Posted on 07/07/2009 8:39:18 AM PDT by vivalaoink
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict on Tuesday called for a "world political authority" to manage the global economy and for more government regulation of national economies to pull the world out of the current crisis and avoid a repeat.
The pope's call for a re-think of the way the world economy is run came in new encyclical which touched on a number of social issues but whose main connecting thread was how the current crisis has affected both rich and poor nations.
Called "Charity in Truth," parts of the encyclical appeared bound to upset conservatives because of its underlying rejection of unbridled capitalism and unregulated market forces, which he said had led to "thoroughly destructive" abuse of the system.
The pope said every economic decision has a moral consequence and called for "forms of redistribution" of wealth overseen by governments to help those most affected by crises.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I sounded coarse, I apologize.
I wholly agree that the conditions for the coming of Antichrist are riper every day. But to call for an overhaul of the existing system of global finance and global security is not a call to worship Antichrist as Christ. It is, simply, the pastoral duty of an observant and concerned pastor.
The problem, from a pragmatic point of view, is that any world politically authority will be at least as corrupt as the several authorities we now have, but without competition, nor accountability.
It would be populated by only the people greedy and power-hungry enough to attain such high positions. That is human nature. That is reality.
Distributed, decentralized republics, with power elected as close to the people as possible is the best we can hope for regarding governments instituted by men.
Placing the most powerful rulers many impenetrable bureaucratic layers above the people does not only invite tyranny, it guarantees it... actually, it virtually defines it.
Benedict here is speaking of a hyper-insulated ruling class.
Where is the justice in having ANY ruling class?
Our nation isn’t supposed to have a ruling class, but it does...
Why has a ruling class come to exist in this nation?
The answer is simple: Lack of Term Limits.
IMO
Jesus also didn’t seek a solution for the poor. He stated the poor will be you always.
No kidding here. Maybe some folks read the liberal bible where there is nothing but unicorns and community love. Maybe they need to read again, the descriptions of lucifer before they dismiss our observation. Keep putting the word out. Thanks for the red! Unfortunate but many will cry Lord, Lord and He does not know them. No personal relationship, no pass.
I agree but the Pope is saying just the opposite in the encyclical.
Is it party time?
That language does not describe an antichrist.
Actually, it sounds eerily similar to the way the left describes the UN. We all know how well THAT worked out!
This is my first posting, so please forgive me if I did this incorrectly. I did not intend to post to just one person, but the the whole community. As a recent convert to Catholicism from Protestantism, I am conservative ... this article struck me with the usual “WOW the AnthiChrist 666” rhetoric.
So i woke up early this morning and read the entire encyclical, and this article is completely biased and out of whack with what the Pope wrote. The entire thrust in my opinion, was to speak of the need for love and compassion to develop and grow alongside technology, so that we do not become so self-dependent that we become our own “saviors”. That justice and truth must be an integral part of our global economy, rather than greed and capitalism. The Pope calls for UN reform, that involves the people of the world, and not just the State.
Everyone does need to work together to ensure the good of all mankind. The Church cannot do it alone, the States cannot do it alone, governments cannot do it alone.
So much of what comes from the Vatican gets demonized by the media and others.
Where, exactly?
The Pope: “The articulation of political authority at the local, national and international levels is one of the best ways of giving direction to the process of economic globalization. “
Annalex: “globalization is to be restrained on all political levels; especially on the national and local level”.
To give direction is to restrain. How is it opposite?
I disagree with your interpretation. Especially in light of all the other examples of the Pope's push for State control, benevolence (if there can be such a thing) and coordination of governmental powers in the encyclical.
Yes, but the process of globalization is largely outside of the government control today. So to restrain globalization, a power that is outside of the market — the governmental power — is indeed needed.
I disagree again. What good, service or commodity can cross a national border without some form of tariff, tax or regulation?
Yeah, but it somehow did not prevent the economic traitors from moving our industrial base to China.
Modern capitalism, while complaining about taxation and regulation, has used democratic governments as a tool of globalization.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.