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The cry of the poor

12 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The prophet Amos, from whom we hear this Sunday, urged the Jewish people to keep the needs of the poor always in mind. Pope Benedict XVI issued an encyclical Tuesday that calls for a new world financial order guided by ethics and the search for the common good. Caritas In Veritate (Charity in Truth) has been in the works for two years and its publication was delayed to incorporate fallout from the recent economic crisis. In the third encyclical of his pontificate, Benedict denounced a profit-at-all-costs mentality for bringing about the global financial meltdown. He pressed for reform of the United Nations and international economic and financial institutions to give poorer countries more of a say in international policy. "The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly--not any ethics, but an ethics which is people-centered," Benedict wrote. He has spoken out frequently about the impact of the crisis on the poor, particularly in Africa, which he visited earlier this year. But the 144-page encyclical marked a new level of church teaching by linking the Vatican's long-standing social doctrine on caring for the poor with current events. While acknowledging that the globalized economy has "lifted billions of people out of misery," Benedict pinpointed the unbridled growth of recent years as having caused unprecedented problems as well, citing mass migration flows, environmental degradation, and a complete loss of trust in the world market. He urged wealthier countries to increase development aid to poor countries to help eliminate world hunger, saying peace and security depended on it. He specified that aid should go to agricultural development to improve infrastructure, irrigation systems, transport, and sharing of agricultural technology. Father Drew Christiansen, S.J., editor of the Catholic newsweekly America and a leading social ethicist, said he was most intrigued by the pope's call for a new sector of society to work alongside government, market, and civil society: for-profit entities that work for the common good, which Christiansen suggested could include "fair trade" product makers and micro-finance institutions. "I am not sure these enterprises yet constitute a sector of economic life," Christiansen wrote. "But they are harbingers of a different, conscientious kind of economics that would not repeat the mistakes of the last 30 years." Source: An article by the Associated Press

Poor charity in truth encyclicals social teaching social doctrine economy drew christiansen fair trade micro-finance economics benedict xvi united nations caritas in veritate

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Milwaukee archbishop urges respect for union rights

27 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Sunday reading from the Book of Isaiah relates how a troubled Zion believed the Lord had forgotten and forsaken the people. The archbishop of Milwaukee is urging supporters of legislation to limit or eliminate collective bargaining and other union rights not to forget history or forsake union workers at a time of financial crisis. Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki issued a statement expressing concern about such legislation over the weekend. Quoting Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II, Listecki came down squarely in favor of workers' rights. "Hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers," Listecki said. Listecki noted that in his 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI said, "The repeated calls issued within the church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past." The archbishop also took note of what Pope John Paul II said in his 1981 encyclical Laborem Exercens, that a union "remains a constructive factor of social order and solidarity, and it is impossible to ignore it." "It is especially in times of crisis that new forms of cooperation and open communication become essential," Listecki said. "We request that lawmakers carefully consider the implications of this proposal and evaluate it in terms of its impact on the common good. We also appeal to everyone--lawmakers, citizens, workers, and labor unions--to move beyond divisive words and actions and work together, so that Wisconsin can recover in a humane way from the current fiscal crisis." Source: An article by Catholic News Service

recession benedict xvi john paul ii caritas in veritate unions laborem exercens workers rights jerome listecki

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Mind your own business--ethically, encourages Vatican primer

08 Apr 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus of Nazareth “went about doing good,” the newly emboldened apostle Peter proclaims in this Sunday’s post-Resurrection story from the Acts of the Apostles. Business leaders and entrepreneurs should boldly do the same in their own companies, urges a new handbook on business ethics released by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. "Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection" is a 30-page primer that spells out the risks of unethical economic strategies and the principles needed for running a sound, moral business. Its aim is to heal the so-called "divided life" of Catholic employers who may practice their Christian values at home and church but not in the company they manage or run. "Dividing the demands of one's faith from one's work in business is a fundamental error which contributes to much of the damage done by businesses in our world today, including overwork to the detriment of family or spiritual life, an unhealthy attachment to power to the detriment of one's own good, and the abuse of economic power in order to make even greater economic gains," the booklet says. The primer was the brainchild of three business educators: Robert Kennedy and Michael Naughton of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and Andre Habisch of the Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt, Germany. They were among the 40 Catholic business leaders and professors who attended a February, 2011 seminar at the Vatican on Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate ("Charity in Truth") and how its framework for a new business ethic could be applied practically.What was needed, the three professors concluded, was a simple, concise primer that compiled key principles aimed specifically at helping business schools form ethical leaders and guiding business practices worldwide--from mom-and-pop store owners to corporate executives. The booklet is available in English. Source: An article by Carol Glatz for Catholic News Service

benedict xvi caritas in veritate business ethics vocation of the business leader pontifical council for justice and peace robert kennedy michael naughto andre habisch

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