Silk on B16 and Capitalism

Mark Silk, at Spiritual Politics, gives an update on the issue of the Vatican's stance towards capitalism. It should surprise no one who does not occupy a corner office at the Ethics and Public Policy Center or the American Enterprise Institute that Catholic social thought has always registered deep reservations about capitalism. Some tried to denounce or demean the recent "Note" from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace because it failed to offer incense at the Altar of the Market. They mistakenly jumped on a directive from the Vatican's Secretary of State which they thought was intended to further question that "Note," but turned out to be directed at an entirely different document. ("Oops," as Gov. Perry likes to say.) But, as Silk points out, suspicion of market idolatry of the kind that animates today's Republican Party is deeply rooted and widely held within the precincts of the Holy See, including the man in white.