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PDF versionDon't surrender to laws of market, pope says
by John L Allen Jr on Nov. 18, 2011
Cotonou, Benin
On the heels of a controversial Vatican document blasting free-market ideologies and calling for a global authority to regulate the economy, Benedict XVI today warned the continent of Africa against an “unconditional surrender to the law of the market or that of finance,” in a speech opening his second African journey as pope.
Benedict XVI is visiting Benin, a West African nation of eight million, Nov. 18-20.
The pontiff was greeted this afternoon at the airport in the national capital of Cotonou by Benin’s president, Thomas Boni Yayi, a Muslim convert to Evangelical Christianity. In brief remarks to a crowd on hand, Benedict encouraged Africans not to fear modernity, but to avoid what he identified as some of its “pitfalls.”
Those pitfalls include, according to the pope:
- “An unconditional surrender to the law of the market or that of finance”
- “Nationalism”
- “An exaggerated and sterile tribalism’
- “Politicization of interreligious tensions”
- “Erosion of human, cultural, ethical and religious values”
The transition to modernity, the pope said, must instead be rooted in values such as “the dignity of the person, the importance of the family and respect for life.”
Benedict’s reference to the market is of particular interest in light of a recent document on reform of global economic systems from the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, issued in advance of a meeting of G-20 nations. The text made headlines for its unstinting rejection of “neo-liberal” economic theories, its support for global regulatory authorities such as a world central bank, and its endorsement of the Tobin Tax.
Critics of the document have tended to downplay its authority, and some have openly asked if Pope Benedict XVI stands behind it. In that context, the brief reference from Benedict in today’s speech will strike many observers as an oblique confirmation that, at least at the big-picture level, the Justice and Peace text indeed reflects his thinking.
As a footnote, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, is a member of the papal party accompanying Benedict XVI to Benin. He joins two other African cardinals, as well as two other African prelates who serve in different Vatican offices.
Later today, Benedict is scheduled to visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy in Cotonou, a structure famed for its distinctive burgundy and white striped tile architecture, where he will pay tribute to two former archbishops of Cotonou and deliver a spiritual meditation on Mary and divine mercy.
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NCR senior correspondent is traveling with the pope in Benin. Below are a list of stories he has filed so far. Watch the NCR website for updates throughout the weekend.
- Benedict’s Africa plan: Stay spiritual, and stay Catholic, Saturday, November 19, 2001
- On AIDS, Benedict avoids the ‘C’ word, Saturday, November 19, 2001
- In voodoo capital, Benedict blasts 'occultism and evil spirits', Saturday, November 19, 2001
- From a Eurocentric pope, a remarkably African message, Saturday, November 19, 2001
- The political nerve of Catholicism in Africa, Friday, November 18, 2001
- Don't surrender to laws of market, pope says, Friday, November 18, 2001
- Memo to bishops: Think globally on religious freedom, Friday, November 18, 2001
- Transcript from Papal Plane, Friday, November 18, 2001
- From rumba to voodoo, subtext abounds on pope’s Africa trip, Thursday, November 17, 2001
from: http://www.vatican.va/h
from:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/november/do...
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO BENIN
18-20 NOVEMBER 2011
VISIT AT THE CATHEDRAL OF COTONOU
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Cotonou
Friday, 18 November 2011
[Video]
Your Eminences,
Most Reverend Archbishop and Dear Brother Bishops,
Reverend Father Rector of the Cathedral,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The ancient hymn, the Te Deum, which we have just sung, expresses our praise to the thrice-holy God who gathers us in this beautiful Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy. We pay homage as well to the former Archbishops who are buried here: Archbishop Christoph Adimou and Archbishop Isidore de Sousa. They were heroic workers in the vineyard of the Lord, and their memory lives on in the hearts of Catholics and innumerable other citizens of Benin. These two Bishops were, each in his own way, pastors full of zeal and charity. They spent themselves, without counting the cost, in the service of the Gospel and of the people of God, especially the most vulnerable. You know well that Archbishop de Sousa was a friend of the truth and that he played a decisive role in your country’s transition to democracy.
As we praise God for the marvels which he never ceases to bestow upon humanity, I invite you to meditate for a moment on his infinite mercy. The history of salvation, which culminates in the incarnation of Jesus and finds its fulfilment in the Paschal Mystery, is a radiant revelation of the mercy of God. In the Son, the “Father of mercies” (2 Cor 1:3) is made visible; ever faithful to his fatherhood, he “leans down to each prodigal child, to each human misery, and above all to their moral misery, to their sins” (John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, 6). Divine mercy consists not only in the remission of our sins; it also consists in the fact that God, our Father, redirects us, sometimes not without pain, affliction or fear on our part, to the path of truth and light, for he does not wish us to be lost (cf. Mt 18:14; Jn 3:16). This double expression of divine mercy shows how faithful God is to the covenant sealed with each Christian in his or her baptism. Looking back upon the personal history of each individual and of the evangelization of our countries, we can say together with the Psalmist, “I will sing of thy steadfast love, O Lord, for ever” (Ps 88:1).
The Virgin Mary experienced to the highest degree the mystery of divine love: “His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50), she exclaimed in her Magnificat. By her yes to the call of God, she contributed to the manifestation of divine love in the midst of humanity. In this sense, she is the Mother of Mercy by her participation in the mission of her Son: she has received the privilege of being our helper always and everywhere. “By her manifold intercession, she continues to procure the gifts which assure our eternal salvation. By her motherly love, she cares for her Son’s sisters and brothers who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home” (Lumen Gentium, 62). Under the shelter of her mercy, deadened hearts are healed, the snares of the devil are thwarted and enemies are reconciled. In Mary, we have not only a model of perfection, but also one who helps us to realize communion with God and with our brothers and sisters. As Mother of Mercy, she is a sure guide to the disciples of her son who wish to be of service to justice, to reconciliation and to peace. She shows us, with simplicity and with a mother’s heart, the one Light and Truth: her Son, Jesus Christ who leads humanity to its full realization in the Father. Let us not be afraid to invoke, with confidence, her who ceaselessly dispenses to her children abundant divine graces:
O Mother of Mercy,
We salute you, Mother of the Redeemer;
We salute you, Glorious Virgin;
We salute you, our Queen!
O Queen of Hope,
Show us the face of your divine Son;
Guide us along the way of holiness;
Give us the joy of those who say Yes to God!
O Queen of Peace,
Fulfil the most noble aspirations of the young people of Africa;
Fill the hearts of those who thirst for justice, for peace and for reconciliation;
Fulfil the hopes of children, victims of hunger and of war!
O Queen of Peace,
Obtain for us a filial and fraternal love;
Grant that we may be friends of the poor and the little ones;
Obtain for the peoples of the earth a spirit of brotherhood!
Our Lady of Africa,
Obtain from your divine Son healing for the sick, consolation for the afflicted, pardon for sinners;
Intercede for Africa before your divine Son,
And obtain for all of humanity salvation and peace!
Amen.
“An unconditional surrender
“An unconditional surrender to the law of the market or that of finance”
So, where does that leave Dolan banging the golden Wall Street gong with the 99% outside in the cold, abandoned, hungry, and poor.
a brief section of the Papal
a brief section of the Papal intercessions in the Cathedral:
"O Queen of Peace,
Fulfil the most noble aspirations of the young people of Africa;
Fill the hearts of those who thirst for justice, for peace and for reconciliation;
Fulfil the hopes of children, victims of hunger and of war!
O Queen of Peace,
Obtain for us a filial and fraternal love;
Grant that we may be friends of the poor and the little ones;
Obtain for the peoples of the earth a spirit of brotherhood!"
this can only truly come about through fully implementing our finest theology, the Theology of Liberation, but like, oh yeah, oh well, remember, too bad wojo eradicated this stout and vital root of our Faith, with your help.
ACTIONS NOT WORDS NOW
ACTIONS NOT WORDS NOW ............ Thanks for that interesting take, John, on the pope's nuanced reference to cardinal Turkson's contradictory and mostly utopian statement on world financial reform. That the pope raised in Benin rather than in lower Manhattan is noteworthy.
For more information on the curia's new world financial reform statement and its relationship to the pope and his subordinate US bishops' significant efforts to elect a "lower taxes on the Catholic 1%" and "less regulation of big banks" Republican in the US presidential election next November, please note the NCR comment and related cross links under the comment heading, "Actions Not Words Now" , accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/timely-note-reflects-catholic-vision
“the dignity of the person,
“the dignity of the person, the importance of the family and respect for life.”
God's recipe for true success.
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