The Pope has called for the world economy to be restructured in line with the principles of "love, truth and charity" in a new encyclical issued today.
He urges the reformation of the United Nations and economic institutions to address the global economic crisis, which he links to relativism, globalisation and the abuse of modern technologies.
The encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, interpreted variously throughout the document as charity or love in truth, is Pope Benedict XVI's third but his first on social issues. It is timed to coincide with the G8 in Italy and is intended to bring objective moral truths to the table of economic debate.
Central to his recommendations is reform of the United Nations, but he also warns against a "cultural levelling" and "cultural eclecticism" where no distinction is made between different lifestyles, leading to "enslavement and manipulation".
He recommends a more incisive role for consumers and calls for a new authority to supplant the UN, "to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international co-operation for the development of all peoples in solidarity".
He adds: "To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority.
"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, and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth.
"Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the co-ordinated measures adopted in various international forums. Without this, despite the great progress accomplished in various sectors, international law would risk being conditioned by the balance of power among the strongest nations."
He urges the construction of a social order that conforms to the moral order, "to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations".
He also condemns neo-paganism, moral relativism and the pursuit of financial goals without moral ends as contributing to a recession which hits the poorest the hardest. He describes this as the "scandal of glaring inequalities".
He writes: "It is true that growth has taken place, and it continues to be a positive factor that has lifted billions of people out of misery — recently it has given many countries the possibility of becoming effective players in international politics. Yet it must be acknowledged that this same economic growth has been and continues to be weighed down by malfunctions and dramatic problems, highlighted even further by the current crisis.
"This presents us with choices that cannot be postponed concerning nothing less than the destiny of man."
The pontiff says that the market does not exist in isolation. "Economy and finance, as instruments, can be used badly when those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends. Instruments that are good in themselves can thereby be transformed into harmful ones. But it is man's darkened reason that produces these consequences, not the instrument per se. Therefore, it is not the instrument that must be called to account, but individuals, their moral conscience and their personal and social responsibility.
"Without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market cannot completely fulfil its proper economic function. And today it is this trust which has ceased to exist, and the loss of trust is a grave loss."
On how to resurrect the world's financial systems, he writes: "Above all, the intention to do good must not be considered incompatible with the effective capacity to produce goods. Financiers must rediscover the genuinely ethical foundation of their activity, so as not to abuse the sophisticated instruments which can serve to betray the interests of savers. Right intention, transparency, and the search for positive results are mutually compatible and must never be detached from one another. If love is wise, it can find ways of working in accordance with provident and just expediency, as is illustrated in a significant way by much of the experience of credit unions."
He also addresses the debate over the place of faith in an increasingly secular world, and describes the erosion of religious freedom by militant secularism in the West.
He writes: "As well as religious fanaticism that in some contexts impedes the exercise of the right to religious freedom, so too the deliberate promotion of religious indifference or practical atheism on the part of many countries obstructs the requirements for the development of peoples, depriving them of spiritual and human resources."
To the regular list of "life" issues subject to Papal condemnation is added the scientific manipulation of the reproduction process. Pope Benedict writes: "We must not underestimate the disturbing scenarios that threaten our future, or the powerful new instruments that the 'culture of death' has at its disposal. To the tragic and widespread scourge of abortion we may well have to add in the future — indeed, it is already surreptiously present — the systematic eugenic programming of births.
"At the other end of the spectrum, a pro-euthanasia mindset is making inroads as an equally damaging assertion of control over life that under certain circumstances is deemed no longer worth living. Underlying these scenarios are cultural viewpoints that deny human dignity."
He concludes with an attack on atheism and a quote from St Paul's Letter to the Romans: "A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism. Only a humanism open to the Absolute can guide us in the promotion and building of forms of social and civic life — structures, institutions, culture and ethos — without exposing us to the risk of becoming ensnared by the fashions of the moment."
Times Online
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The Pope is the Anti-Christ
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