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Universal Declaration On The Sovereignty of the Human Person Under God

(Approved on August 22, 1997 at Second Annual Conference of the Scholars for Social Justice, Pallotine Renewal Center, St. Louis, Missouri)

IT IS incumbent upon every person of good will, always and everywhere, to protect and preserve the natural moral principles that govern human life and civil society. In the face of ruthless forces that oppose these cherished principles and goods, it becomes an imperative of the highest magnitude that we defend them staunchly and without compromise. These principles are constantly being tested by how we address three fundamental concerns of today’s ever-changing world:

LIFE: We must advance the sanctity of life against false ideas and defective institutions that support a culture of death.

FAMILY: We must defend the holiness and uniqueness of the traditional family against all who would weaken this sacred institution by a rejection of traditional family values.

OPPORTUNITY: We must build a society that dismantles barriers to equal educational, economic, religious, social and cultural opportunities for the many, especially the poor and homeless, so that each person can develop to his or her fullest human potential. We reject the gross injustice that transpires when an avaricious few exploit or erect barriers to the opportunities of the many.

TOWARD THESE ENDS, we make our appeal to Heaven and to the hearts and minds of mankind that the rights, dignity and sovereignty of the human person be reinstated and properly respected.

THE FORCES that have fueled a culture of death have silenced many: some through death, others through force, and still others through fear. Charity and Prudence dictate that we must speak out against these tyrannical forces. May those who are silent find the moral strength and courage to raise their voices on behalf of all victims of injustice: the politically oppressed, the economically exploited, and those who have paid the supreme price on the altar of expediency.

WE ASSERT and affirm, therefore, before the state, the world, and the almighty and transcendent Creator, and in the name of all who are living, those who preceded us, and the untold generations to follow, that the moral principles and human rights of which we speak are fundamental, universal, and inalienable, and apply to all persons: male and female, young and old, healthy and infirm, born and unborn.

UNIVERSAL AND TRANSCENDENT PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE, which are found in all the great religions and codes of ethics, must be reflected in our human laws and in our institutional environment.

INJUSTICE EXISTS wherever human laws and social institutions that shape our cultural environment deviate from these principles and the rights bestowed upon us by our Creator. We can measure the injustice in any social order or institution by the gap in opportunities it affords those at the top and those at the bottom for sharing the power to make choices, for acquiring material and spiritual security, and for developing to one’s fullest potential. We should be temperate in our methods so that we lift up the deprived without being unfair to others.

THE ABUSE OF POWER is inevitable, given the inherent imperfection of human beings, whenever power is overly concentrated and non-accountable to those affected when that power is exercised. If we accept Lord Acton’s insight that “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, then society’s best safeguard for Justice and against the corruptibility of concentrated power is decentralized power. And if Daniel Webster is also correct that “Power naturally and inevitably follows the ownership of property”, then, as a fundamental principle, democratizing access to property rights is essential for keeping all forms of social power widely dispersed throughout society. Aristotle, Maimonides, Aquinas, Ibn Khaldun, George Mason, John Adams, Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Leo XIII, John Paul II and many others have pointed out that peace and order also follow from a social order that promotes universal access to the ownership of productive property.

IN CALLING FOR JUSTICE, we also recognize the role of Charity. Justice and Charity, as absolute values flowing from the Absolute Source of all creation, are not moral alternatives. Charity without Justice can never be true Charity. Both are necessary virtues united in a fruitful synthesis. Both radiate from the Spirit of the Divine and Eternal Creator. Both have their place in the program which defends the dignity of the human person. They complement, help, support and animate each other. Justice provides a material foundation for a society based on Love. Charity, which flows from Love, softens the rigor of Justice and ennobles it. Both raise up human life to a condition in which, despite the failings, the obstacles and the harshness which earthly life presents, a fraternal intercourse becomes possible.

TO PROMOTE A CULTURE OF LIFE, a new economic paradigm is needed, one that transcends the power-concentrating defects of both traditional capitalism and traditional socialism, one that is guided by humanity’s never-ending pursuit of absolute values like Truth, Love and Justice. The new economic paradigm, based upon the dignity and economic sovereignty of every human person, must rest on four pillars of a just economic, social and political order:

First, expanded capital ownership, for removing barriers to participative justice and decentralizing economic power;

Second, the limited economic power of the state, using that power primarily for ending monopolies, for securing full equality of economic opportunity, and for democratizing access to money and capital credit for financing expanded wealth production;

Third, the restoration of the free and open marketplace, for achieving distributive justice, measuring the just price, the just wage, and just profits, and maximizing individual economic choice; and

Fourth, the restoration of private property, as the basic social instrument for linking each person directly to the economic process, for securing individual economic empowerment, and for balancing distributive justice with participative justice.

WE DECLARE that an economic agenda supporting life, consistent with the new economic paradigm, must be guided by the following principles:

I. The Ultimate Sovereignty of God. Only the Creator is irrevocably, eternally and universally sovereign. All human sovereignty of whatever kind or degree derives directly or indirectly only from the Lord of the universe, and has no validity whatsoever except insofar as it relates to Him. Only He grants direct sovereignty and only He may revoke it.

II. The Sovereignty of the Person Under the Sovereignty of God. Every individual, of whatever age, degree of competence, state of health or development, degree of dependence, or size of fortune is from the moment of conception individually created by God to exercise free will, responsibility and personal sovereignty. No human agency may, by whatever means, deny, ignore, raise barriers to, refuse or destroy this sovereignty.

III. The Family as the Foundation of Society. The family is the basic unit of society and should be the primary school of true love. In this basic institution, created by God, individuals should be able to develop four great realms of the heart:

First, true child’s love: Beyond the natural love of children for their parents, every child should be taught filial piety and reverence for each of his or her parents and God, the source of all true love. Under true child’s love, the child’s conduct is guided, not by fear, coercion or the desire for personal reward, but by the deep love and empathy the child feels toward each parent and toward God and to avoid the unbearable pain of knowing that he has hurt or betrayed his parent’s love.

Second, true sibling love: All children should share their love with their brothers and sisters and other family members, and, by extension, with all members of the community. To express this love, every child should be taught to live for others.

Third, true conjugal love: Every child should be taught the responsibilities of true marriage, where both spouses subordinate themselves voluntarily to the sovereignty and dignity of the other, and both give total loyalty and commitment to the well-being, development and happiness of the other.

Fourth, true parental love: Just as God offers absolute love to each human as a child of God, every parent should provide unconditional love to each child and raise each one to become a responsible and loving citizen, with a true parental heart beyond the family toward all others and all of creation.

United by common spiritual values and mutual dedication to a culture of life and heart, individuals who are more responsible, mature and loving will come forward from widely diverse backgrounds and cultures to work together in solidarity for building a more just and peaceful world for generations to come.

Since the inviolability of the family is the bulwark of a good community and the essential foundation of organized society, no state shall make any law concerning the artificial regulation of birth, whether the effect of such law would be to encourage or discourage the same, nor shall a state make any law or adopt any policy diminishing the special and sacred character of marriage as traditionally and commonly understood, leaving intact all of marriage’s ancient rights, customs, traditions, liberties and protections that promote the dignity and sovereignty of the person.

IV. The Right of Free Association. Since sound and universal moral principles are necessary to the continuation and health of a free and sovereign people, all persons shall be free to associate with one another for their common good and to practice any religion or belief of their choice as long as the freedom, rights and sovereign nature of others are not endangered. Furthermore, organized society should protect such associations and practices from infringements by others.

V. The Subordinate Sovereignty of the State. Since a degree of power is necessary to the ordering of a sound commonwealth, a limited and defined political sovereignty is delegated to the state and lower political bodies by consent of the people on condition that the governance be in accordance with the requirements of the common good, natural law and universal moral principles. Serious and egregious violation of any of these constitutes grounds for revoking political sovereignty from the existing governing body, and the subsequent vesting of it in another more conducive and responsive to the needs of a free and sovereign people.

VI. Duty of the State to Protect All Persons. All persons, male and female, young and old, healthy and infirm, born and unborn, are created equal before the law from the moment of conception until natural death, and are entitled to the full protection of the law during the entire period of their existence. This protection may not be revoked under any circumstances whatsoever.

A. No government or state can be regarded as legitimate which denies the humanity of the unborn child in any and all stages prior to birth beginning at fertilization and which refuses to protect the unborn child from all human threats to its life and development as a human person.

B. No person shall be denied equality of justice and protection of the law as a result of his membership in a specific class of persons within the human race categorized by ethnic origin, skin color, age, sex, religion, nationality, language, state of health, condition of dependence, or state of physical or mental condition or development.

C. No person may be fined, imprisoned, put to death or otherwise punished, have his goods and wealth confiscated or his enjoyment curtailed in contravention of natural law or in violation of the common good, save by the just law of the land and by due process.

VII. Sustainable Growth for the Support of Life. Rejecting the notion that economic growth is limited, which would make scarcity of wealth and poverty inevitable, we declare that human life and development are only limited by God’s bounties, by our human creativity and initiatives, and by the boundless frontier of humanity’s advancing technologies.

VIII. Conservation of Nature. In interacting with nature to promote one’s own perfection, every person must respect the whole of creation. Each human being, a steward of nature, remains responsible for conserving natural forms of existence, each of which is interdependent and shares the same divine origin with humanity.

IX.. Science in the Service of Mankind Under God. Science, a human endeavor derived from observing and applying the natural laws of God’s creation, should be used for the betterment of mankind. However, in experimenting with science, we must protect human dignity and sovereignty. No activity should be undertaken which has the potential of abusing the unique and sacred nature of each human person, a special creation of God endowed with the gift of reason and the power to exercise dominion over the rest of creation. The duplication of specific human beings, altering this special creation through cloning or other means, is an unnatural process, which should be outlawed.

X. Right of an Owner to the Fruits of His Labor and Capital. No person shall be denied or prevented from enjoying the full fruits of his labor or his property. This shall include the payment of a just, market-determined wage rate and the full distribution of the earnings from his property.

A. As labor-displacing technology continues to supplant and amplify human labor in all productive aspects of the economic process, it is essential that every person be empowered with the means of acquiring and possessing property, thus supplementing, or, in some cases, completely replacing the wage earnings of labor with the legitimate earnings of capital.

B. Except in extreme cases, where almsgiving and all other recourse has been tried and has failed, the state shall not take it upon itself to confiscate and redistribute wealth in order to provide a living income for individuals and families deprived of the opportunity to work or own property. The primary efforts of the state, where such is the case, shall be overwhelmingly directed to encourage the conversion of all forms of wasted potential, human and non-human, into production for human needs. The state shall also remove the barriers which prevent individuals and families from either engaging in labor or owning wealth-producing property in order to generate a living income by and through their own contributions.

XI. Access to the Means of Acquiring Property as a Fundamental Human Right. Since free and clear possession of a moderate stake of productive assets is the most immediate and secure safeguard of personal and family sovereignty, rights and liberties, the universal right of access to the means of acquiring and possessing property for the production of wealth, individually and in association with others, cannot be infringed.

A. Every person shall have the right to accumulate a reasonable store of wealth-producing assets to sustain a decent human life during illness, disability, retirement from economic work, or following the death of a family’s principal income provider.

B. Concentrated ownership and control over all means of sustaining and developing human life, including access to advanced technologies and such social tools as money and capital credit, is recognized as a great evil and a barrier to the exercise of the rights, independence and empowerment of the sovereign person.

C. Where existing barriers deny widespread personal access to the means of acquiring and possessing property, particularly with respect to labor-displacing technology, the state shall have the solemn duty to remove such barriers in order to permit full participation by everyone in the economic process and in the profits from and control over such technologies and productive assets.

XII. Democratization of Capital Credit as the Key to Widespread Ownership. Access to the means of acquiring and possessing property requires personal access to self-liquidating credit and money regulated by the state, to enable every person to acquire productive assets in sufficient amounts to sustain human life and well-being.

A. To curtail any financial dictatorship over money and credit, no money shall be created or credit extended by any national, regional or global central bank, except for enabling private sector commercial banks to make feasible loans that support productive, market-based, self-liquidating activities and widespread capital ownership.

B. Credit shall not be extended for non-productive purposes, including loans to the state or for personal consumption or speculation, except out of existing past accumulations of savings. While the state may be allowed to borrow from existing pools of past savings, any borrowing by the state to meet budget deficits or to purchase capital assets that can be owned by the people, should be discouraged.

XIII. A Just Tax System. The state does not receive tax revenues as a right, but does so as a grant of monies by the people whose labor or capital produces wealth, for the purpose of carrying out the natural function of the state to preserve and protect the common good. Taxes shall therefore be levied only for the purpose of raising revenue and not as a substitute for the appropriations process or for redistribution of wealth as an end in itself. The tax system should encourage maximum rates of sustainable technological growth and production and should not tax personal asset accumulations and savings below levels of capital self-sufficiency.

A. The most just, straightforward and simple tax arrangement for holding government accountable to the sovereignty of the people is a direct tax at the same rate on all income available for consumption above a pre-determined and generous poverty level, and from whatever source derived, with no prejudice or favored status for different ways in which income is earned. The rate of taxation shall be set at whatever single rate is necessary to balance the budget of the state.

B. Dividends and other forms of income used to repay capital credit or to invest in wealth-producing assets shall be deferred from taxation to achieve economic empowerment through broad-based capital ownership.

C. Regressive payroll taxes on employers and workers shall be phased out and replaced by the single rate tax on consumption incomes above the poverty level, as families gain their retirement security from their ownership of income-producing assets.

D. Except for deficits and shortfalls in tax revenues anticipated to be less than ninety days in duration, the state shall not borrow money to cover a deficit. Any borrowings by the state shall be from existing pools of past savings without involvement of any central bank. Monetization of budget deficits shall be strictly prohibited.

E. Under an income tax described above, which applies to all forms of consumption income above a poverty level, from whatever source derived, a tax on corporate profits and on estates below levels of capital self-sufficiency constitutes a direct attack on property through the discriminatory and multiple taxation of income from property. Corporate income taxes shall be eliminated to the extent that corporate profits are distributed as dividends to the shareholders, where they may be taxed as consumption incomes. Inheritance and gift taxes shall be eliminated where an estate is distributed to individuals with asset accumulations below levels of capital self-sufficiency.

XIV. Family Control over the Education of Children. The rights and duties of parents to guide the educational, social, religious and moral development of their children shall not be violated or usurped by the state or by other formal or informal association of citizens.

A. In view of the fact that the state collects tax monies for the purpose of education, and that the primary responsibility for the education of children resides in the parents, so long as the state collects taxes for education, said monies shall be disbursed directly to the parents of children in the form of educational vouchers, distributed to provide a preferential option for the poor and other individuals with special educational handicaps. State-funded vouchers may be used in whatever qualified educational institution the parents select, religious or secular, public or private. Such disbursement of funds shall not be construed as state support of a specific established church or religion, as it constitutes a support of the sovereign rights of parents over the education of their children.

B. Inasmuch as the education of children is not for the primary benefit of the state, but of the individual person and the family, the state shall not burden the educational curricula of any institutions with programs or agenda promoting or restricting any specific religion, belief system, ideology, or world view, including a state-centered religion or secular humanism. State qualifications for an educational institution shall be restricted solely by the ability of the institution to meet minimal educational standards common to all institutions, and shall not burden public or private institutions with restrictions and requirements offensive or pernicious to public or private morals, or demonstrating contempt for sincerely held religious beliefs.

XV. The Role of the State as the Social Instrument of Last Resort in Protecting and Sustaining Life. In view of the state’s role as the social instrument of last resort for protecting the common good, the state is restricted to providing a strong juridical and legislative order so that citizens, individually and in association with others, can fulfill their primary responsibilities for securing their own welfare and promoting the common good.

A. As all persons, male and female, young and old, healthy and infirm, born and unborn, have the basic and fundamental right to life, the state shall have the responsibility to provide a basic subsistence, sufficient to keep life in the body, but only after all other reasonable attempts at relief provided by the family and other immediate sources outside the state have been tried and have failed. This is not to be construed as a right to a comfortable life, but only to life.

B. In order to minimize the need for almsgiving and the call upon the state for basic subsistence which can be provided only through a moderate and fair redistribution of existing wealth, the state shall make every possible effort to restructure the order of society and remove barriers to participation so that everyone may be enabled to earn a living by his own contributions, whether by means of wages paid for his labor, or by means of the profits from his ownership of productive assets, or ideally from both.

C. The right to life includes a reasonable provision for adequate health care, both comprehensive and preventative, as a means of preserving the well-being of the human person. Where private sources of charity are inadequate, the state shall have the responsibility to provide the poor with the means of gaining access to reasonable and adequate health care, generally in the form of health insurance premium vouchers or direct vouchers for health care in such cases where the individual is unable to finance such health care on his own.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, in our status as free people, affirm our sovereignty as human persons, which we hold as a grant from the Divine Creator and by His sufferance alone. We claim the above enumerated rights and liberties, particularly to such inalienable rights as life, liberty, and access to the means of acquiring and possessing property, and all others essential to maintaining our free and sovereign status, for us and for posterity. We call upon all people of good will to join together with the signers of this document in a unified commitment to transform today’s culture of death and despair into a culture of life and hope, starting with their commitment to this Universal Declaration for empowering every member of the human family.

ENDORSEMENTS

Among the signers of the Universal Declaration on the Sovereignty of the Person Under God are:

Mr. Jeremiah A. Afuh (Chairman, Pan-African Foundation, Lincoln, NE)

Dr. Norman A. Bailey, Ph.D. (consulting international economist and former Special Assistant to President Reagan for International Economic Affairs, McLean, VA)

Antonio Betancourt (President, World Institute for Development and World Peace; Executive Director, Summit Council for World Peace, Washington, D.C.)

Mrs. Kyoko Betancourt

Brother Anthony Beyer, S.M. (Professor Emeritus of History, Chaminade University, Cupertino, CA)

Richard Biernacki (retired President and CEO, Fastener Industries, Inc. and former Chairman, The ESOP Association of America, Berea, Ohio)

Rev. Donald F. Bracht, S.M. (Retired Marianist, Cupertino, CA)

Michael Brennan (volunteer, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Rockville, MD)

Mrs. Dawn K. Brohawn (Director of Communications, Center for Economic and Social Justice, and consultant on Value-Based Management, Falls Church, VA)

Mrs. Judie Brown (President, American Life League, Inc., Stafford, VA)

David Caprara (Director of Policy, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, Fredericksburg, VA)

Dr. Charles M. Cargille, M.D. (Asst. Prof. of Clinical Family Practice, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA)

N. George Carter (Deputy Ambassador-at-Large for Political & Economic Affairs, Dominion of Melchizedek, San Francisco, CA)

Rev. William Christensen, S.M. (Development Consultant, Marianist, IIRD, Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Msgr. John T. Cilinski (Pastor, Our Lady of Angels Church, Woodbridge, VA)

Lt. Col. and Mrs. Robert Ciola (US Air Force officer, Alexandria, VA)

Bro. Peter Daino, S.M. (Endwell, NY)

Patricia J., John P. and Lucindy J. Decowski and Linda K. Gooch (Woodbridge, VA)

Dr. Donald DeMarco, Ph.D. (professor of philosophy and author on Catholic moral teachings, St. Jerome’s College, Ontario, Canada)

Fr. Gilio Dipre, Ph.D. (Professor of philosophy and ethics, Gannon University, Erie, PA)

Lloyd Eby (Assistant Senior Editor, World and I Magazine; faculty member, University of Maryland, Cheverly, MD)

Mr. and Mrs. William Edward Ettner (Mason Neck, VA)

Rev. Paul G. Eversole (Our Lady of Angels Church, Woodbridge, VA)

Alioune Fall (Islamic scholar, native of Senegal and former Director of Programs, International Law Institute, Washington, DC)

The Hon. Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy (Pastor, New Bethel Baptist Church, 10-term DC delegate to U.S. Congress, former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and former chairman of the House Banking Subcommittee on Monetary Affairs, Washington, D.C.)

Rev. Mr. Andrew J. Fisher (Deacon, Our Lady of Angels Church, Woodbridge, VA)

Michael Flach (Editor, Arlington Catholic Herald, Arlington, VA)

Mrs. Jean Fry (volunteer, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Arlington, VA)

Dr. Alfred Fulvio. Ph.D. (St. Louis, MO)

Mr. Peter N. Gaul (Alexandria, VA)

Mr. and Mrs. Franklin R. Geraty, (San Francisco, CA)

Geoffrey Gneuhs (artist and lecturer, former associate editor of The Catholic Worker, and former instructor in ethics at Fordham and Seton Hall Universities, New York City)

Michael D. Greaney, CPA (Director of Research, Center for Economic and Social Justice, and consultant on ESOP administration services, Falls Church, VA)

Rev. Matthew Habiger, O.S.B., Ph.D. (President, Human Life International and Counselor to Center for Economic and Social Justice, Front Royal, VA)

Gerard D. Haderlein, Esq. (attorney, Chicago, IL)

Rev. Msgr. James E. Hake (Pastor, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Salina, Kansas

Dr. Kemp Harshman, J.D., M.P.P. (President, Clarendon Foundation and former legal counsel, Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution and board member, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Arlington, VA)

Bishop Herbert Hermes, O.S.B. (Bishop of the Prelature of Christalandia, Christalandia, Brazil)

Marlene J. Hermes (Special Education Teacher, Salina, KS)

Norbert E. Hermes (Salina, KS)

Paul A. Hermes (Elementary school teacher, Kansas City, MO)

Father William Hochheim (Pastor, St. Edward’s Catholic Church, Starke, FL)

Mrs. Marie Hoffman (Placentia, CA)

Mrs. Grace J. Hogan (Mason Neck, VA)

Rev. Cris Janson, S.M. (San Antonio, TX)

Daniel C. Johnson (Catholic Charities, Diocese of Salina, Salina, KS)

Rev. John J. Kelley, S.M., Ph.D. (Univ. of Dayton, retired founder, Dayton Christian Dialog, Dayton, OH)

Mr. Don Kemner (Director, Midwest Office, Philadelphia II, Chesterfield, MO)

Brother Joseph Kindel, S.M. (Retired teacher, Marianists, Cupertino, CA)

Rev. John W. Kobza, MIC (Marian Scholasticate, Washington, DC)

Rabbi Herzel Kranz (Director, Silver Spring Jewish Center and Counselor to Center for Economic and Social Justice, Silver Spring, MD)

Rev. Edward Krause, Ph.D. (professor of social ethics, Gannon University, Erie, PA)

Mrs. Marie Kurland (retired hospital administrator, Georgetown University Medical Center, Arlington, VA)

Dr. Norman G. Kurland, J.D. (President, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Arlington, VA)

LaDawn Lewis (graduate student, Brigham Young University and summer intern, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Provo, Utah)

Guido Lombardi (National Director, Lega Nord USA, New York City)

Brother E. Maximin Magran, S.M. (Marianists, Kara, Togo)

Dr. George Maloof, M.D. (Psychiatrist, San Francisco, CA)

Michael J. Marshall (Executive Director, The World & I Magazine, Silver Spring, MD)

The Hon. Robert G. Marshall (member, Virginia House of Delegates, Manassas, VA)

Mrs. Cathy Marshall

Bruce L. Mazzie (Director, PRESTO Project, Uganda, former executive director, Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice, and board member, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Kampala, Uganda)

Dr. Michael McCann, M.D. (Internal Medicine, Oakton, VA)

Brother James L. McCaffrey, S. M. (Pastoral Associate, Holy Rosary Church, San Antonio, TX)

Thomas P. McDevitt (Business Director, National Weekly Edition, The Washington Times, Fairfax, VA)

Rev. Joseph S. McDonald, S.M., Ph.D. (Marianist Library, University of Dayton, board member, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Dayton, OH)

Mrs. Marcelle McGrath (volunteer, Fort Belvoir Hospital, Woodbridge, VA)

Vincent J. McGrath (retired Army colonel, retired estate planning entrepreneur, and Director of Volunteer Programs, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Woodbridge, VA)

Rev. John H. Miller, C.S.C., S.T.D. (Editor, Social Justice Review and board member, Center for Economic and Social Justice, St. Louis, MO)

Brother Maurice W. Miller, S.M. (Retired teacher and administrator, Cupertino, CA)

Jean-Oscar Ngalamulume (leader and presidential candidate for the opposition party CIDES and Chairman, Democracy for Zaire Foundation, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Dr. Samuel Nigro, M.D. (psychiatrist, Cleveland, OH)

Michael J. O’Dea (Executive Director, Christus Medicus Foundation, Southfield, MI)

Rev. Francis J. Peffley (Our Lady of Angels Church, Woodbridge, VA)

L. Dean Price (University Architect Emeritus, Georgetown University and Co-Chairman, Equitech, Inc., and Recording Secretary, The Great Spirits Society, McLean, VA)

Dr. David C. Reardon, Ph.D. (Director, Elliot Institute, Springfield, IL)

Dr. Thomas R. Rourke, Ph.D. (professor of political science, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, PA)

Raymond M. Ruscoe (Associate for Donor Relations, Human Life International, Strasburg, VA)

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M. (Retired Educator-Marianists, Cupertino, CA

William A. Schirra, CLU (retired estate planner and board member, Center for Economic and Social Justice, Butler, PA)

Dr. Jerome Shen, M.D. (St. Louis, MO)

Thomas J. Simon, MBA (management and organizational development consultant; Special Assistant to the Chairman (the late Chief Justice Warren Burger) and Deputy Staff Director, Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution; and former Chairman of the U.S. Railway Retirement Board, Arlington, VA)

Robert R. Smith (Godfrey, IL)

Rev. Richard W. Timm, C.S.C. (Commission for Justice and Peace, Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Dr. Victor T.H. Tsuan, Ph.D. (Chairman, World Freedom Day Celebration Committee, Highland Park, NJ)

Mrs. Carolyn A. Vay (Woodbridge, VA)

Brother Robert Lee Wade, S.M. (Marianist Brothers, Cupertino, CA)

Dr. Raphael T. Waters, Ph.D. (Chairman of Scholars for Social Justice and professor of philosophy, Niagara University, Lewiston, NY)

Rev. Msgr.John George Weber, (Salina, KS)

Rev. James F. Wipfield, S.M. (Retired-Marianists, Cupertino, CA)

Rev. Virgil A. Wood (Pastor, Pond Street Baptist Church, W. Warwick, RI)

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Wooton (Woodbridge, VA)

The Hon. Wyvetter Younge (Democratic Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Illinois House of Representatives, and a leader in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, East St. Louis, IL)

Mrs. Kay Zibolsky (President and founder, Life After Assault League,Appleton, WI)