Civil disobedience (Canada).

Ottawa--A background paper prepared by Prof. John Redekop of Trinity Western University in British Columbia has just been released by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca). The fellowship is an alliance of 32 Protestant Evangelical churches and colleges that includes the Baptist church, the Wesleyan church and the Salvation Army. Members of these churches are increasingly becoming involved in illegal protests and the question has been raised as to whether civil disobedience is a proper moral Christian response.

"Civil disobedience" is defined in the paper as a conscientious, public, nonviolent act contrary to the law." Examples of civil disobedience could include helping illegal immigrants, or praying in front of an abortuary in an illegal manner....

In the document Prof. Redekop maintains that as "governmental and public morality deteriorate, Christians will increasingly find themselves driven to civil disobedience." Although the paper does not condone violent protest, it does set down guidelines to assist Christians in making an informed decision as to when civil disobedience is biblically and theoretically justified. These would include protecting faith and morality when it is in conflict with the state; disobeying when the religious group's pursuits of worship, proclamation, instruction and even evangelism are denied; and giving unqualified primary allegiance to God when the demands of civil authorities are in contradiction to God's laws.

Catholic teaching

What is the Catholic position on civil disobedience? The normal course of action for a Christian is one of obedience to civil authorities, when these truly seek the common good by means in accord with the natural law and respecting constitutional limits on their powers (Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine, 1997, p. 111).

The Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes teaches that even if there is some oppression towards citizens by legal authorities, the citizens should still obey those directives which are for the common good, but defend their own rights and those of their fellow citizens against the abuse of that authority, within the limits of the natural law and the law of the Gospel (74).

We know that obedience to God is the great support of human freedom and dignity. How do we know that we are acting in accordance with God's will in an act of civil disobedience, and not just following our own will? Pope John XXIII's encyclical Pacem in Terris, issued in 1963 and hailed worldwide, states this:

"Since the right to command is required by moral order and has its source in God, it follows that, if civil authorities legislate for or allow any thing that is contrary to that order and therefore contrary to the will of God, neither the laws made nor the authorizations granted can be binding on the consciences of the citizens, since 'we must obey God rather than men' (Acts 5:29). Otherwise, authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse."

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches: "Human law has the true nature of law only insofar as it corresponds to right reason, and therefore is derived from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason, a law is said to be a wicked law; and so, lacking the true nature of law, it is rather a kind of violence" (section 51).

The Catholic Catechism states, "The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. Refusing obedience to civil authorities, when their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience finds its justification in the distinction between serving God and serving the political community (2242). We are commanded to 'render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's"' (Mt 22:21).

Argentina

Lest we think that civil disobedience is only a theoretical exercise, we can heed the words of Archbishop Estanislao Karlic of Argentina, who has just issued a statement on behalf of the Argentine bishops' conference instructing the faithful that they are under no moral obligation to obey a new birth-control law that is awaiting approval in their Senate. He said: "Laws must be in accordance with the well-being of the human person."

The new law will require public hospitals and the Social Security agency to provide non-permanent birth control to all women, including minors without their parents' consent. "The role of parents over their children is a basic human right that cannot be subverted without grave consequences," the archbishop added, saying he was calling for a natural disobedience to a law that was not really a law at all (Catholic World Report, June 2001, p. 22).