The document discusses the moral foundations of Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Islam, which see the purpose of human life as flourishing through God's blessings. It argues that the economic, political, and cultural systems in the Philippines are currently not promoting the common good of the people and are harming society through issues like poverty, corruption, and conflict. There is a moral obligation for systemic change to transform the nation and better foster the fullness of life and common good of all citizens through an effective economic system, a merit-based political system, and a culture that promotes solidarity and reverence for God.

1. Archbishop’s House /
Saint Francis de Sales Minor Seminary
Lipa City
27 August 2014
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2. Moral Foundation
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3. Abrahamic religions
(Judaism, Christianity,
Islam): the purpose of
God for God’s creatures
is their flourishing in the
fullness of life blessings
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4. God’s glory is the
human being fully
alive.
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5. Human beings become
fully alive when their
lives are guided by the
knowledge of God’s
plan for their
fulfillment.
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6. For the Abrahamic
religions, the ethical goal of
societal life is the
promotion of the fullness of
life blessings for God’s
creatures.
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7.  For human beings who
accept the guidance of God
for their lives, this fullness of
life blessings
•is partial and temporary in
this present form of life
•becomes complete and
definitive in the afterlife
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8. Even the (many) secular
humanists—atheists and
agnostics—whose ethics is
based on natural law or
something similar to it
accept human flourishing as
the ethical goal of societal
life.
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9. A society fosters the
fullness of life of its
members by promoting the
common good.
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10. The common good is defined
as the total set of conditions
of societal life—economic,
political, cultural,
environmental, and so
forth—that facilitates the
fullness of life blessings for
each and every individual
and group within society.
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11. Elements of the
common good
•fullness of life
blessings as its total
or overarching goal
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12.  specifically societal aspects of a
blessed life (fullness of life blessings)
(specific aspects of the common good)
• basic welfare--spiritual and material
• liberty
• equality
• participation
• solidarity
• integrity of creation
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13. Societal systems—
mainly the economic,
political, cultural—are
tasked to promote the
common good.
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14. When the societal systems
of a given society—such as
Philippine society—are
damaging rather than
promoting the common
good, there emerges a
moral obligation.
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15. This moral obligation is
for the members of
society to change these
systems, so that the
society can be
transformed for the good.
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16. The main societal
systems of the
Philippines today are not
promoting the common
good.
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17. The economic system
•is not sufficiently
productive
•its benefits mainly go
to a small minority
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18. The political system
• rewards corruption
and violence
•imposes disadvantage
on the honest and
peace-loving
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19. The cultural system
•is damaged by decline in
reverence for God,
honesty, and concern for
the common good
•is increasingly hypocritical
and obsessed with wealth,
pleasure, power, and fame
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20. The result is what we see
today—
•massive and widespread poverty
•unbridled and unpunished
corruption
• hypocritical abuse of power
• increasing criminality
• intensifying social conflict and
violence
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21. Since the societal systems—
economic, political, and
cultural—of the Philippines
are harming the common
good, there is a clear moral
call for systems change to
bring about national
transformation.
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22. We need systems
change to transform
our nation so that…
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23. •our economic system will
produce enough to
• increase our national
wealth
•enable all the people to
enjoy lives of austere and
simple comfort
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24. • our political system will
•install meritocracy
•reward honesty,
competence, and diligence
•reduce social conflict
•put an end to extremist
violence
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25. • our cultural system will
promote the ordering of our
people’s lives based on
•reverence and obedience
to God
•solidarity in pursuing the
common good
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26. In sum, morally
speaking, the
Philippines urgently
needs systems change
for national
transformation.
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