Solidarity and spirituality of unity

We continue our reflection on faithful citizenship by turning this month to an important bedrock principle of Catholic social teaching that guides our social and political interaction—that of solidarity. The principle of solidarity is the notion that because we all share in the same human nature created in the image and likeness of God, we all share a common humanity and thus have a responsibility for one another. The entire human society, as individuals and all together, has the duty to assist those who are in need, beginning first with those who are closest to us.

True solidarity is rooted in our nature as social beings. In other words, the human person is made for relationship. God has given us the mandate to love him and to love our neighbor and this means going outside of ourselves. We are designed by God not to be solitary creatures existing only for our own interests and ourselves. Rather, in sharing a common human personhood with each other, we also share a common responsibility of rights and duties towards each other. In short, we share a common human dignity that must be respected both in ourselves and in our neighbors.

We can say then that solidarity with others moves us towards the fullness of love for others. As the "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church" teaches, “solidarity highlights in a particular way the intrinsic social nature of the human person, the equality of all in dignity and rights and the common path of individuals and peoples towards an ever more committed unity… (CSD, 194).”

As much as we may be tempted to believe otherwise, we are made to go beyond ourselves and seek the good of others. This is the true nature of love—to will and act for the true good of the other, even when we, or they, may want otherwise. It is in this love, rooted in our common humanity as God has created us, that we find true unity. 

In "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," we bishops of the United States have stated, “We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be…while the common good embraces all, those who are weak, vulnerable and most in need deserve preferential concern. A basic moral test for any society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable (FCFS, 52-53).”

Our current political discourse seems to have forgotten this important concept of our human solidarity with each other. As such, it has lost its focus. When ideologies, political parties or personalities overshadow principled conversations or when clever turns-of-phrases, name-calling or put-downs replace civil interactions, it is then that our political discourse has lost its way. Even worse, it is then that our social and political engagement—meant to exercise our solidarity with our neighbor, to work for the common good and to imbue the world with the love of Jesus Christ—becomes an occasion for a hardening of ourselves against others. This hardening of our hearts blinds us to love of God and love of neighbor. It blocks true relationships of solidarity with others and keeps us from being people of justice and peace.

So much of the political conversations today, whether at the national level or in our everyday interactions, whether in the public square or on social media, seem to have resorted to using elaborate—and sometimes not so elaborate—insults and insinuation, ever-ready to expose and embarrass the other. We are quick to call out the faults of others while failing to recognize sin and the effects of sin in ourselves. 

For some reason, our society has adopted the erroneous notion that if one is right it is somehow allowable to forget our solidarity with other human persons who may disagree with us. We wrongly think that if the other person is wrong, it is somehow permissible to treat or speak of him or her in a less than dignified manner. In short, much of our political discourse seems to have accepted that at least part of the human dignity of those with whom we disagree no longer needs to be respected.

However, our beautiful Catholic faith teaches us otherwise and calls us to so much more. Solidarity means genuine relationships. It must be formed among all of us who share a common human nature, made in the image and likeness of God, and thus a common human dignity. Solidarity calls us to transform these relationships into relationships that move us toward working for the common good that does not violate the dignity of any human person. Thus, solidarity is the basis for all aspects of human relationships, from interpersonal ones to familial, economic, political, cultural and technological ones, but also ethical, moral and even spiritual ones. 

As many of you may know, throughout my priesthood, I have been deeply formed by the spirituality of the Focolare movement, a Catholic spirituality movement rooted in the Gospel and Christ’s prayer to the Father, and his call to us, to “all be one” as he is in the Father (cf. Jn 17:21).

This spirituality of unity seeks to live out human solidarity in a very real way. One sentence of the Gospel is focused on each day, and is applied to all the experiences of the day. As such, we begin to allow the Gospel to transform us, to transform our actions and interactions with others. Along the way, our experience of unity with the other is strengthened.

The spirituality of unity necessarily means true dialogue with others, a dialogue that is necessarily rooted in and respects the dignity of each human person created in the image and likeness of God, even with those whom we may seriously disagree or who may have harmed us somehow. This is not always easy but true dialogue in human solidarity can transform our bitter political culture and it can transform our world. It leads to action for the common good. It calls us to be free from mere partisan ideologies and opens us up to one another so that together we can move towards fulfilling our personal and social duties of working for the common good and caring for the other, especially those who are most vulnerable. The spirituality of unity helps us to build what Pope Paul VI called a “civilization of love.”

Our current polarized and acrimonious political climate—unfortunately at times also found among members of the Church—can be disheartening to see. However, our Catholic Faith calls us to be witnesses even in these times and especially in these times.

As St. John of the Cross tells us “where there is no love, put love—and there you will find love.” In the same way, where we find no civility, there we are called to put civility so that civility can be found. Where we find no respect for human dignity, there we are to put respect for human dignity so that it can be found. And where we find no solidarity, there we are to establish genuine human relationships, so that authentic solidarity for the common good can be found.

In this way, we are called to be the love that we see lacking today. In solidarity, we become the Gospel proclaimed to the world and to be the presence of Jesus Christ in the world.