Solidarity: A shared view and sense of common responsibility for one another

Pew Forum found that religious groups agree -- fixing the economy is our top priority.

Faith in Public Life points out that the Vatican this week celebrated a resurgent American spirit of mutual concern and support.

The official Vatican newspaper is reported to have said:

After a decade of exaltation of individual enrichment, today the USA, struck by the economic crisis, is witnessing instead the pressing resurgence of the values of solidarity.

Solidarity, explains the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

… is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.

The Pew survey found that we agree about what to work on first. The Vatican suggests that we also know how -- an approach which resonates with the American tradition of mutual support in times of crisis, a tradition that permits us to achieve shared objectives that would otherwise be beyond any nation.