CDN PACIFIC - outlining the project:

After returning from a fact-finding and conferencing tour on the role of the Christian Democratic parties in EU member states and in the UK, in 2014, Fiji Daily Post editor, Robert Wolfgramm and regular contributor, Dr Bruce Wearne, formed the idea of a Christian Democratic Network (CDN Pacific) to act as a stimulator of a fresh political vision for the Pacific. The outline of this vision is as follows:

MANIFESTO OF THE ‘CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC’ AGENDA for the Pacific Islands to:

HEAL PACIFIC ISLANDS AND THE OCEAN
BLESS PACIFIC PEOPLES
UPLIFT PACIFIC NATIONS

CDN IS NOT A CHURCH, AND NOT A POLITICAL PARTY, BUT AN AGENDA for public political life in the South Pacific. We say that people may or may not go to church, mosque, temple or synagogue, but we are unavoidably CITIZENS.

Is the proper role for 'citizens' to be actively engaged in public life? Why? How? What duties do 'Christian citizens' have to others? What kind of politics should 'Christian citizens' protest, tolerate or pursue?

These and many other questions are the focus of CDN-Pacific as we aim to build a network of informed Christian citizens across the Pacific (see Facebook/Christian Democratic Network-Pacific). This has already commenced in Fiji.

We believe that progressive liberal models of democracy upheld by the major EU nations and urged by the UN, point the way forward for Pacific peoples in the 21st century. The greatest virtues of these European Christian democracies are their newfound political stability, their economic progress, and their deep concern for the fundamental human rights of others - especially minorities.

CDN-Pacific therefore aims to perform an educative role in Pacific politics, to demonstrate that informed Christian citizens have an important contribution to make to public political life, and that it our duty to do so.

In this respect, there is nothing dogmatic about our agenda - CDN-Pacific is an open, democratic discourse always willing to learn from others, including those who may disagree with us, in order to improve our own understanding of what it means to be righteously engaged with the politics of this world.

PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS: NINE PRINCIPLES: What does it mean to be a ‘Christian Democrat’?

By Christian (democrat/cy) we mean (a) we take pride in our personal/private Christian faith and practice, and our collective, national, historical Christian heritage. By (Christian) democrat/cy we assert (b): that democracy is the best form of human government; the will of elected governments and leaders is sub-sovereign and to be respected; we are oriented to promoting universal good, God-inspired, Biblically-derived ethics, values and policies, through democratic practice in all spheres and levels of public/social political life.

More specifically, we are not a formal ‘political party’, but an informal ‘network’ aimed at influencing public life in the (South) Pacific who acknowledge and agree that:

God alone is sovereign over all.

The first endorsement of the term 'Christian Democracy' was in Pope Leo XIII's groundbreaking 1901 encyclical "Graves de Communi" which added weight to his 1891 "Rerum Novarum" - the basis for the Catholic Social Tradition or Teaching which is co-foundational to all Christian Democratic movements, parties, groups and networks.

The second modern co-foundation for Christian Democracy is in what is termed the Neo-Calvinist Tradition or Philosophy. Groen van Prinsterer (1801-1876) is the Dutch Protestant leader who framed the Protestant response to the French Revolution by declaring (in harmony with Catholic tradition) that GOD ALONE IS SOVEREIGN. This is a foundation principle of all 'Christian Democratic' movements, parties, groups and networks including ours here in the Pacific.

This principle of the SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD is asserted in contrast to those who seek to place ULTIMATE sovereignty in aristocracies (the divine right of kings, chiefs, nobles etc); or in the people (following the French revolution, populism, nationalism); or in the state (socialism, republicanism); or in religious institutions like the church or mosque (theocracy); or in the individual (secular liberal humanism); or in nature (paganism, pantheism); or in law (legalism); or in possessions (materialism, capitalism).

To these ideologies, citizens who adhere to Christian Democratic principles say 'no' - God alone is sovereign over all, we say, the One to whom we, whether individuals, the state, the people, or nature itself, are all ultimately accountable for our actions. Everything and everyone else is sub-sovereign.

Progressive enlightenment is the means and process whereby we come to a better knowledge and understanding of God’s will for creation.

'Progressive enlightenment' is the means and process whereby we come to better understanding of God's will for creation. Truth is an unfolding book. Science and rationalism have their sub-sovereign loci for the interpretation of God's will. Christian Democracies are to be based upon eternal principles, but applied differentially in different ages and eras. We are not obliged to apply the methods or past understandings from the past to the present. Progressive enlightenment has led to ending the legitimacy of bride-strangling, cannibalism, slavery, theories of racial and class superiority, gender/sexual discrimination, and so forth. Christian Democratic agenda requires us to be open to progressive enlightenment in all things.

Persons are called to honour and serve God through both private/personal and public/social/political engagement.

Christians are to honour God privately and publicly. Christians honour God privately through their personal religious lives, practices, rituals, faith and beliefs associated with spiritual engagement. But Christians are also 'citizens' (of a given state) and as such required to honour God in their public political lives. Our Christian witness does stop and start at our front doors. It is part of our citizenship too. We are required to engage with government, politics, society, democracy, the state, international relations and so forth, as Christians. Our witness is not a coat we can put on or off as we choose; it is a lifelong obligation to do and be the best we can in every sphere of living. We are required to confront sin, corruption and evil in the political sphere as much as in our personal lives. Moses, David, Daniel, Stephen, Paul, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Oliver Cromwell, William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Father Walter Lini, and on and on are just a few who, following Jesus, have taken their various public political engagements seriously. Christian Democrats are inspired by their witness.

Human activity in the world is best undertaken with respect for the principles of sphere-sovereignty and subsidiarity.

The term 'subsidiarity' comes from the encyclical of Pope Pius XI, "Quadragesimo Anno", issued in 1931 and is an important principle in Christian Democratic organisation of the state. In short, as the pope put it, "it is an injustice to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organisations can do". Subsidiarity respects the fact that each level in any social organisation best contributes to the overall well-being of that organisation when it is left to fulfil its role, responsibilities, and duties without interference, micro-management, intervention or co-optation by those above it. Hands off! In other words is the first priority; let each work without intervention from those above (e.g. the state) until or unless it cannot. The term 'sphere-sovereignty' comes from the Protestant political philosophy of Groen Van Prinsterer (1801-1876), Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) and Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977). Like 'subsidiarity' it is a useful functional principle in the Christian Democratic agenda. In sum, it refers to the fact that since God is sovereign, everything else is sub-sovereign and has its right and equal place in the social ordering of society. No sphere - family, club, church, school, union, business, the state, etc - is derived from another or superior to another. All are derived from the sovereignty of God and each is to respect the place, role and responsibility of the other. It is when each seeks to impose itself on the other or interfere with the other that society becomes unbalanced.

The state is ordained by God to exercise sub-sovereignty in its sphere. It is not an end in itself, but exists to serve the people, the nation, and the government of the day. The state is neutral in the sense that it treats all religions equally positively and favours none nor discriminates against any in particular.

The church is not to be integrated into the state, neither is the state to absorb the church. Church and state are to remain distinctive and established each in its own sphere of sovereignty. But while church and state remain separate, faith and politics never can be. Christian citizenship, as outlined elsewhere, requires us to witness in every sphere we are engaged - including the public political sphere. That is a fundamental principle of modern Christian Democracy.

Conscience is the sacred direct link humans have to God. It cannot be overridden by any state, government, decree, policy or legislation.

Conscience is the sacred direct link humans have to God. It cannot be overridden by any state, government, decree, policy, constitution or legislation. That said, we nevertheless recognize that conscience needs to be open to advice and admonition from others as well as from God. Human imperfection requires an open minded conscience lest it be subject to tyrannical misinformed discipline. Just as human bodies mature from childhood to adulthood, so conscience is itself subject to maturation and education. Conscience is the river of our convictions, the expresser of our principles, and stimulus for action.

Justice is the primary occupation of the state.

Justice is what the state is required to do. The extent to which it does it determines its legitimacy before our sovereign God and their constituency. It is God who puts authorities and powers in their place, but it is their job to rule righteously.

A constitution is the legitimate document whereby the just settlement and distribution of political power in terms of rights, authorities, and institutions, are delineated.

Constitutions are to be framed and ratified through legitimate open democratic processes. So enacted, a constitution is intended to be the legitimate national document whereby the just settlement and distribution of political power in terms of rights and responsibilities, and where authorities and institutions are allocated and delineated, balanced and limited. Constitutions are never perfect, but judged by their workability in promoting justice and stability, righteous order and peace in the land. Constitutions are never ultimate authorities for Christian Democrats, but must be respected and served, and where necessary, reformed.

The best democratic constitutions encourage: respect for principles and practice within constitutional and conscionable terms; robust debate, dissent, and critical opposition as the best method of arriving at best outcomes.

The best governments are decentralized and small. The state itself is ordained, like a curator and umpire, to enhance citizen freedoms by staying out of the way of societal enterprise (families, schools, businesses etc) as much as possible.

The state is best seen as an umpire and governments best seen as facilitators for enhancing citizen freedoms. The principles of subsidiarity and sphere-sovereignty elaborated elsewhere (under FOUR) argue for smaller efficient governments, with states staying out of the way as much as possible from citizen enterprises and spheres. This is endorsed generally by all Christian Democracy advocates.

SIX VALUES THAT GUIDE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC POLICIES: What values guide ‘Christian Democrat’ actions and thinking?

Fair and just equality among all citizens; equality of value is an absolute, but equality of treatment and equality of outcome are notional concepts and must be administered with regard to what is fair and just within each sphere.
Respect for human life and rights; this extends from the womb to the aged.
Reconciliation as an ongoing social/public/political process; recognises that societies are riven with potential for division and consequential harm - Christian Democratic principles oblige citizens to work for unity and harmony.
Active compassion especially for the poor and underprivileged; compassion is not just an attitude but a service requiring both personal and public-political consideration and action.
Wise stewardship of national economic resources; this is Biblically mandated.
Empowerment of individual talents; democracy is a cellular organism and works best when each person is given opportunity to discover, improve and multiply their God-given talents - with consequences rebounding positively through every level and sphere of the nation.

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