Let's get Catholic, shall we?

First, a political message (???) from John Martignoni that I, too, think is worthy of consideration.

I've never delved into politics here - well, at least not directly - but I want to do so now because I want to bring to your attention the American Solidarity Party(ASP) - https://solidarity-party.org/.  This is a national political party that is founded on solidly Catholic principles - which is the sole reason I am mentioning it here.  It is pro-life and pro-marriage (one man, one woman).  It also has at its core two Catholic principles that are rarely, if ever, considered by any of the other parties - subsidiarity and solidarity.  These two principles are why I've joined the ASP, and why I'm asking you to consider joining it as well.

Solidarity is, essentially, based on the virtue of justice.  Justice, in the Catholic sense of the word, is to give God and man their due.  Solidarity pertains to the latter half of that equation.  Here is a quote from St. John Paul II on solidarity: "[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all."  It is about the dignity of all human beings and the justice that is due to each.  (See paragraph #2407 of the Catechism.)

The other principle, subsidiarity, is, in my opinion, the most important principle of Catholic social teaching that is almost never spoken of.  Most Catholics have no idea what it is, but it is so important for the right ordering of society and it is so important to getting our country back on the right track.  Subsidiarity simply means handling things at the lowest level of society possible. (Emphasis mine. - F.G. Subsidiarity is inherently anti- totalitarian.) If this principle were regularly applied in our society today, we would have a federal government with a lot less power than the one we have today.  Less power over health care, less power over education, less power over bathrooms, less power over the economy - less power over our lives in general.  And less power at the federal level would mean less corruption of our political processes.  (See #1883 - #1885 of the Catechism.)

Anyway, just wanted to let you know about it and ask you to consider joining.  You can do that here: https://solidarity-party.org/register/.  There is no cost to joining.  If you would like to know more about the party, you can read the party's platform here: https://solidarity-party.org/platform/.  And, just so you know, the party platform - just like those of other parties - can be changed.  This platform is from the last convention.  It will undoubtedly change at the next convention. 

There are some things I like about it, and some things I don't like about.  I like the pro-life, pro-marriage, solidarity, and subsidiarity principles that are at the core of the platform - that's why I joined the party.  I don't, however, like some of the planks, such as the call for "single-payer" health system and the plank that is opposed to the privatization of Social Security.  I would prefer owning my Social Security account rather than the government owning it.  And there are a few other planks that I believe need changing.  But don't let disagreement over a plank here and there keep you from joining.  The core of the party is solidly in tune with Catholic teaching, the details can be fine tuned. 

(Now, don't tell anyone, but I am actually thinking of running for the National Committee to get some of those things changed.  I guess you could say I would represent a slightly more "conservative" wing of the party.  So, if you join, you could help me work on a few things.) 

Again, though, all of this is merely for your prayerful consideration...

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.