(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, has addressed the International Conference of the C entesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice Foundation, which is meeting this week at the Vatican.
The conference, on the theme Rethinking Key Features of Economic and Social Life , featured speakers from around the world, covering topics such as:
Can Growth Continue without Compulsive Consumption?
Merit and Dangers of the ‘Informal’ Economy
An Urgent Message for Today’s World: Can Catholic Social Teaching be spread even without the Christian Faith?
In his address on Tuesday evening, Cardinal Parolin said the theme of the Conference recalled the challenge of Pope Benedict XVI to “further and deeper reflection on the meaning of the economy and its goals, as well as a profound and far-sighted revision of the current model of development, so as to correct its dysfunctions and deviations” (from the Encyclical Caritas in veritate ). He emphasized that the “main point of reference must be the dignity of the human person and the promotion of the common good.”
Cardinal Parolin noted that the Conference participants had also reflected on Pope Francis’ concerns about the current crisis, which “is not only economic and financial but is rooted in an ethical and anthropological crisis.” He continued “In these two days you have engaged in a disciplined reflection in response to these observations of Pope Francis. You have considered issues linked to the world of labour, and also economic and financial problems which can lead such activity away from its calling to the service of integral human development.”
The full text of Cardinal Parolin’s remarks can be found below:
International Conference of the Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice Foundation
“Rethinking Key Features of Economic and Social Life”
Intervention of Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin
Vatican City, 26 May 2015
Your Eminence,
Dear Friends,
We have now come to the end of this most stimulating International Conference of the Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice Foundation.
This two-day meeting has confirmed once again how your Foundation – by remaining faithful to the responsibility entrusted to it by Saint John Paul II in 1993 – can render valuable service for a wider and better knowledge of the social doctrine of the Church. It does so by promoting the application of this doctrine through robust dialogue among specialists, economists, university instructors and others who bring their life experience to the world of economics.
The theme chosen by the Conference, Rethinking Key Features of Economic and Social Life , is thus particularly significant. It recalls the challenge of Pope Benedict XVI to “further and deeper reflection on the meaning of the economy and its goals, as well as a profound and far-sighted revision of the current model of development, so as to correct its dysfunctions and deviations” ( Caritas in Veritate , 32).
It is important that the Foundation is taking up this challenge with dedication and competence, in the light of the Church’s social teaching. Its main point of reference must be the dignity of the human person and the promotion of the common good. We live in a time in which, unfortunately, the prevalent economic model reveals numerous shortcomings, dysfunctions and deviations which weigh heavily on the state of the planet’s health. These affect the ethical and moral principles which guide many forms of behaviour within the human family.
Nonetheless, it is important to realize that there are increasing demands from various sectors of society for a careful examination of how best to respond to these distortions. The ethical principles underlying the Church’s social teaching can serve as a scheme of reference and a key to interpretation in this effort.
In this context, the Foundation is awarding its second biennial Economy and Society Prize. In doing so, it helps to draw attention to the quality of original projects which can aid in developing new areas of application of the principles of Catholic teaching, and increase its influence on concrete decisions.
I give warm thanks to Cardinal Marx and to the entire jury, made up of specialists from ten countries, for their careful study and selection of the proposed texts.
It is most significant that the prize is being awarded for a book which offers a Christian view on the world of finance. This calls for an attentive, in-depth historical analysis, for already in the Middle Ages within the Catholic Church original thought and research was being developed on monetary and financial issues. History is the teacher of life, as Cicero reminds us ( De Oratore , II, 9, 36). In this field too, our rich history can undoubtedly orient an in-depth investigation into this matter of great contemporary import.
We are all aware that such a reflection is today even more necessary in a globalized world where financial activity is carried out with considerably complex means and instruments, and at times risks losing sight of its original aims, which must always be anchored in the dignity of the human person, and the common good.
The jury wished also to draw attention to two doctoral theses which show the increasing depth and number of studies on the social doctrine of the Church being pursued in different universities of the Catholic world.
Dear friends,
His Holiness Pope Francis has addressed you on several occasions, emphasizing that “the current crisis is not only economic and financial but is rooted in an ethical and anthropological crisis” ( Address to the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation , 25 May 2013). In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium , he has stated that at the heart of this ethical and anthropological crisis is, and I quote, “the denial of the primacy of the human person. We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf (cf. Ex 32:1-35) has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption” (No. 55). Symptomatic of this is the culture of waste which the Holy Father has frequently denounced, a culture which conceals a rejection of ethics, and frequently a rejection of God as well.
In these two days you have engaged in a disciplined reflection in response to these observations of Pope Francis. You have considered issues linked to the world of labour, and also economic and financial problems which can lead such activity away from its calling to the service of integral human development.
Retrieving this calling in economic life is one of the principal tasks for a Foundation such as yours, whose goals include “promoting informed knowledge of the social teachings of the Church and of the activity of the Holy See among qualified and socially motivated business and professional leaders” ( By-Laws of the Foundation , Art. 3(a), Section 1, 25 June 2004).
Pope Benedict XVI frequently stated that “every economic decision has a moral consequence” ( Caritas in Veritate , 37). Retrieving this calling necessitates returning to the fundamental meaning of such concepts as economy and development, finding adequate ways of applying them for the integral development of every person and the whole person, as Pope Paul VI encouraged in Populorum Progressio (No. 14), not only for the short term, but for the long term too.
Once again, the key to this is the moral formation of individual persons needed at every level, which can lead them to rediscover the meaning of personal and collective work in the service of integral human development.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share with you these reflections. I offer you my best wishes for fruitfulness of the Foundation’s work, which I trust will be oriented ever more fully towards the planning and structuring of the economic and financial sphere within a healthy and robust ethical framework.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, has addressed the International Conference of the Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice Foundation, which is meeting this week at the Vatican. The conference, on the theme Rethinking Key Features of Economic and Social Life, featured speakers from around the world, covering topics…
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(Vatican Radio) Experts, academics and religious leaders will gather in Geneva at the United Nations Headquarters on May 27 for a day-long debate.
Entitled “Religions Together for Humanitarian Action” the Symposium organized by the Sovereign Order of Malta has been conceived within the framework of its participation in the World Humanitarian summit next year in Istanbul.
During the Symposium policy-makers, religious leaders and academics aim to tackle sensitive issues related to the 2016 summit, which is an initiative of UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon.
As the Order of Malta’s Gran Chancellor, Baron Albrecht von Boeselager explains to Vatican Radio, these issues include the contribution of faith-based organizations in war theatres and the role of religions in promoting reconciliation.
Listen to the interview :
Baron von Boeslager says the idea of holding the Symposium arose following discussions regarding what could be the contribution of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.
He explains that the Summit will focus mainly on four different themes, the fourth being “Serving the needs of people in conflict” and he says that the Order he belongs to is deeply committed to providing humanitarian aid in armed conflict, so this is the theme they have decided to concentrate on.
He says it is also an occasion to “elaborate what the special vocation and possibilities of religious-based organizations is, or could be, to help during armed conflicts” he says.
During the Geneva Symposium von Boeslager says participants will also start a discussion with representatives of other religions to find out what could be a common proposal to the World Humanitarian Summit.
He says that recent and ongoing conflicts show that civilians continue to pay the highest price and those human rights are increasingly ignored.
“To start with one figure: until the First World War, 90% of all victims were soldiers and 10% were civilians, and now it is exactly the other way around” he says.
He points out that not only are 90% of the victims civilians today, but they are mostly women, children and elderly people.
“So the situation for the civilian population in areas of armed conflict has dramatically worsened” he says.
Von Boeslager calls for action as world conventions that were drawn up after the 2 world wars conflicts to protect human rights in conflict situations are increasingly ignored.
He comments on how the values of religion, which are key for reconciliation and peace, are too often manipulated for pursuit of power and profit through violence.
(from Vatican Radio)…
CCEE and SECAM hold a Seminar on The Family in Europe and Africa
The Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) and The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) will hold a joint seminar on the theme: The joy of the Family . The seminar is scheduled for Maputo in Mozambique from May 28- 31, 2015. This is according to a statement issued by SECAM Tuesday. Below is the full statement:
Following a process of growing pastoral collaboration, the two bodies have been organizing meetings for bishops from both continents to strength communion and collaboration and a reflection on major challenges facing the Church .
In the light of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation and in continuity with the reflections which will be tackled in the course of the next Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2015 on the Family, the bishops will deliberate on issues relating to the family on the two continents.
The aim of the Seminar of European and African bishops will be to study the family in Africa and Europe as protagonist of evangelisation and at the same time in need of being evangelised. Topics to be treated include the following:
Anthropological, social and ecclesial challenges for the Family.
The Joy and sufferings of the Family: Pastoral challenges.
The Mission of the Bishop in proclaiming the Gospel of the Family.
The role of the Church and the Bishop in dialogue with Society and States in family matters.
The bishops at the end of the Seminar are expected to issue a Final message on their deliberations.
The Seminar is being hosted by Bishop Lucio Muandula, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Mozambique. It will be presided over by Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi of Angola, Presidents of SECAM and a representative of Cardinal Peter Erdő of Hungary, President of the CCEE.
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) comprises the 37 National Episcopal Conferences and the eight (8) Regional Episcopal Conferences.
The Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) encompasses the current 33 European Bishops’ Conferences, represented by their Presidents, the Archbishops of Luxembourg, of the Principality of Monaco, the Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus and the Bishop of Chişinău (Moldova Rep.), the Eparchial Bishop of Mukachevo and the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia.
The programme of the meeting and the list of participants are available on the website of CCEE (www.ccee.eu) and SECAM (www.secam.org)
e-mail: engafrica@vatiradio.va
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday met with Franciscans taking part in the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor.
In his address to the friars, the Holy Father focused on two “essential elements” of Franciscan identity: “minority” (It: minorità), a spirit of littleness; and “fraternity.”
The spirit of being a “minor,” he said, “calls one to be and to feel that one is little before God, entrusting oneself totally to His infinite mercy.” The recognition of one’s littleness and sinfulness allows a person to receive salvation. Those on the other hand, who do not feel needy cannot receive the mercy and salvation God offers them. “Minority,” the Pope continued, also means going out of oneself, beyond structures, attitudes, and feelings of security, in order to bear concrete witness of God’s mercy to the poor and needy “in an authentic attitude of sharing and service.”
Fraternity, or brotherhood, was the other aspect of being a Franciscan highlighted by Pope Francis. The Pope noted the witness of Christians in the early church, whose fraternal communion was “an eloquent and attractive sign of unity and charity.” Franciscans, he said, are called “to express this concrete fraternity, by means of a recovery of reciprocal confidence in interpersonal relationships, so that the world might see and believe” recognizing that Christ’s love can heal our wounds and make us one.
Recalling a story of the early days of the Order, Pope Francis noted that the early Franciscans recognized the whole world as their cloister, the space for their evangelical witness. “How important it is to live a Christian and religious existence without losing oneself in disputes and chattering, cultivating a serene dialogue with all, with meekness, mildness, and humility, with poor means, proclaiming peace and living soberly, content with what is offered to you.” Alluding gently to some difficulties the Franciscans have faced in recent years, the Pope said Franciscans must be committed to their vocation of poverty and littleness.
Pope Francis reminded the friars that it is the Holy Spirit who animates the religious life. “When consecrated persons live, allowing themselves to be illuminated and guide by the Spirit, they discover in this supernatural vision the secret of their fraternity, the inspiration of their service to the brethren, the strength of their prophetic presence in the Church and in the world.” The “light and strength” of the Holy Spirit, he said, will also help Franciscans confront the challenges posed by a decline in numbers and vocations, and by an aging congregation.
(from Vatican Radio)…