The human person is the foundation and purpose of political life.775Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 25: AAS 58 (1966), 1045-1046; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1881; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (24 November 2002), 3: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City 2002, p. 8. Endowed with a rational nature, the human person is responsible for his own choices and able to pursue projects that give meaning to life at the individual and social level. Being open both to the Transcendent and to others is his characteristic and distinguishing trait. Only in relation to the Transcendent and to others does the human person reach the total and complete fulfilment of himself. This means that for the human person, a naturally social and political being, “social life is not something added on” 776Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 25: AAS 58 (1966), 1045. but is part of an essential and indelible dimension. The political community originates in the nature of persons, whose conscience “reveals to them and enjoins them to obey” 777John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 258. the order which God has imprinted in all his creatures: “a moral and religious order; and it is this order — and not considerations of a purely extraneous, material order — which has the greatest validity in the solution of problems relating to their lives as individuals and as members of society, and problems concerning individual States and their interrelations”.778John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 450. This order must be gradually discovered and developed by humanity. The political community, a reality inherent in mankind, exists to achieve an end otherwise unobtainable: the full growth of each of its members, called to cooperate steadfastly for the attainment of the common good,779Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 74 AAS 58 (1966), 1095-1097. under the impulse of their natural inclinations towards what is true and good.
The political community finds its authentic dimension in its reference to people: “it is and should in practice be the organic and organizing unity of a real people”.780Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message of 24 December 1944: AAS 37 (1945), 13. The term “a people” does not mean a shapeless multitude, an inert mass to be manipulated and exploited, but a group of persons, each of whom — “at his proper place and in his own way” 781Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message of 24 December 1944: AAS 37 (1945), 13. — is able to form its own opinion on public matters and has the freedom to express its own political sentiments and to bring them to bear positively on the common good. A people “exists in the fullness of the lives of the men and women by whom it is made up, each of whom ... is a person aware of his own responsibilities and convictions”.782Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message of 24 December 1944: AAS 37 (1945), 13. Those who belong to a political community, although organically united among themselves as a people, maintain an irrepressible autonomy at the level of personal existence and of the goals to be pursued.
The primary characteristic of a people is the sharing of life and values, which is the source of communion on the spiritual and moral level. “Human society must primarily be considered something pertaining to the spiritual. Through it, in the bright light of truth men should share their knowledge, be able to exercise their rights and fulfil their obligations, be inspired to seek spiritual values, mutually derive genuine pleasure from beauty of whatever order it be, always be readily disposed to pass on to others the best of their own cultural heritage and eagerly strive to make their own the spiritual achievements of others. These benefits not only influence but at the same time give aim and scope to all that has bearing on cultural expressions, economic and social institutions, political movements and forms, laws, and all other structures by which society is outwardly established and constantly developed”.783John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 266.
For every people there is in general a corresponding nation, but for various reasons national boundaries do not always coincide with ethnic boundaries.784Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 283. Thus the question of minorities arises, which has historically been the cause of more than just a few conflicts. The Magisterium affirms that minorities constitute groups with precise rights and duties, most of all, the right to exist, which “can be ignored in many ways, including such extreme cases as its denial through overt or indirect forms of genocide”.785John Paul II, Message for the 1989 World Day of Peace, 5: AAS 81 (1989), 98. Moreover, minorities have the right to maintain their culture, including their language, and to maintain their religious beliefs, including worship services. In the legitimate quest to have their rights respected, minorities may be driven to seek greater autonomy or even independence; in such delicate circumstances, dialogue and negotiation are the path for attaining peace. In every case, recourse to terrorism is unjustifiable and damages the cause that is being sought. Minorities are also bound by duties, among which, above all, is working for the common good of the State in which they live. In particular, “a minority group has the duty to promote the freedom and dignity of each one of its members and to respect the decisions of each one, even if someone were to decide to adopt the majority culture”786John Paul II, Message for the 1989 World Day of Peace, 11: AAS 81 (1989), 101..