human life has identified as potentially relevant in such decision making. (Archbishop Cushley mentions a few in the extract above: the common good, the promotion of peace etc.) What these may be and where they come from is again something we'll deal with in the course, but a list of important themes might include:
Life and Dignity of the Human Person
Call to Family, Community, and Participation
Rights and Responsibilities
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
Solidarity
Care for God's Creation
(I've taken these from the website of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops here.)
As I said, these are only a couple of the points that one might take from the Archbishops' messages. But I'll leave you with two questions to mull over:
1) How do we expect wise people (or ourselves when acting wisely!) to deliberate on political questions such as this?
2) What do you think about the themes identified by Archbishop Cushley? (Has he included anything you'd leave out? Excluded anything you'd have put in? How helpful is his advice?)
Please feel free to use the comments' box to discuss this or anything else that strikes you as relevant! (And please don't feel you have to be signed up on the course to do this. All contributions are welcome!)
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