CHARTER OF THE RIGHTS OF CATHOLICS IN THE CHURCH*

The rights of Catholics in the Church derive both from our basic humanity as persons and from our baptism as Christians. Membership in the human community and membership in the community of the Church, therefore, jointly confer the rights here presented which guarantee our dignity and freedom as persons and as Catholics.1

Fundamental human rights are clearly set forth in the United Nations Charter (see Appendix II in the Charter Booklet). This Charter of the Rights of Catholics in the Church presupposes the rights expressed in the U.N. Charter. These basic human rights are supplemented by the common rights and freedom of Christians bestowed at baptism, and which are based on: (1) the priesthood of all believers, (2) the fundamental equality of believers, and (3) the prophetic role of all believers.

Moreover, Vatican Council II urged the Church to read and learn from "the signs of the times." One of the clear signs of the times in many countries is a concern for human rights. The framers of this Charter of Rights for Catholics maintain that faithfulness to the message of the Gospel mandates a concern for justice in the Church, as well as in the world. The Church, by its very nature, must labor for the liberation of those oppressed and marginalized by sinful social structures, which often make it impossible for many men and women to claim even their basic human rights. The Church as a People of God, and not individual Christians only, is called to give witness to the love commandment. This responsibility entails, especially, the renewal of the Church's own structural organization where it is seen to foster injustice and to deny to some Catholics the rights of persons and the freedom of Christians.2 "Justice is love's absolute minimum" (Paul VI). The institutional Church, as a human society, can therefore no longer justify an authoritarian and patriarchal order appropriate to earlier stages of human development. The Social Justice teachings of the Church, especially as set forth in Paul VI's "Populorum Progressio," are presupposed by this Charter.

Fundamental to this Charter is the principle that all Catholics are radically equal. Canon 208 of the revised Code of Canon Law states:

There exists among all the Christian faithful, in virtue of their rebirth in Christ, a true equality with regard to dignity and activity; all cooperate in the building up of the body of Christ in accord with each one's own condition and function.

In other words, the equality of all Catholics is based on their one God, one faith, one call and one common sacramental initiation. Therefore, rights and equality are not diminished by the differing gifts and roles of Church members. Christ has destroyed all divisions, "between Jew and gentile, male and female, slave and free" (Gal. 3:28). Thus, because all are equally beloved by God, each one's ability to respond to that God and to actualize his or her capacities within the Church community, must not be limited by considerations of race, age, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, state-of-life or social position.

The revised Code of Canon Law (see Appendix I) only partially articulates the principles which should inform a just, loving, and therefore fruitful relationship between Church authorities and the People of God.

Rights do not exist in isolation, but only in conjunction with corresponding responsibilities. But it is vital to remember that no responsibilities can be properly carried out without the safeguarding and exercising of those human and Catholic rights. In view of these considerations, there is, then, a need for a clear and complete Charter of the Rights of Catholics in the Church, rights that are founded on (and limited by) the Gospel and on the authentic tradition of the Church.

This Charter, therefore, proclaims the following Catholic rights.

No. 1. All Catholics have the right to follow their informed consciences in all matters. (C. 748.1)

No. 2. Officers of the Church have the right to teach on matters both of private and public morality only after wide consultation with the faithful prior to the formulation of the teaching.4 (C. 212, C. 747, C. 749, C. 752, C. 774.1)

No. 3. All Catholics have the right to engage in any activity which does not infringe on the rights of others, e.g., they have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association. (C. 212:2,3, C. 215, C. 223:1)

No. 4. All Catholics have the right of access to all information possessed by Church authorities concerning the former's spiritual and temporal welfare, provided such access does not infringe on the rights of others. (C. 218, C. 221:1,2,3, C. 223:1, C. 537)

No. 5. All Catholics have the right to a voice in all decisions that affect them, including the choosing of their leaders. (C. 212:3)

No. 6. All Catholics have the right to have their leaders accountable to them. (C. 492, C. 1287.2)

No. 7. All Catholics have the right to form voluntary associations to pursue Catholic aims including the right to worship together; such associations have the right to decide on their own rules of governance. (C. 215, C. 299, C. 300, C. 305, C. 309)

No. 8. All Catholics have the right to express publicly their dissent in regard to decisions made by Church authorities. (C. 212:3, C. 218, C. 753)

No. 9. All Catholics have the right to be dealt with according to commonly accepted norms of fair administrative and judicial procedures without undue delay. (C. 221:1,2,3, C. 223, 1,2)

No. 10. All Catholics have the right to redress of grievances through regular procedures of law. (C. 221:1,2,3, C. 223:1,2)

No. 11. All Catholics have the right not to have their good reputations impugned or their privacy violated. (C. 220)

To be continued next week