Finding the Common Denominator

Elected this year to a board of directors for a small-med, non-denominational nonprofit, I find I am the only non-Catholic in the group. It was very open-minded of them to elect a UU, a religion they were not sure that they understood. They found the common denominator in me: compassion and dedication to the work.

While we are set up as non-denominational, we support a religious school and other projects that are administered by nuns. We start and end our meetings with prayer. Sometimes it does feel like we are speaking two different languages. For them, it all comes from God, God finds a way, God is at work, not us. For me, whatever happens with our projects happens because of people, people find a way, people are at work, and well, we are making things happen. I've never actually said that out loud before, because even when I think it, it sounds prideful, antithetical to nonprofit work.

So, imagine my surprise when I found my common denominator in the Catholic Social Teachings:

• "...all people are sacred..."
• "We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person."
• "We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world...At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace."
• "A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition ... and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first."
• "Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith."

If it hadn't said "Catholic" on the document, I would have thought it was written by a UU.

I know these same teachings have been used in a variety of ways, many of which I disagree with, but interestingly, they are also becoming a test for Paul Ryan. He started it, saying the CST is the inspiration for his economic policies. Many Catholics support Ryan, if only for his pro-life-ness.

But, many others are holding him to his own standard. The National Catholic Register reported yesterday:

When he [Ryan] spoke at Georgetown University last spring, he was greeted by a statement from 60 Catholic theologians who charged that his budget plan was “morally indefensible and betrays Catholic principles of solidarity, just taxation and a commitment to the common good.”

A letter from nearly 90 faculty and administration officials at Georgetown informed Ryan that his budget plan “appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

And — if that wasn’t enough — a committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led by Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., sent a letter to Congress criticizing the Ryan budget.


next topic: more commonality with gay rights, catholics are serious about social justice for all



Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/paul-ryan-catholic-who-looks-to-churchs-social-teaching-tapped-as-romney-ru/#ixzz23ZSWJjgT