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Church Teachings on Socialism, Totalitarianism, and Bioethics

Philosophy and ethics3.69 KB

Faith and Social Doctrine

Materialism and Class Struggle

  • Dialectical Materialism
  • Historical Materialism
  • Dogma of Class Struggle

Critique of the Church on Socialism

  1. Philosophical basis: Denies God and humanity.
  2. Protection of absolute equality is impossible: Denies the principle of difference.
  3. Messianic Utopia: Immanence moves the Kingdom of God to Earth.
  4. Destruction of the duty of obedience and the principle of authority promotes class warfare.
  5. Disturbances in marriage and the family; neglects traditional family values.
  6. Denaturation of production: Denies private property.
  7. Form monopoly of education: Prudent thought in collaboration with movements.

Totalitarianism

The state is absolutely against the individual.

Critical Account of the Church Regarding Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism denies:

  • The principle of subsidiarity.
  • The anthropological principle.
  • The existence of Christ's Messianic role.
  • Human freedom (refuses radical freedom of man).

Church Views on Democracy

Leo XIII on Democracy

Democracy is the popular regime. The Church criticizes democracy where it conflicts with human dignity and the divine origin of power.

John XXIII on Democracy

Criticizes the opinion that democracy cannot be emancipated from natural law (i.e., democracy cannot be separated from natural law).

John Paul II on Democracy

Our environment is: dominant, individualistic, and naturalistic, which causes the decline of democracy.

Critics of the Church Regarding Democracy

  1. Decline of the democratic system in pursuit of the common good; the common good is replaced by special interests.
  2. Danger to participation.
  3. Everything is relative, so the interest of the state prevails.
  4. Covert forms of totalitarianism (pseudodemocracies) can lead democracy astray.

End-of-Life Issues and Bioethics

Therapeutic Futility

Treatment is useless or useful but not profitable.

Terminal Sedation

Sleep-inducing pain relief, regardless of the effect on the patient's death.

Assisted Suicide and Living Wills

Assisted Suicide / Terminally Ill / Living Will.

Anthropological Questions

Human dignity starts from the beginning of life until death. It is not granted, but recognized, and is inviolable, independent of the person's state. Life, liberty, and dignity precede all else.

Ethical Implications

Rejection of anti-life nature. It is never lawful to kill. It is not lawful to practice therapeutic cruelty. While sedation may be lawful, people must be enabled to make that decision; is the decision irrevocable?

Causation of Current Trends

How do we get to this point? Desacralization of life following the disappearance of God from the human horizon, a process of secularization, and the primacy of subjectivity and freedom above life itself.

Alternatives

  • To die at home.
  • Palliative care.
  • Psychological support.
  • Pain units.
  • State aid.

Theological Perspective

There are patterns to life; pain has a meaning from the Christian perspective.

Euthanasia and Law

  • Netherlands: Legal since 2002.
  • Belgium: Legal since 2002.
  • Australia: Approved in the North, then revoked.
  • Oregon: Similar situation (approved then revoked/restricted).
  • France: Passive euthanasia is legal.

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