[ad_1]
Pope Francis shared his new encyclical in a speech overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, presenting a vision for the post-coronavirus world.
The encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” (All Brothers) called for greater human solidarity to address problems such as climate change or injustices caused by economic inequality.
A papal encyclical is one of the most important types of communication from the Pope and serves as the basis for Catholic teaching by taking a position on important issues.
Read more: Climate crisis: is it time to ditch economic growth?
What the Pope said about capitalism
In his encyclical, Pope Francis denounced the “magic theories” of market capitalism as “the only solution to social problems.”
“There is little appreciation of the fact that the alleged ‘spill’ does not solve the inequality that gives rise to new forms of violence that threaten the fabric of society,” the Pope said.
“There were those who would have us believe that the freedom of the market was enough to keep everything safe (after the pandemic),” he wrote.
“The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has shown that not everything can be solved with free markets.”
“It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy aimed at ‘promoting an economy that fosters productive diversity and entrepreneurial creativity’ and that enables jobs to be created, not eliminated.”
The pope also reiterated past calls for the redistribution of wealth, saying that those who have a lot should “manage it for the good of all.” But he clarified that “he did not propose an authoritarian and abstract universalism.”
He hoped that the global coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 1 million people worldwide, will inspire a reassessment of global priorities.
“Once this health crisis is over, our worst response would be to dive even deeper into feverish consumerism and new forms of selfish self-preservation,” he said.
Other issues addressed by the Pope
War: Francis rejected the Catholic Church’s own doctrine of justifying war as a means of self-defense. He said the doctrine was applied too broadly throughout history and is no longer viable.
“It is very difficult today to invoke the rational criteria developed in previous centuries to speak of the possibility of a ‘just war’.”
Nationalism: The Pope spoke of a “certain regression” in global affairs. “Old conflicts that were thought to be long buried are breaking out again, while cases of shortsighted, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism are on the rise.”
He asked that “a global fraternity based on the practice of social friendship by peoples and nations demands a better policy, one truly at the service of the common good.”
Social media: A self-proclaimed computer illiterate, Pope Francis deplored how “social aggression has found an incomparable space for expansion through computers and mobile devices.”
“Things that until a few years ago no one could say without running the risk of losing universal respect can now be said with impunity, and in the crudest terms, even by some political figures.”
wmr, dv / sms (AP, dpa, Reuters)
[ad_2]
