Pope calls for justice for poor

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Pope calls for justice for poor

Endorses ‘true world-political authority’
By the Rev. Clayton Childers

Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI has issued a new papal encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, that has surprised many observers with its progressive stands supporting global economic reform and regulation, justice for the world's poor and a stronger United Nations.

The encyclical, translated Love in Truth, is Pope Benedict’s third. It was signed June 29 and published July 7 in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.

This statement should be of interest to all United Methodists concerned about global justice.

The encyclical applies the themes of his first two encyclicals — God Is Love and Saved in Hope — to the world's major social issues. He challenges everyone, Catholics and non-Catholics alike to confront today’s social issues: assaults on the dignity of the person such as the attack on human life, poverty, issues of war and peace, terrorism, globalization, and environmental concerns.

This statement should be of interest to all United Methodists concerned about global justice. Papal encyclicals are issued on rare occasions and become guiding statements for the world’s one billion Roman Catholics. Other people of faith also take note.

Bold, progressive stands

Most analysts have been surprised at the bold, progressive stands taken by the pope. This is especially because Pope Benedict XVI has been characterized as the “protector of the faith,” representing the traditional, conservative wing of Roman Catholic theology.

You can see the pope’s traditional emphasis in paragraphs expressing concern about ‘family planning.’

Indeed, you can see the pope’s traditional emphasis in paragraphs expressing concern about “family planning” and affirming marriage as being between “one man and one woman.”

But the boldness of the Pope’s call for international economic reform with a special concern for the world’s poor surprised many observers.

Globalization

Globalization is defined as the “explosion of worldwide interdependence.” It is generally seen in a positive light. “It has been the principle driving force behind the emergence from underdevelopment of whole regions, and in itself represents a great opportunity,” according to the pope’s encyclical.

Globalization is defined as the ‘explosion of worldwide interdependence.’

The pope says globalization should not be viewed from a deterministic viewpoint as if human being have no control over it, though. “We should not be its victims, but rather its protagonists, acting in the light of reason, guided by charity and truth,” states Caritas in Veritate.

Globalization “opens up the unprecedented possibility of large-scale redistribution of wealth on a world-wide scale,” the pope opines. He cautions though that “if badly directed, [globalization] can lead to an increase in poverty and inequality, and could even trigger a global crisis.”

”Development programs, if they are to be adapted to individual situations, need to be flexible, according to Pope Benedict. He advises that the people who benefit from them ought to be directly involved in their planning and implementation.”

U.N. reform

Progressive voices also took note of the pope's solid endorsement of United Nations reform that would make the world body more globally representative and give it the power it needs to enforce its rulings.

The encyclical endorses the establishment of a ‘true world-political authority.’

The encyclical endorses the establishment of a “true world-political authority” vested with “effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights” with sufficient authority to “ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties.”

Other highlights:

”It is nevertheless erroneous to hold that the market economy has an in-built need for a quota of poverty and underdevelopment in order to function at its best,” the pope states. “It is in the interests of the market to promote emancipation, but in order to do so effectively, it cannot rely only on itself, because it is not able to produce by itself something that lies outside its competence. It must draw its moral energies from other subjects that are capable of generating them.”

Caritas in Veritate asserts that high tariffs imposed by economically developed countries still make it difficult for the products of poor countries to gain a foothold in the markets of rich countries.

The pope condemns “excessive zeal [by rich countries] for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially in the field of health care.”

"Business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors,” Pope Benedict declares, “but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference.”

"The right to food, like the right to water, has an important place within the pursuit of other rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life,” according to the encyclical.

Solidarity vs. subsidiarity

Pope Benedict favors a balance between what he calls “solidarity” and “subsidiarity.”

Solidarity is grounded in the “recognition that the human race is a single family working together in true communion,” the pope explains, “not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side.”

Subsidiarity, on the other hand, is grounded in the view that the human community must not “absorb the individual, annihilating his autonomy, as happens in the various forms of totalitarianism,” according to the pope. Rather, he says subsidiarity values [the individual] “all the more because the relation between individual and community is a relation between one totality and another.”

The pope says that subsidiarity in its extreme form results in social privatism. Solidarity in its extreme form leads to paternalism, “social assistance that is demeaning to those in need,” he states.

The encyclical can be downloaded from the web at Caritas in Veritate.

Editor’s note: The Rev. Clayton Childers is the director of Annual Conference Relations at the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society.

August 10, 2009