Sunday, September 7
Liturgical Color: Green
On this day in 1644, Bl. Ralph Corby,
S.J., and Bl. John Duckett were martyred
at Tyburn in London, after being arrested
for their missionary work. They were
granted a reprieve to be used by only
one, but both refused it.
Is globalization exclusively a matter of politics and economics?
There used to be the idea of a division of labor: economics should be concerned about increasing wealth, and politics should be concerned about distributing it justly. In the age of globalization, however, profits are obtained globally, while politics to a great extent is still limited within national boundaries. Therefore, what is needed today is not just the strengthening of transnational political institutions, but also the initiatives of individuals and social groups that are active economically in the poorer regions of the world, not primarily for the sake of profit, but rather out of a spirit of solidarity and love. The market and the State are necessary, but so is a strong civil society. In a market, products and services are exchanged for goods having the same value. In many regions of this world, however, the people are so poor that they cannot offer anything in exchange and therefore continue to be left behind. So there is a need for economic initiatives that are defined, not by the "logic of exchange", but rather by the "logic of the unconditional gift" (Pope Benedict XVI, CiV). This means, not merely giving alms to the poor, but rather helping them to help themselves by opening up paths to economic freedom. There are Christian initiatives, for instance the "Economy of Communion" project of the Focolare Movement, which today involves more than 750 businesses worldwide. There are also non-Christian social entrepreneurs who, though profit-oriented, nevertheless work in the spirit of a "culture of giving" with the goal of alleviating poverty and marginalization.
Are poverty and underdevelopment an inescapable fate?
God has entrusted to us a rich earth that could offer all men sufficient food and living space. Yet there are whole regions, countries, and continents in which many people have scarcely the bare necessities for living. There are complex historical causes for this division in the world, but it is not irreformable. The rich countries have the moral obligation to help the underdeveloped nations out of poverty through developmental aid and the establishment of just economic and commercial conditions. There are more than a billion people living on this earth who must make do with less than one dollar per day. They suffer from a lack of food and clean drinking water; most of them have no access to education or medical care. It is estimated that more than 25,000 people die every day from malnutrition. Many of them are children. (YOUCAT questions 447-448