Late in 2013, Pope Francis named Time’s Person of the Year. Aside from that, another thing which caught the media’s attention was his critique of the outcomes of the world’s economic system included in a 224 page document he released called “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”).
One of the statements of note…
The current financial crisis can make us overlook the fact that it originated in a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person! … While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.
The Pope was pointing out that economics must work within a Godly moral framework to truly serve the good. There needs to be an awareness of serving the most vulnerable whilst also encouraging personal responsibility. Whilst this may be news to some, it isn’t to any thinking Christian as noted in this week’s memory verse.
This was discussed on a secular economics show. This may sound rather dry and uninspiring but the show is quite interesting and includes the views of Jeffrey Sachs, a longtime advocate for both the market system and the poor. As such, he has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Bono, Angelina Jolie as well as Popes John Paul II and Francis and has been recruited to advise governments and the UN on market reform.
Check it out here.
