The engagement of the laity in public life and particularly in politics is a very important issue nowadays.
There is an urgent need to give politics back its soul. It must recover the meaning of service to the common good. It needs to rebuild moral sensitivity and a solid base of shared values. The laity ought to be seen as open-minded and not hostile to God or fearful of bringing God to the public sphere. There is too much at stake here. It is a question of defending the dignity of human persons, their transcendent vocation and their inalienable rights that find their source in natural law and are therefore not negotiable. Christifideles Laici tells us: “In order to achieve their task directed to the Christian animation of the temporal order [...] the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in ‘public life’, that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good [...] Every person has a right and duty to participate in public life, albeit in a diversity and complementarity of forms, levels, tasks and responsibilities” (no. 42). There is a vast field of action open to the laity, men and women. All are called to be “salt of the earth” and “leavening of the gospel” so that they may transform the world from within.
The Church does not identify with any one system or political party, but holds in high esteem all those who are dedicated to the service of the common good and who take on the burden of the corresponding responsibilities. This is seen as a noble vocation and a high expression of charity. It follows, therefore, that the Christian laity involved in public life should have the preparation necessary to witness to their faith in Jesus Christ with coherence and courage. It is when they are faithful to themselves and to their baptismal identity that they truly contribute to the rebirth of politics.
