Private Property

“For my part, I would observe that “the Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property”…. The right to private property can only be considered a secondary natural right, derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods. This has concrete consequences that ought to be reflected in the workings of society. Yet it often happens that secondary rights displace primary and overriding rights, in practice making them irrelevant.” no.120.

Dogma of Neoliberal Faith

“The marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem, however much we are asked to believe this dogma of neoliberal faith. Whatever the challenge, this impoverished and repetitive school of thought always offers the same recipes. Neoliberalism simply reproduces itself by resorting to the magic theories of “spillover” or “trickle” – without using the name – as the only solution to societal problems. There is little appreciation of the fact that the alleged “spillover” does not resolve the inequality that gives rise to new forms of violence threatening the fabric of society. It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy directed at “promoting an economy that favours productive diversity and business creativity” no.168.

The Injustice of War

In recent decades, every single war has been ostensibly “justified.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of the possibility of legitimate defence by means of military force, which involves demonstrating that certain “rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy” 239 have been met…. We can no longer think of war as a solution, because its risks will probably always be greater than its supposed benefits. In view of this, it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a “Just War.” Never again war!” No.258.

No Death Penalty

There is at times a tendency to deliberately fabricate enemies: stereotyped figures who represent all the characteristics that society perceives or interprets as threatening. The mechanisms that form these images are the same that allowed the spread of racist ideas in their time”. 255….. The firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. I will give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite all our differences. no.266, 269.

God Works In Other Religions

“The Church esteems the ways in which God works in other religions, and “rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions.” No.277.
A journey of peace is possible between religions. Its point of departure must be God’s way of seeing things. “God does not see with His eyes, “God sees with His heart. And God’s love is the same for everyone, regardless of religion. Even if they are atheists, His love is the same.”
“worship of God and love for our neighbour, lest some of our teachings, taken out of context, end up feeding forms of contempt, hatred, xenophobia or negation of others. The truth is that violence has no basis in our fundamental religious convictions, but only in their distortion. no.282,

Dogmatic Formulae of Prevailing Economic Theory Makes Politics Superfluous

“Can it perhaps be said that, after the failure of Communism, capitalism is the victorious social system?” It was question posed by John Paul II in his encyclical Centessimus Annus of 1993. If by “capitalism” is meant an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector, then the answer is certainly in the affirmative, even though it would perhaps be more appropriate to speak of a “business economy”, “market economy” or simply “free economy”. But if by “capitalism” is meant a system in which freedom in the economic sector is not circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality, and which sees it as a particular aspect of that freedom, the core of which is ethical and religious, then the reply is certainly negative”(42, 2).This qualified support of capitalism is no more valid. Pope Francis is not on the side of the socialists. “The story did not end the way it was meant to, and the dogmatic formulae of prevailing economic theory proved not to be infallible. The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has demonstrated that not everything can be resolved by market freedom.” Wrote Pope Francis (“Fratelli tutti”, no.167). “We must put human dignity back at the centre and on that pillar build the alternative social structures we need”.” Magic theories are monochromatic and do not provide opportunity to develop a new economy, more attentive to ethical principles, and new ways of regulating speculative financial practices and virtual wealth. Moreover ideology of market economy takes over human welfare from the government and makes politics superfluous. “There are also attempts to discredit politics, to replace it with economics or to twist it to one ideology or another.”