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Econ encyclical 'more on ethics than structure'
Document expected in late March, called 'Charity in Truth'
Mar. 05, 2009
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PDF versionEffectively stealing some thunder from his own forthcoming encyclical on social themes, Pope Benedict XVI insisted last week that underneath the current global economic crisis lurks greed, rooted in original sin, and that reform of global economic architecture will be of little use without the conversion of individual hearts.
“Where there are no just people, there is no justice,” Benedict said. “For that reason, education in justice must be a priority – perhaps we could say, ‘the’ priority. … Good structures can’t be developed if they’re opposed by egoism, including that of people of great technical competence.”
The comments came in a Feb. 26 Q & A session Benedict held with priests from the Rome diocese, as part of the Vatican’s observance of Lent.
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This link connects with the transcript of that session.
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Thursday’s “sneak peak” suggests two insights about the new encyclical:
- It will concentrate less on structural analysis than on the ethical and spiritual premises of economic justice;
- Rather than setting social activism and personal piety at odds, sometimes referred to as “horizontal” and “vertical” spiritualities, Benedict seems likely to argue that the two are mutually dependent.
The Vatican is expected to release Benedict’s new encyclical letter, the third of his pontificate, later in March. Titled “Charity in Truth” (Caritas in Veritate), the document had been set to appear in September 2008, but the eruption of the economic crisis compelled the pope to revisit the text.
Pre-publication materials prepared last fall indicated that the encyclical contains two broad sections: a review of the social teaching of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, and then Benedict’s reflections upon major social concerns such as threats to unborn human life, poverty, issues of war and peace, terrorism, globalization, and environmentalism. In his treatment of those issues, Benedict is said to draw upon natural law arguments, designed to be open to everyone, as well as the Bible.
In his remarks on Thursday, the pope said he has been working on the encyclical “for a long time.”
“Along the way, I’ve come to see how difficult it is to speak on this subject with competence, because if a given economic reality isn’t confronted competently, [the treatment] won’t be credible,” the pope said.
An encyclical, or “circulating,” letter is generally used to express the lengthiest and most developed form of papal teaching.
Benedict spoke about the economy on Thursday in response to a priest who works in a poor neighborhood on the periphery of Rome, who asked if the church isn’t obligated “to denounce an economic and financial system that’s unjust at its roots.”
In his reply, Benedict distinguished between two levels: “macro-justice,” meaning the ethical dimension of national and international economic systems, and “micro-justice,” referring to the ethical choices of individual people. His thesis was that while the church is obligated to denounce inequities at the first level, such as “the fundamental errors now revealed in the collapse of the great American banks,” its unique contribution is promoting change of heart at the second level.
Benedict insisted that the economic crisis cannot be understood simply in technical terms as a breakdown of economic mechanism, but must be seen spiritually as an object lesson in the dangers of greed, self-interest, and privileging the desires of one’s own group over the common good.
“In the end, it’s a question of human avarice in the form of sin, or, as the Letter to the Colossians says, avarice as idolatry,” the pope said. “We must denounce this idolatry which stands against the true God, as well as the falsification of the image of God with another God, which is ‘mammon.’”
Original sin, Benedict argued, distorts both human reason and human desires, allowing the tug of narrow interests to prevail over the good of all.
“Maybe it’s pessimism, but to me it seems like realism: as long as there’s original sin, we will never arrive at a radical and total solution,” the pope said. “However, we have to do everything we can on behalf of at least provisional solutions, solutions sufficient to allow humanity to live – to prevent the domination of egoism, which presents itself under the pretext of science and the national and international economy.”
In that sense, the pope said, the “humble, daily work” of pastors and spiritual guides is actually “fundamental, not just for the parish, but for humanity.”
“If we don’t proclaim macro-justice, then micro-justice won’t grow,” Benedict said. “But if we don’t do our very humble work of micro-justice, then macro-justice won’t grow either. And always, as I said in my first encyclical, despite all the systems that can grow in the world, charity always remains necessary.”
The Pope has been succinct on
The Pope has been succinct on this teaching. On this one, he has made me proud to be a Catholic. He is using clear incisive concepts to discuss what needs repair in our economic systems. I pray that those who managed the origin of this debacle will hear these words and harness their considerable technical abilities to right the wrongs they visited on the entire world -- before it is too late for their good souls.
Who can quibble with what the
Who can quibble with what the pope says about greed. But really, if credibility is what he seeks, then he will have to take off his Prada shoes and gold-threaded mitre, and stand up for the Latin Americans who have suffered economic injustice for decades while the church turned a blind eye, and in some cases, deliberately lent its support to oppressive regimes despite what it knew was going on. And while we're at it, back home in the US, the Roman Catholic Church ought to be paying a living wage to its own. With a few exceptions in some key positions, that is simply not the case, except bishops of course, all of whom are paid a decent wage to run the diocese. And the least paid still lives wealthy with no worries about where his next meal is coming from or how to make the house or car payment. Have you checked out where some of these bishops retire to--in gated communities no less, in expensive houses. And when queried about why the diocese does not pay a living wage, most any bishop will say that "we pay what we can afford to our workers, and remember, it is work for the Lord, you know!" You hear something similar from corporate America. Economic injustice is only one kind of injustice.
The Pope does not and never
The Pope does not and never has worn or owned Prada shoes. Perhaps we should check our facts before making accusations against the Vicar of Christ.
“Where there are no just
“Where there are no just people, there is no justice,” Benedict said.
We have bishops like Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California still who continues to refuse the order of the court to release files and records of known sexually abusive priests!
We still have bishops across the country like Archbishop Edmund O'Brien of Baltimore, Maryland or Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, Colorado who are vehement in their opposition to the removal of all Statutes of Limitation regarding the sexual abuse of children and a Civil Legislative Window to hold predators accountable for the sexual abuse of scores of children.
Where is the Justice for the victims of childhood sexual abuse?
It goes on and on even in our own Roman Catholic Church.
“WHERE THERE ARE NO JUST PEOPLE, THERE IS NO JUSTICE," POPE BENEDICT XVI SAID.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
What the bishops oppose is
What the bishops oppose is not removing ALL statutes of limitation, it is removing statutes of limitation againts priests, while enforcing statutes of limitation to protect public school teachers. I'm REALLY curious how you justify strict laws against pedophile-priests while protecting pedophile-teachers from litigation.
I agree Sister Maureen, my
I agree Sister Maureen, my family has tithed and paid for Catholic education all our lives. The Church has been our lives. My sister and I watched the HBO documentary, "Deliver Us From Evil" (available on Amazon) and it is a pretty damning document produced by a former priest that tried to warn the Vatican years ago about the impending sexual scandal. In the documentary it shows how Cardinal Ratzinger would not take this information seriously. It shows how the thinking of the Vatican over this issue has been that there are two tiers of Catholics. The first tier is the clergy who can apparently rape our little girls and boys in the Sacristy and the Bishops including the one in Rome turn their heads. The second tier is the laity, and of course, if we as adults sleep with someone whom we love and are engaged to yet not married to are committing a sin that keeps us from communion. I submit that the sin of the Bishops including the current and most recent past one in Rome completely diminishes their authority. So much so that I would not want to receive ANY sacrament from these men. Yet some of these men keep trying to use the sacrament of Communion as a sludge hammer to attempt to get people to believe the way they do. Wow what a bunch of hypocrites! They have stood by and watched, even as some of their own have sent letters of 911 to Rome, and local Bishops. There response was to kill the messengers. They watched while our children were being raped. I call for the CURRENT POPE TO RESIGN and numerous other Bishops to do the same and these would include Cardinals Mahoney, Law, George, Stafford who I have personal information from the common press that shows them to be criminals. I personally agree with applying the RICO laws to Cardinal Mahoney and any other Bishop that has hidden information from the authorities. I am very glad that the Vatican itself can now be sued by those effected by this poor leadership. I believe all of us laity and clergy alike should storm the American Council of Bishops with letters and personal appearances or demonstrations to let them know that we will not tolerate their lack of simple decency. There were serious wrongs committed by these men and they do not even have the common decency to resign! I certainly do not think that an Encyclical by Father Ratzinger is something that carries any authority period.
Sister, many if not most of
Sister, many if not most of the abusers are dead, dying or gone from the Church, and many dioceses are at or near bankrupt as a result. Will you not be satisfied until the Church in America is dismantled? Schools are being lost and people are beginning to lose even sacramental ministries in parts of the country as a result of closed churches and loss of vocations. God will dispense justice as he always has. The point has been made and the Church has to live with the shame it has brought upon itself. Further punishment and financial hardship will serve no one and the poor the least.
I agree. Actually, every
I agree. Actually, every comment I have read by sister Maureen is meant to tear down the church. If you can find nothing positive about the church, why do you want to stay? You can find work in social services without being a sister.
This pope is a genius. His
This pope is a genius. His social and theological thinking will do more to clarify and shed light on the moral and economic mess we're in than all the fancy and high-falutin theories of the "best and the brightest" thinkers and economists in the world at this time. The world is lucky to have such a geat thinker and visionary at this dark moment of our history. There are no other great world leaders. All the rest are pigmies.
"NO HAY MISTICA SIN
"NO HAY MISTICA SIN ASCETICA". IF WE DO NOT PRACTICE OUR FAITH, THEN THERE IS NO SPIRITUAL LIFE. ECONOMICS IS WATCHING YOUR MOTHER BAKE A CAKE - THE DECISIONS THAT SHE MAKES. POLITICS ARE THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE. OUR RELIGION IS THE SET OF PRIORITIES THAT DETERMINE OUR DECISIONS. "PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!" IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THIS. HIS HOLINESS IS NOT TELLING US ANYTHING NEW - JUST REMINDING US THAT WE ARE TO PRAY WHAT WE DO AND DO WHAT WE PRAY. ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER JUST DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. ALL OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH IS JUST A MATTER OF HOW TO DO OUR PRAXIS!
GOD LOVES US!
Useful and the approach makes
Useful and the approach makes good common sense, as virtue is in the middle. Furthermore, its not up to the Pope to be an architect, but to helpfully frame and outline the Church position from the perspective of Faith and Morals. Looking forward to the document launch, then the work of the Laity begins! Grace and Peace with prayers always...
Thank you, Papa Ratzi.... I
Thank you, Papa Ratzi....
I wonder how many of the Bishops in America will care about:"Education in Justice must be a priority".
Perhaps, our Bishops ought to take the time to read: Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang (Author); Bloomsbury Press (December 26, 2007);ISBN-10: 1596913991; ISBN-13: 978-1596913998.
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Samaritans-Secret-History-Capitalism/dp/159691...
Review by: Loyd E. Eskildson:
"Bad Samaritans," as Chalmers Johnson points out, refers to "people in the rich countries who preach free markets and free trade to the poor countries in order to capture larger shares of the latter's markets and preempt the emergence of possible competitors." They are saying "do as we say, not as we did" and take advantage of others who are in trouble. He also points out that all of today's rich countries (INCLUDING the U.S.) used protection and subsidies to encourage their manufacturing industries - anathema in today's economic orthodoxy and contrary to the WTO, IMF, and World Bank. As a result, third-world nations' growth rates have fallen to less than half of that recorded in the 1960s (1.7 percent instead of 4.5 percent).
God bless,
M.Francis
The Pope has it exactly
The Pope has it exactly backwards. If human beings were without original sin, it wouldn't matter what social structure was in place, as humans would treat one another with justice. It is precisely because of the human propensity for selfishness that we must see to it that social structures are built to prevent the worst excesses of that selfishness.
All that the Pope's words accomplish is to encourage resignation, and resignation is the handmaiden of politcal reaction, and maybe that is his intention. Since we can never get rid of original sin, we might as well sit on our hands and keep voting Republican.
If the Pope really wants to write a relevant encyclical on the economy, he needs to delay it still further and go to the school of the liberation theologians. But, of course, that is not likely to happen.
This pope is so regressive.
This pope is so regressive. He privatizes ethics rather than considering the insidous structural sin that destroys the lives of so many, especially the poor and innocent. His nineteenth century outlook has set the churc back, punishing theologians, silencing those who would move us forward. More old fashioned theology from this old fashioned pope.
I am looking forward to
I am looking forward to reading this new encyclical in its entirety. I am glad that the Pope was specific in his remarks to the priests that abortion is only one of a host of issues by which we should be judging the justice of a person, a faith system, a government and a nation. Perhaps, in this way, we might be able to impress upon the Catholic electorate that there never can be a one issue election. I, for one, am sick of hearing people [including some Bishops] complain that Obama was elected by sinful Catholics. We must respect those who voted for Obama understanding that, for an overwhelming majority of them, their vote was a truly moral decision driven by a well formed conscience.
Thomas Aquinas taught that conscience was king and that we should NEVER behave in opposition to it even if it meant excommunication. He refused to retract even when the Church threatened excommunication.
Thanks to NCR for all of the wonderful articles. The information I take from them helps me tremendously in my position as a Faith Formation Director.
You have no idea what you
You have no idea what you have done. Obama is not just about economics and abortion (bad enough) but about embryonic stem cells and eliminating the conscience laws. What happens when all Catholic hospitals are forced by the government to offer abortions? When the hospitals are forced to close, how many people will be out of a job? What happens when people are created in a test tube to save for spare body parts? What happens when we can no longer decide what our religion teaches but we have to teach whatever the government allows? Do you really believe this is a good thing?
Jesus, have mercy on us.
Perhaps it is time now for
Perhaps it is time now for something new. Perhaps it is time, for the Magisterial Authority, the bishops, the "faithful orthodox" to STOP defending the faith and start PRACTICING the faith.
As Sister Maureen pointed out, it will go a long way if the Pope were to insist that honesty and integrity be PRACTICED within the leadership of the RCC. The leadership, all levels, need to be reminded that they are charged with setting the example, living the example, not dictating terms of submission to their authority.
Lying, for any reason, is not practicing the faith.
Intimidating victims and witnesses is not practicing the faith.
Spewing hate at others is not practicing the faith.
Stealing is not practicing the faith.
Character assassination is not practicing the faith.
Exclusion of others is not practicing the faith.
Hate, in any form, is not practicing the faith.
Fixation in egoism (original
Fixation in egoism (original sin) isn't only in the micro-system (individual conscience), it is also structurally present in the institutional macro-system (corporate-conscience), whether in institutions of state, business or religion. Mea culpas and conversion need to come from all institutions as well as from individuals. Is Pope Benedict up to confession and conversion for "his institution"?
He's right; change has to be real and personal before it can be institutional.
Should all catholic hospitals
Should all catholic hospitals be closed if the government forces them to perform abortions? What's the progessives thinking on this question?
The government will not force
The government will not force Catholic hospitals to do abortions.
Then why do they feel it is
Then why do they feel it is necessary to remove the conscience laws? What purpose does that serve? Is it stopping them from imposing rules on hospitals?
I'm truly saddened by some of
I'm truly saddened by some of the comments I've read. I understood this article to be related to the Pope's upcoming encyclical regarding economics and ethics, yet somehow the subject has been turned toward other matters.
Are people truly interested in hearing Truth?
Or merely interested in acknowledging truth when it happens to jive with what they want to believe?
Thank you, NCR, for having
Thank you, NCR, for having this new website. I got tired of waiting for the official church to let women give homilies, so I set up a Goggle Group where those women who would like to discuss the mass readings can do that. Anyone who wants to give a homily can do that. Go to Goggle Groups and search on MissMass (no space).
I see the usual "relics" of
I see the usual "relics" of the 60's (angry nuns, political activism masquerading as as spirituality, and other crusaders out to save the world from itself) still frequent the National Catholic Distorter. This graying crowd still whining about the abuse scandal - is the same bunch who were ready to canonize Rembert Weakland back in the day. Why don't you people get a life (in Christ) !
This encyclical has the potential to change the world if the "liberal" and "conservative" crowds can drop their agendas, get on their knees, then roll up their sleeves. This is about solving real world problems caused by the fascist crony capitalists and Marxist liberation theologians. It's time to put up or shut up. That is except for orion71 who appears to be "more Catholic than the Pope".
My, My. You are angry.
My, My. You are angry.
the catholic church is
the catholic church is sitting on stockpiles of gold, silver, and other expensive things, and all that crap does is collect dust and look pretty. if they are so opposed to economic inujustice, why dont they downgrade the churches. im sure God doesnt care whether your church is magnificant or not. the catholic church should sell all that crap and use the money to help the world economy with it. I'm willing the bet the roman catholic church is siting on billions in american dollars. perhaps its time to put that money to good use? and the pope doesnt really need a $10,000 robe and hat, does he? im sure the pope can preach just as well in a $10 walmart shirt and a $50 pair of jeans.
the catholic church is
the catholic church is sitting on stockpiles of gold, silver, and other expensive things, and all that crap does is collect dust and look pretty. if they are so opposed to economic inujustice, why dont they downgrade the churches. im sure God doesnt care whether your church is magnificant or not. the catholic church should sell all that crap and use the money to help the world economy with it. I'm willing the bet the roman catholic church is siting on billions in american dollars. perhaps its time to put that money to good use? and the pope doesnt really need a $10,000 robe and hat, does he? im sure the pope can preach just as well in a $10 walmart shirt and a $50 pair of jeans.
Hmmm. What are you saying
Hmmm. What are you saying clow? We should all become socialists? perhaps communists? Look like a herd of cattle and put no value in transcendental beauty??? Culture??? And a sense of the glory of God??? Should our worship be plane and cerebal?? Not lift the senses to mystery? Should there be no hightened sense of the sacred against the profane? And should not mankind be represented in authentic dignity as children of the Almighty God created to be in communion with God? and for all those...."the Church should sell everything and give to the poor" comments...let's not throw out centuries of culture and beauty and at the same time neglect to recognize the Church as the most charitable institution on the globe; and that it always has been and always will be. Think of the numerous hospitals around the globe, SCHOOLS, missions for the poor, homeless, parentless, imprisoned, advocacy for the oppressed, and too many others to continue. So much focus on the negative and nothing said about the enormous amounts of throughout all of western history and a great deal of the east is shameful. Besides, all this knee jerk reaction when the Encyclical is not even available to read is really childish too.
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