Politicians urged to work for the 'common good'

In their pastoral letter on the General Election, Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said both political parties should promise to work together on issues such as the drug problem, young people and their future, usury, stability in marriage, protection of the family, the environment and historical heritage.

They also called on candidates and members of political parties who considered themselves to be committed Christians, to influence their party from the inside:

"It should be these persons who purify their own party from any attitude that goes against the values of the Gospel, such as words that hurt, disrespect for any person whether or not involved in politics, and similar attitudes."

In their pastoral letters on the general election and Lent respectively, Mgr Cremona and Mgr Grech also touched on aspects of the common good. There is much talk nowadays on the common good but perhaps few are those who fully understand its full implications in life.

In Vatican II's pastoral constitution The Church in the World Today the common good is defined as 'the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily'. The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each person, and particularly those who exercise the office of authority. It consists of three essential elements:

Firstly, the common good presupposes respect for the person. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person.

Secondly, the common good requires the social well being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. It is the proper function of authority to arbitrate in the name of the common good between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life.

Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order.