I get a daily email from the Vatican Information Service which reports on the doings of the pope. A lot of it is dull stuff about meetings and ecclesial appointments, so usually I just scan it quickly. But usually there are at least a few remarks from the pope. And sometimes there's something pretty substantial. Usually I don't read those at once, because I'm at work and busy. I read the first paragraph or two of this one yesterday and thought, "this is good stuff, I'll read it later when I'm not in a hurry." Well, it's good stuff, indeed. Powerful stuff. So I'm just posting it in its entirety.
There are a few factual things I would quibble with here, but I think the pope is right on the money (so to speak) about the overall state of things.
Vatican City, 16 May 2013 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father
received the credential letters of four new ambassadors to the Holy See:
Mr. Bolot Iskovich Otunbaev from Kyrgyzstan; Mr. David Shoul from
Antigua and Barbuda; Mr. Jean-Paul Senninger from Luxembourg; and Mr.
Lameck Nthekela from Botswana. In the address he gave them, the pontiff
urged them not to forget the predominance of ethics in the economy and
in social life, emphasizing the value of solidarity and the centrality
of the human being.
“Our human family,” the Pope said, “is presently
experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we
consider the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the
positive achievements which contribute to the authentic welfare of
mankind, in fields such as those of health, education and
communications. At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the
majority of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in
situations of insecurity, with dire consequences. Certain pathologies
are increasing, with their psychological consequences; fear and
desperation grip the hearts of many people, even in the so-called rich
countries; the joy of life is diminishing; indecency and violence are on
the rise; poverty is becoming more and more evident. People have to
struggle to live and, frequently, to live in an undignified way. One
cause of this situation, in my opinion, is in the our relationship with
money, and our
acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society. Consequently the
financial crisis which we are experiencing makes us forget that its
ultimate origin is to be found in a profound human crisis. In the denial
of the primacy of human beings! We have created new idols. The worship
of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the
cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and
lacking any truly humane goal.”
“The worldwide financial and economic crisis,” the
pontiff observed, “seems to highlight their distortions and above all
the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces men and women to
just one of their needs alone, namely, consumption. Worse yet, human
beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be
used and thrown away. We have started down the path of a disposable
culture. This tendency is seen on the level of individuals and whole
societies; and it is being promoted! In circumstances like these,
solidarity, which is the treasure of the poor, is often considered
counterproductive, opposed to the logic of finance and the economy.
While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the
majority is crumbling. This imbalance results from ideologies which
uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and
thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged
with providing for the common good. A new, invisible and at times
virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably
imposes its own laws and rules. Moreover, indebtedness and credit
distance countries from their real economy and citizens from their real
buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread
corruption and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on worldwide
dimensions. The will to power and of possession has become limitless.”
“Concealed behind this attitude,” the Bishop of Rome
warned, “is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like
solidarity, is a nuisance! It is regarded as counterproductive: as
something too human, because it relativizes money and power; as a
threat, because it rejects manipulation and subjection of people:
because ethics leads to God, who is situated outside the categories of
the market. These financiers, economists and politicians consider God to
be unmanageable, God is unmanageable, even dangerous, because He calls
man to his full realization and to independence from any kind of
slavery. Ethics—naturally, not the ethics of ideology—makes it possible,
in my view, to create a balanced social order that is more humane. In
this sense, I encourage the financial experts and the political leaders
of your countries to consider the words of Saint John Chrysostom: 'Not
to share one’s goods with the poor is to rob
them and to deprive them of life. It is not our goods that we possess,
but theirs'.”
The Pope asserted that “there is a need for financial
reform along ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic
reform to benefit everyone. This would nevertheless require a courageous
change of attitude on the part of political leaders. I urge them to
face this challenge with determination and farsightedness, taking
account, naturally, of their particular situations. Money has to serve,
not to rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but the Pope
has the duty, in Christ’s name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to
respect them, to promote them. The Pope appeals for disinterested
solidarity and for a return to person-centred ethics in the world of
finance and economics.”
“For her part, the Church,” he reiterated, “always works
for the integral development of every person. In this sense, she
reiterates that the common good should not be simply an extra, simply a
conceptual scheme of inferior quality tacked onto political programmes.
The Church encourages those in power to be truly at the service of the
common good of their peoples. She urges financial leaders to take
account of ethics and solidarity. And why should they not turn to God to
draw inspiration from his designs? In this way, a new political and
economic mindset would arise that would help to transform the absolute
dichotomy between the economic and social spheres into a healthy
symbiosis.”
Finally, Francis greeted—through the ambassadors—the
faithful of the Catholic communities present in their respective
countries, urging them “to continue their courageous and joyful witness
of faith and fraternal love in accordance with Christ’s teaching. Let
them not be afraid to offer their contribution to the development of
their countries, through initiatives and attitudes inspired by the
Sacred Scriptures!”
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