Catholic Diocese of Broome

By: Dr David Brennan, Editing and Publications Officer for the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

In July Pope Benedict XVI issued his latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), which addresses the challenges of an increasingly globalised world: the growing gap between the poorest and the richest; consumerism focused on ‘having more’ rather than ‘being more’; a financial crisis born of a morality that is not centred on humanity; and the need to use earth’s resources wisely and economically.

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council has a discussion guide, and the full text and an official summary are on the Vatican website.

Pope Benedict, like Pope Paul VI in his great encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967), continually returns to the idea of development – a concept that, both Popes say, embraces not just material enrichment of people and communities but every aspect of human growth – material, spiritual and cultural.

Development raises the issue of respect for and acceptance of life. ‘Openness to life is at the centre of true development’, Pope Benedict says. The ‘human person in his or her integrity’ is ‘the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life’.

It is in that light that Pope Benedict raises many other issues:

• Markets should not become ‘the place where the strong subdue the weak’, and the misuse of finance has wreaked havoc. The economy needs ethics that are ‘people-centred’.

• International aid can create wealth for all but can sometimes ‘lock people into a state of dependence’ and even give rise to oppression and exploitation.

• International trade is vital to poorer nations and is often ‘what guarantees their survival in both the short and long term’.

• The United Nations and international economic and financial institutions need reform.

• Culture and traditions of different nations and peoples are of profound significance.

• Modern migration is a phenomenon ‘of epoch-making proportions’. We need to safeguard both migrants and their host countries.

• Our natural environment is ‘God’s gift to everyone’. ‘In our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole’.

So Pope Benedict takes a global, internationalist view of the issues we face. Reading the encyclical, it is hard not to compare this view with recent events in Australia. We seem to have been using many international students as cash cows – exploiting and abusing them instead of nurturing and forging friendships with them. Our health system is failing more and more people. The agony of our Indigenous sisters and brothers continues.

Pope Benedict reminds us that Charity is a virtue that sums up the whole of the Law and is at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine. It is ‘an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth.’