October 24, 2012 – Catechism 1905 – 1912

Three elements of the common good

Respect for the person.  Public authority can NEVER take away the fundamental and inalienable rights that belong to each person.  These are simply put, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Social well being and development of the group itself.  This seems to make common sense if not a bit redundant.  But the authority must determine what is needed for the social well being of the group, they need a goal, in order to move and fulfill the common good.

Peace.  The common good is never served by chaos and conflict.  The group may have to defend itself, but it should never focus or try to do so for an extended period of time.  Only with peace and stability can the common good be sought. 

These paragraphs talk of the worldly community and the common good for it.  When you think of worldly community, you think of the UN.  This is probably the closest thing that now exist to a world governing body.  But one of the main issues with the UN is that they will find it very hard to meet the definitions above as an authority trying to establish the common good.  The reason is at its foundation.  Because the UN is a group of nations that was developed from the ideas and beliefs of different nations, at their foundation, they are not an ideal group.  An ideal is something to aim for, something to try and live up to.  If the UN were ideal, their foundation would be based in the common good as shown above.  They were not founded on the common good but as a common denominator of beliefs of many different nations.  Some of these nations do not have the common good in mind when they formed and do not have the same respect for individual freedoms and dignity.  What has developed is a UN that is based on manmade laws stemming from manmade ideals that takes good ideas and bad and throws them together to form its foundation.  Therefore, its foundation is not idea, but mediocrity at best.  That is why it is concerning when our nation, founded on ideals that are based on God given rights and a goal to shoot for, is told to do something by the UN that is against those ideals, we do.  The UN has its place and can be useful, but as a world authority, it is not interested in the common good as defined above.  That is why, when the US’s common good is in contradiction with the UN, we need to act accordingly.