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 ...
Then Step Three: PROFIT!
Maybe the pope should lead the way by selling his crown and scepter and giving the proceeds towards starting a midnight basketball league.
Nothing short of flat out communism!
Most Catholic Priests feel like it is their God Given right, not duty, to flood the United States with drunk divers, anchor babies ,free health care abusers,gang bangers, rapists, vote riggers and welfare cheats.
Now the Pope wants your money on a Global Scale, for the Beast,period.
Pope Benedict on Tuesday called for a “world political authority” to manage the global economy...
The Scripures, which is higher up the Biblical authority chain then the pope, speaks of a future world government with a single leader, who controls all economies. He is called the Anti-christ.
By asking for this “world political leader” the Pope (who, of all people, should know his scripture) is calling for the very conditions for this person to appear.
Oh brother.
The church does not know how to run things. The last time they did, they made a mess of it.
Benedict should know when to pipe down.
He knows nothing of economics.
As a Catholic, I love the Pope, but this isn't in his bailiwick, IMO.
As a Catholic, I don't trust Reuters to tell me what the Pope said.
Who drove down interest rates to well below rational market values, forced banks to lend money to anyone with a pulse and was involved in the various loan resellers like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? What do you know, it was the government itself. A tablespoon of poison makes you sick, so a full glass should be fine.
Stick with religion and leave the moneychanging to others.
See post 28
...Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good[147], and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth....That language does not describe an antichrist.
See post 32.
I will bet anyone here $100 that the Reuters reporter has dramatically misrepresented the encyclical. I have not read it yet, but it absolutely cannot depart from established Catholic doctrine. Catholic doctrine rejects state-controlled, mandatory wealth redistrubition. Read Rerum Novarum for clarity on this.
My guess is that the reporter is cherry picking snipets out of context and is getting a kick out of the thought of ticking off conservatives.
The reporter misses a central theme of the document: the issue of abortion and social justice cannot be separated. You cannot be pro-abortion and be pro-social justice at the same time.
I would guess everyone I have pinged above would normally highly suspect something from this wire serve. But since it concerns the Pope, it must be true (saracasm).
"In his Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens of 1971, Paul VI reflected on the meaning of politics, and the danger constituted by utopian and ideological visions that place its ethical and human dimensions in jeopardy. These are matters closely connected with development. " ...
If there's a liberal issue in the pope's encyclical, it is this: Here budgetary policies, with cuts in social spending often made under pressure from international financial institutions, can leave citizens powerless in the face of old and new risks; such powerlessness is increased by the lack of effective protection on the part of workers' associations. Through the combination of social and economic change, trade union organizations experience greater difficulty in carrying out their task of representing the interests of workers, partly because Governments, for reasons of economic utility, often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labour unions.
In the same breath, the pope repeats the church's condemnation of importing cheap labor, which drives America's immigration crisis: The mobility of labour, associated with a climate of deregulation, is an important phenomenon with certain positive aspects, because it can stimulate wealth production and cultural exchange. Nevertheless, uncertainty over working conditions caused by mobility and deregulation, when it becomes endemic, tends to create new forms of psychological instability, giving rise to difficulty in forging coherent life-plans, including that of marriage. This leads to situations of human decline, to say nothing of the waste of social resources. In comparison with the casualties of industrial society in the past, unemployment today provokes new forms of economic marginalization, and the current crisis can only make this situation worse. Being out of work or dependent on public or private assistance for a prolonged period undermines the freedom and creativity of the person and his family and social relationships, causing great psychological and spiritual suffering. I would like to remind everyone, especially governments engaged in boosting the world's economic and social assets, that the primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, the human person in his or her integrity: “Man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life”[61].
Also, the media ignores this gem, a condemnation of current international organizations: Some non-governmental Organizations work actively to spread abortion, at times promoting the practice of sterilization in poor countries, in some cases not even informing the women concerned. Moreover, there is reason to suspect that development aid is sometimes linked to specific health-care policies which de facto involve the imposition of strong birth control measures. Further grounds for concern are laws permitting euthanasia as well as pressure from lobby groups, nationally and internationally, in favour of its juridical recognition. Openness to life is at the centre of true development.
Other interesting comments:
The focus of international aid, within a solidarity-based plan to resolve today's economic problems, should rather be on consolidating constitutional, juridical and administrative systems in countries that do not yet fully enjoy these goods. Alongside economic aid, there needs to be aid directed towards reinforcing the guarantees proper to the State of law: a system of public order and effective imprisonment that respects human rights, truly democratic institutions...
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. It is also the way to ensure that it does not actually undermine the foundations of democracy.
A fair reading of the encyclical as it relates to global authority, I believe, is that it asserts that the world is globalizing, and it is inevitable, and that we must work to make sure that globalization is a benefit and not a curse. It is a sharp warning against allegedly utopian global constructs, dehumanization, and anti-democratic forces, but recognizes as central key issues which are frequently exploited by such forces: poverty, income inequity, depletion of resources, exploitation of workers, etc.
We should listen to him, no one knows more about abuse...
Being out of work or dependent on public or private assistance for a prolonged period undermines the freedom and creativity of the person and his family and social relationships, causing great psychological and spiritual suffering.
“...Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good”
That fluff and you know it. What “world authority” has ever “observed... to seek to establish the common good”? None! The greater the power, the greater the corruption - and the Pope is calling for the formation of the greatest political power the world has ever seen.
The Antichrist will come with promises of peace and prosperity. No doubt he will use flowery language about solidarity, equity, justice and charity.
“That language does not describe an antichrist.”
It absolutely does.
If he wants to see Redistribution of wealth, how about the Catholic church starting it with the trillions of dollars in wealth that they control.
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.