WASHINGTON — Invoking the spirit of the late labor priest Msgr. George Higgins, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development said Americans must "move beyond hand-wringing and negative assessments" of tough economic times to a renewed commitment to Catholic principles of subsidiarity and global solidarity.

CNS FILE PHOTO

Msgr. George G. Higgins, second from right, lends support to striking mine workers in Kentucky’s Harlan County in this 1974 file photo. In a statement for Labor Day, observed Sept. 1 this year, Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., praised the late Msgr. Higgins for his "extraordinary ability to measure the large economic issues by their impact on the average working man and woman." Msgr. Higgins died in 2002 at age 86.

Msgr. Higgins, who died in 2002, wrote the annual Labor Day statement on behalf of the U.S. bishops for many decades.

"Monsignor would have been harsh in his judgment about the greed and irresponsibility that led to the mortgage foreclosure crisis," Bishop Murphy wrote. "He would have had some caustic comments on the price of gas for the working person and its impact on family life.

"He would have kept a keen eye on the cost of living and its effect on family budgets, on the real value of current wages to buy necessities" he continued, "and on the challenges to our economy to diversify without losing sight of its traditional strengths and opportunities."

But ultimately Msgr. Higgins would have reasserted "his faith in a nation and a people whose creative energies and productive capacities should and would move us to a healthier economic situation," the bishop said.

The nation’s dual commitment to economic freedom and economic justice "cannot mean freedom for me and justice for me alone," Bishop Murphy said. "It must extend to all those who are affected by our actions and by society’s goals. That means everybody in today’s globalized world."

The bishop said 2008 offers a special opportunity as Americans "choose a new president, as well as one-third of the Senate, all the members of the House of Representatives, and myriad state and local officials."

"Msgr. Higgins would urge you to look beyond the slogans and the promises," Bishop Murphy said. "He would have a few choice words for those he deemed unworthy or neglectful of the rights of workers and the role of unions. But he would always insist on some basic principles that we all must follow."

Among those would be a call — reiterated in the bishops’ political responsibility statement, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship — for "the formation of a correct conscience based on the truth about the human person and human society," he added.

"An informed conscience examines the candidates and the issues from the perspective of human life and dignity, the true good of every human person, the true good of society, the common good of us all in our nation and in this world," he said.

Calling human life "the supreme good in this world," Bishop Murphy said "Faithful Citizenship" emphasizes both "the fundamental duty to oppose what is intrinsically evil (i.e., the destruction of unborn life) and the obligation to pursue the common good (i.e., defending the rights of workers and pursuing greater economic justice)."

The Labor Day statement also stressed the Catholic commitment to "alleviating the pain of poverty at every level: internationally, nationally and especially locally through the magnificent endeavors of priests, religious and laity in our parishes."

"Things may be tough for an awful lot of us today," Bishop Murphy said. "But no matter how difficult it might be for you or me, I believe each of us can name someone we know who is carrying a greater burden. I can hear Msgr. Higgins telling us, ‘Don’t forget the other guy,’ especially the person with less. That person has hopes and dreams too." — CNS