Prof. Franz Josef Stegmann Bethlehem Social ... - Ordo Socialis
Prof. Franz Josef Stegmann Bethlehem Social ... - Ordo Socialis
Prof. Franz Josef Stegmann Bethlehem Social ... - Ordo Socialis
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<strong>Stegmann</strong><br />
no-one should in situations of disagreement "appropriate the Church's authority (only) for his<br />
opinion ". 34<br />
Biblical revelation and Christian faith demand the removal of inhuman conditions and a<br />
commitment to shaping a human social order. The application of these principles in detail and<br />
the concrete ways of building a just society depend on political, economic and social<br />
knowledge as well as on the experience of the single individual. Plurality of opinion is<br />
therefore natural. "Christian faith can lead to different commitments." Christians, however,<br />
who decide in favour of those "different commitments" and "at first sight seem to be in<br />
opposition" to each other, are asked to make every "effort at mutual understanding of the<br />
other's positions and motives". 35 In my view, this is a task in particular for Christians engaging<br />
in political action, to which Christian <strong>Social</strong> Teaching should contribute and for which it<br />
should qualify them.<br />
34 Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution (1965), Art. 43,6.<br />
35 Paul VI, A Call to Action – Octogesima Adveniens (1981), No. 50,1.<br />
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