Service to others rather than self-fulfilment

Dear Editor, The heading to David Quinn’s article (IC 06/08/2015 ‘Priests and people alike will have to ‘interfere’ in politics) tells us that “the current retreat from politics means that the bishops have no vision of the common good to offer”.  Yet, the much-lauded recent papal social encyclical says that individual fulfilment is at the core of the common good, as we Catholics understand it. That was stated in Gaudium es Spes 50 years ago.

However, nowhere is ‘fulfilment’ defined. So the less our bishops say about the related common good vision the better, as they would be in trouble if such as MacGill Summer School attendees asked them to spell out that vision as understood by Catholics. 

So, too, would David be, judging from his saying that “service of others in the name of love” is at odds with “a society which teaches everyone to pursue his/her own self-fulfilment first and foremost”. Prioritisation of self-fulfilment surely entails service of others in the name of love.

Yours etc.,

Joseph Foyle,

Ranelagh, Dublin 6.