Economic Life Should Be Oriented To The Common Good

VATICAN CITY, May 04, 2010, 09:50 Hrs (VIS):

The Holy Father received participants in the sixteenth plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, which is meeting between 30 April and 4 May to discuss the world economic crisis in the light of the ethical principles enshrined in the Church's social doctrine.

"The worldwide financial breakdown has", said the Holy Father addressing the group in English, "demonstrated the fragility of the present economic system and the institutions linked to it".

He continued: "Rather than a spiral of production and consumption in view of narrowly-defined human needs, economic life should properly be seen as an exercise of human responsibility, intrinsically oriented towards the promotion of the dignity of the person, the pursuit of the common good and the integral development - political, cultural and spiritual - of individuals, families and societies".

"In my Encyclical 'Caritas in veritate', I observed that 'the current crisis obliges us to re-plan our journey, to set ourselves new rules and to discover new forms of commitment'".

The Pope explained how "the Church, based on her faith in God the Creator, affirms the existence of a universal natural law. ... As part of the great heritage of human wisdom, the natural moral law, which the Church has appropriated, purified and developed in the light of Christian revelation, serves as a beacon guiding the efforts of individuals and communities to pursue good and to avoid evil, while directing their commitment to building an authentically just and humane society".

"Among the indispensable principles shaping such an integral ethical approach to economic life must be the promotion of the common good, grounded in respect for the dignity of the human person and acknowledged as the primary goal of production and trade systems, political institutions and social welfare. In our day, concern for the common good has taken on a more markedly global dimension. It has also become increasingly evident that the common good embraces responsibility towards future generations; intergenerational solidarity must henceforth be recognised as a basic ethical criterion for judging any social system.

"These realities point to the urgency of strengthening the governance procedures of the global economy, albeit with due respect for the principle of subsidiarity", added the Holy Father. "In the end, however, all economic decisions and policies must be directed towards 'charity in truth'".

This, Benedict XVI concluded, is because "without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power, resulting in social fragmentation".