Civil Disobedience: A Moral Critique

Abstract

CHAPTER FOUR of Vatican IFs Gaudium et spes speaks to Life of the Political Community. Concerning political participation, the Council teaches: must cultivate a generous and loyal spirit of patriotism, but without being narrow-minded. This means that they will always direct their attention to the good of the whole human family, united by different ties which bind together races, people, and nations. This perspective was illustrated by the bishops of the United States in their 1983 pastoral The Challenge of Peace. In their final remarks to Catholics as Citizens, the bishops recall that All papal teaching on peace has stressed the crucial role of public opinion. They speak of the need for all citizens to be loyal to their country and its ideals, and then state: virtue of patriotism means that as citizens we respect and honor our country, but our very love and loyalty make us examine carefully and regularly its role in world affairs, asking that it live up to its full potential as an agent of peace with justice for all These two documents teach that the political community exists for the common good. Gaudium et spes also comments (no. 74): Where public authority oversteps its competence and oppresses the people, these people should nevertheless obey to the extent that the objective common good demands. Still it is lawful for them to defend their own rights and those of their fellow citizens against any abuse of this authority, provided that in so doing they observe the limits imposed by natural law and the gospel. Citizens sustain the moral responsibility of cultivating the good of the whole human family, but likewise bear the right and duty to critique public authority carefully and regularly against abuses that oppress and dehumanize people. This political and moral perspective also finds articulation in such documentation as the Hague Convention of 1907, the Nuremberg Accord, and the United States Army Manual. Citizens have the duty to obey legitimate authority; but should the authority give an order against international law (e.g., indiscriminate and mass destruction of cities and towns), the citizen has not only the right to disobey but also the duty. In this essay I shall (1) bring to the surface some significant moments