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INAUGURAL SPEECH BY THE RT. REV. GIUSEPPE FILIPPI MCCJ – PATRON AND MAIN CELEBRANT, CATHOLIC LAWYERS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL AT THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF THE SOCIETY’S ACTIVITIES – APRIL 29, 2023 AT ST AUGUSTINE’S INSTITUTE, NSAMBYA, KAMPALA, UGANDA – EAST AFRICA.

Your Excellency, Jessica Alupo, the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda and our Chief Guest,

My lord. The Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny – Dollo- The Hon. The Chief Justice of Uganda,

The Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi Senior Counsel – Prime Minister Emeritus of the Republic of Uganda,

My Lords, The Hon Justices and Judges of the Courts of Judicature,

The Hon. Members of Parliament,

The Very Rev. Msgr. Dr. Philip Lokel PhD our Chaplain and Members of the clergy,

The Catholic Lawyers Society Board, Management, Administration and staff,

Everyone in his or her respective honour,

Ladies and gentlemen.

I am greatly honoured for having celebrated the Holy Eucharist on this occasion of the launching of the Catholic Lawyers Society International. All human activities become divine when they are directed by God and oriented to God. For this reason, we invoke the Holy Spirit to come upon all the present and all those who are and will be part of the Group, so that all may work for the good of the people and the glory of God.

God is the Law giver. His law is written in the human heart (Jr 31:33) and in the Scriptures.

The aim of the law is always the same but it needs to be adapted to the changing society to protect its journey of growth and development and to ensure that all human beings, without discrimination enjoy equal rights and opportunities.

It comes naturally to human beings to form associations and groups in order to achieve what is impossible for a single person. It is by working together that we positively influence society beyond the narrow borders of our family, district and nation. Even criminals do so to occupy areas uncontrolled by the law and thus exploiting a divided and poorly organized society to their advantage.

Technology has no borders, no limits. It made the world very small, instant communication helps dialogue with people far away as if they were present to us. At the same time the human society has become very complex and difficult to administer, almost impossible to order it to ensure the good of all. Our “liquid” society keeps changing forms, values, interests etc. to such a speed that adaptation for many is beyond their possibility and they find themselves marginalized, discouraged, depressed and confused.

There is a great fear that the world will not survive long under the destructive influence of human activities, mainly geared to exploit resources rather than to protect and maintain the environment both material and social. Everybody talks about innovations.

But not all innovations are at the service of mankind. There is need of new wisdom, new capacity of discernment, to see future, long distant implications and consequences. For this reason, we all need the power of the Holy Spirit that makes all things new according to the goodness of the Lord.

About something new, I wish to briefly hint to the changes brought about in the Church with Vat II and with the various letters of the Popes. The Law of the Church, or Cannon Law, had the first articles describing the Role of the Pope, then the Bishop and the Hierarchy and at the end, the people of God.

The New Canon Law which reflects the theology of the Vatican begins with the People of God and then deals with the hierarchy. The people of God include all and all are equal. The members of the hierarchy are part of the people of God chosen among the people of God at the service of the people of God. St. John Paul II ordered that all the social teaching, that is that teaching that specifically aims at orderly and just society, be gathered together in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

I wish to highlight here its basic principles:

• It affirms the high dignity of human beings and everything is to be ordered to the affirmation of the dignity of people.
• The principle of the common good is based on the equality of the human beings. Therefore, the role of society, political administrators, regulators and so on, is that of serving the common good. What does not serve the common good creates dis-equality and injustice.
• But in order to ensure the common good there is need of the responsibility of and participation of everyone to the common good.
• The above principle implies the principle is the universal destination of all goods. In other words, there is a limit to the private property, and it is the good of all. Therefore, the present growing gap between the extremely rich and the extremely poor is unacceptable and goes against the mind of God and the principle of equality of all human beings.
• We concerning the church notice that the gap between rich and poor has become a universal trend. In the sixties there were rich nations and poor nations and the Church stigmatized this gap and called for rich nations to assists the poor nations in their development. Which did happen according to the UN. (According to the UN in 1970, over 50% of the population lived under the level of poverty, in 2008, 17% of the population is under the level of poverty).
• Today, it is the gap between rich and poor which is increasing very fast within each nation (in 1960 a CEO or MD of a company had a salary 17 times the salary of his average employee, in 2020 their salary grew to 675 times more than that of the employee). There are many books on these topics such as those of the economist Agnus Deaton, the Great Escape, Deaths of Despair. The consequences of this economical disorder are the collapse of ethics, increase of corruption, development of national and international criminal society (mafia), causing a threat to the democratic values and a movement towards dictatorships and misuse of power at all levels.
• Pope Francis wrote two important documents to invite all people of good will, to act in order to prevent the collapse of the world and society: The first document “Laudato Si” is profound documents sustained by scientific input concerning our relationship with the entire creation, aiming at the protection of the Earth as our common home. The second document “Fratelli tutti” aims to foster brotherhood among all people and cultures and nations.

Both documents counteract the above trend caused by an excessive development of individualism that allows society to become fluid, and to adapt to what is convenient the powerful rather than to what is good. Rules are changed, frequently modified to fit the individual self-declared right.

Conflicts of interests make people bend the laws to their advantages. In such a complex society, rights are conflicting among themselves, for instance the right to live and the right to die. Freedom of religion is sacrificed to other personal right. Freedom of speech is defended by those who have economic interests at the expense of the common good (e.g., pedophile internet platforms are protected on the base of freedom of speech, but the individuals that access them may be condemned if caught.)

In making these brief analyses of the developments of our present international society, I want to appreciate and value the Catholic Lawyers Society International for its wisdom in joining forces beyond the border of Uganda, in working together to protect the dignity of the human being, defending the rule of Law and becoming, if possible, an association capable of inspiring the lawmakers to safeguard the human dignity and basic values on which society rests.

Thanks.

+Giuseppe Filippi