In search of complementarity

Politicians and Church people are miles apart. Or are they? Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi thinks their roles are complementary. He made his position clear in a speech he delivered during a seminar organised last November by the Foundation Centesimus Annus.

The seminar sought to explore some implications for Malta of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate. In the same speech the Prime Minister also gave us his insight into the role of politicians trying to find practical solutions in situations when people of different beliefs are citizens of the same state.

Dr Gonzi's position on the first topic can be summed up thus: Church people project visions while politicians try to find practical, technical solutions. He sees both roles as a service to society. In this and other encyclicals Pope Benedict clearly said that the Church does not substitute the State; it does not give technical solutions.

However, as the Prime Minister noted, the vision put forward by the Church has to be anchored in real and concrete situations. It has to emanate from human experience, well studied and analysed.

The Pope did just that when he postponed the publication of his encyclical in order to reflect on the economic crisis which was evolving while he was putting pen to paper. He paused his work to be able to present a document that adequately addresses the current situation.

The politicians' practical and technical solutions have to emanate from, and reflect a vision. Without a proper vision, the efforts of politicians to arrive at technical solutions can be compared to the strivings of a body without a soul.

"My government's vision is inspired by the social teaching of the Church," said Dr Gonzi. The list of values he sees emanating from this vision is quite long. It includes the primacy of the human person and its integral development; respect of human dignity independently of one's condition or orientation; the right to life; the importance of the family; solidarity, even with future generations; subsidiarity; the distinction between Church and State; and unqualified respect for all those who do not share this vision but are citizens of the same state.

Several times in his speech, Dr Gonzi clearly said that finding practical and technical solutions is not an easy task. Politics is, after all, the art of the possible, not the realm of theories or dreams that cannot be realised. In this context, Dr Gonzi referred to the principle of gradualism, that is, one should do the best one can do in the circumstances without prejudicing the possibility of doing more if circumstances change.

The search for practical and technical solutions would have been easier if everyone shared the same vision and accepted the same principles. The Prime Minister recognised that this is not the case in a pluralistic society. The search is not even easy when people embarking on the search share the same vision, Dr Gonzi said. Experience shows that there will be differences when these people start to translate their search into concrete, detailed technical solutions. These are very legitimate differences.

Dr Gonzi referred to two important issues facing our country: the family and bioethics. He asked more questions than he gave answers to, but his questions were enveloped in the clear vision he put forward for both issues. The importance of marriage and the family, in the first issue, and the protection of human life from its very beginning, in the second.

These and other challenges face out society today. Dialogue, tolerance, profound reflection of our actual situation, and the serenity that results from the attitude of service for the common good are few of the tools Dr Gonzi refers to as valuable company in this search.

I would add another one: The humility that acknowledges that those of a different opinion or value system are as valuable for our society as we are.

joseph.borg@um.edu.mt