“A good understanding of natural law is related to faith in God. A person who is not a believer is able to read the content of natural law within himself, but in order to deeply understand natural law, it also helps him to be aware that the ultimate source is the mind of God” – Fr. prof. Piotr Mazurkiewicz, lecturer at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University said during the conference “Called to serve on foreign soil – according to the concepts of John Paul II, August Hlond and Robert Schuman”, which took place on November 4 in Wrocław. This conference was a summary of this year’s edition of the Animators of Poland’s Image in Europe project.
“God’s idea for managing the world is imprinted in creation in such a way that each creature has a tendency to act in accordance with this project, striving for its own goals. If we think about non-rational beings, starting from stones, through plants, animals, that is, they act in accordance with God’s law in an unconscious way. However, man, because he is a corporeal being in an unconscious way, nevertheless acts with his mind in accordance with God’s law. And here there is the possibility of either acting in accordance with natural law, or opposing” – Fr. prof. Mazurkiewicz reminded. He pointed out that “acting in accordance with natural law means acting in accordance with human reason. And acting against natural law means acting against reason”.
“A good understanding of natural law is related to faith in God. A person who is not a believer is able to read the content of natural law within himself, but in order to deeply understand natural law, it also helps him to be aware that the ultimate source is the mind of God. Hence, everything related to the promotion of faith is an action in favor of natural law” – he explained.
Fr. prof. Mazurkiewicz noted that if emphasis is placed on referring to God in the European constitutional treaty, “maybe some people will refrain from revising the treaties”. Stressing the need to appeal to reason, he said that “there is little reason in today’s European politics – there is a lot of pragmatism, but little reason”.
Following John Paul II, he pointed to three types of human rights. He mentioned individual law first, “during the pontificate of John Paul II, a charter of family rights was created, because the family is a natural community and therefore the family is a natural subject of law”. “The third type of rights that John Paul II emphasized are national rights” – he added.
“As a fundamental right, the Pope emphasized the right to life, from conception to natural death. We are aware that this right is very seriously violated in Europe” – he lamented. Meanwhile, “if we do not guarantee a person’s right to life, we will not guarantee him access to all other rights”. “As a right that is the axis of human rights, the Pope mentions the right to religious freedom” – he concluded.
Fr. prof. Mazurkiewicz also referred to the pilgrimage of St. John Paul II to Poland, during which the truth contained in the Decalogue was heard very strongly, which did not please the liberal circles, which had previously been friendly towards the Pope and benefited from the support of the Church. “The area of morality is so sensitive that even people with the greatest authority are rejected when they do not say what people like” – the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University lecturer concluded.
AW