As to the merits, it appears that just effecting transfer payments to poorer lands without careful controls and thought, just makes things worse, or props up evil/dysfunctional regimes. Yes worse - - like the subsizied food to Africa wiping out local farmers. Moreover, international institutions tend to be so corrupt and dysfunctional, including sad to say all too often, the World Bank, that the US should just do its thing on its own. Some ideas have proven to work, like micro loans for budding entrepreneurs as occurred in Bangledesh.
And of course the biggest boon of all would be unfettered free trade for these nations, but then so many with the Pope's mindset (I don't know about the Pope himself on this one), just carp about slave labor, or environmental concerns, as if no labor and handouts would really help to lift up those most in need of lifting up.
The road to effective hell on this mortal coil is often paved with good intentions. Good intentions are simply not enough, and the Pope doesn't have any grounding in economics or the empirical body of evidence on this matter. He's simply not qualified.
There. Now was that so hard?
The Roman Catholic Church is not just a Pope and few million believers. It's Catholic Orphanages, Catholic Schools, Catholic Hospitals, Catholic Monasteries, Catholic Convents, Catholic Sisters, Catholic Brothers, Catholic Monks, Catholic Priests, Diocese, ArchBishops, Bishops, Canonical Lawyers, and on and on.
The Sisters and Brothers and Monks have no income. They are provided with a place to live, clothing, medical care, in exchange for things like: caring for lepers, caring for orphans, caring for HIV patients, caring for TB patients, being nurses in hospitals, taking care of the lowliest of the low. They also bake the Communion Bread, make the Communion Wine, give up having grandchildren. They spend hours praying and saying the Rosary and the Office of the Hours. They also go into Countries where they know they are in physical danger, and they do it because they feel privileged to serve God in this way. On 'foreign' soil, Sisters get raped, robbed, shot in the head. Brothers and Priests are strung up and shot.
For what? For the Faith. For The Church. Because they love Christ Jesus and they love the people God created. Because they want to serve Him by serving others. They want to make other people's lives better.
This in stark contrast to the followers of Islam.
IOW, you want to swoop-in and acquire ownership control of their economic resources before they have a chance to develop their own competitive private sector from the ground up.
You are perfectly right --- all the freebies just would keep the underlying problems --- which is almost always their form of government and culture able to continue on and on. Corrupt dictators robbing their countries of their wealth would be allowed to continue doing so --- the people would be fed and more content --- less likely to run them out.
>Not one serious post on this thread that I noticed about
>the merits of the Pope's point of view. Just rants about
>soem goodies in the Vatican that should be liquidated, and
>stuff about child abuse, and name calling. Pathetic.
>Freepers should do better than is exemplified here.
Indeed. Just goes to show that there are fewer practicing Christians who post here than one might have originally thought.
>Some ideas have proven to work, like micro loans for
>budding entrepreneurs as occurred in Bangledesh. And of
>course the biggest boon of all would be unfettered free
>trade for these nations...
Unfettered free trade would wipe out most of those budding entrepreneurs.
>the Pope doesn't have any grounding in economics or the
>empirical body of evidence on this matter. He's simply not
>qualified.
He may not be an economist, but he is a theologian. As you correctly observe, no one has tried to deal with the central tenant behind his discourse: Jesus commanded Christians to be charitable to others. The more talents you are given, the more you are supposed to produce.
Compare the activities of a man like Thomas Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza, with those of someone like Ken Lay (former Enron CEO) - or for that matter, with those of John and Theresa Kerry.
The difference will become fairly clear.