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What can we expect from Benedict XVI’s long anticipated “social” encyclical? Simon Nixon shares his worries here:
So far in his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has delighted conservatives and annoyed the Catholic church’s trendy liberals in equal measure with his doctrinal orthodoxy and symbolic restoration of the old Tridentine Latin mass. But will the boot be on the other foot when the pope unveils a new encyclical (a letter sent by the pope to all bishops) on capitalism later this year? Will Benedict add his voice to the chorus of European criticism of capitalism at this moment of financial crisis? Will he proclaim anathema on hedge funds and private equity firms and denounce them as “locusts”?
I must say that the release of a social, so-called, encyclical is not the sort of event that thrills my heart. George Weigel was delighted when, in his assessment, John Paul II defended, basically, the free-market system in Centesimus annus. Not that this message - if it was the encyclical’s message, made it to a lot of Catholics who seem to favor the economics of Stalin (or the European Union). I wonder what we’ll get this time around.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
Well, I can make some predictions at least. Almost no matter what the Holy Father says, the press will find some quotes to yank out of context and publish under the headline, “Pope Condemns Free Trade.”
Then we’ll go read it, and will find that it’s something much more circumspect and nuanced that makes some salient points without definitely endorsing or condemning any specific economic system.
Could you give this a little publicity please:
Saint Conleth’s Catholic Heritage Association invites you to honour the Holy Year of St. Paul by attending Holy Mass in the Traditional Latin Rite (Missal of Blessed John XXIII) on Saturday, 30th August, 2008, at 11 a.m., in St. Paul’s Church, Emo, Co. Laois, Ireland, followed by a tour of Emo Court House and Gardens.
For the past 15 years, St. Conleth’s Catholic Heritage Association has been working prayerfully for the provision of the Traditional Latin Liturgy in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin.
Please confirm your attendance to: catholicheritagegroup@catholic.org
For further details consult:
http://www.catholicheritage.blogspot.com
God bless you!
Saint Conleth’s Catholic Heritage Association
For some reason I would not be too worried about this encyclical. I’m sure that the Holy Father’s thoughts will continue along the lines of “Deus caritas est” and will again re-emphasise the common good.
Capitalism while not rejected by Christian thinking does at times push the limits of common good. Let’s not look for a blanket endorsement of it. Those pesky early Christians in Acts certainly weren’t very good capitalists.