MY PARISH,
YOUR
PARISH
Living the Gospel in the Local Church
What’s All the Fuss About Economics?
I
Fr. Charles
Canoy
had some lively dinner conversation
recently. The question came up: What
are some ways to respond to friends,
family members, and parishioners who have
been asking about Pope Francis’s view on
economics? This view is a hot topic recently,
given all the commentary out there—from
the right and the left—about his apostolic
exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of
the Gospel.
First of all, I would encourage you to
take some time to read The Joy of the Gospel
for yourself. I think it’s important to keep
in mind what the pope is not saying in the
document. He is not saying, for example, that
capitalism is an
unacceptable
economic system.
We know from
past Church
teaching, such
as Pope John Paul II’s social encyclical
Centesimus Annus, that such an interpretation
is far from the truth.
What Pope Francis points out in his
exhortation are the abuses to which free market
economies can be inclined if the agents of
capitalism have insufficient regard for the
common good and the dignity of the human
person, particularly the poor. Note that he
has also spoken against Marxist thought and
left-leaning liberation theology. Given his
South American background, he has observed
corruption of both economic systems firsthand.
Here are three points I believe provide
context to understanding better Pope Francis’s
comments.
including economics, should have as its aim
the flou ɥ͡