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Some Catholics say returning to Pope John Paul’s views on capitalism is in keeping with Catholic doctrine.
Their views on capitalism contrast with those of Pope Francis, who is calling for a rethink of the free market economy.
At a recent webinar, “Pope John Paul II Centennial: The Liberation of a Continent’s Political-Economic Systems of Christ,” Father Robert Sirico and John Paul biographer George Weigel analyzed the benefits of a free economy through the doctrine of John Paul.
Sirico (pictured) said in the webinar that secular attempts to weaken a free economy “have resulted in material deprivation, human impoverishment and great sadness.”
Economic policy should try to expand productivity and the availability of goods, he said.
Sirico and Weigel pointed to the US with its democracy and capitalism as a place with prospering systems.
There was hardly any mention of Francis in the webinar other than to acknowledge his perspective on the “free economy” comes from his personal experience in Argentina and what he’s seen in Latin America.
Francis took a strong stance against the “free economy” in Fratelli Tutti. In this, he notes the “marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem, however much we are asked to believe this dogma of neoliberal faith.”
This type of market promotes inequality and lends itself to violence, he wrote.
Sirico says Francis’s view doesn’t mean we should abandon Pope John Paul’s teachings.
“I don’t think there’s any necessary contradiction certainly in the moral or theological level between Francis and John Paul, but I do think in terms of depth, in terms of experience, we need to retrieve the magisterium of John Paul II,” he says.
Sirico emphasised the importance of money, entrepreneurship, charity in a free economy from Pope John Paul’s encyclical Centesimus Annus.
Citing this, Sirico said money is a key part of human communication and cooperation. Successful entrepreneurs help a community by providing goods and services people want – and is an example of a person using their God-given creative talents.
Charity needs to be left to local communities for the good of the church, he added.
“This is in large part important to us theologically because when state bureaucracies insinuate themselves between us and those in need the church itself loses a rich source of our own spiritual nourishment.”
People of faith need to reread John Paul’s encyclicals to get a more complete understanding of the Church’s teaching, he added.
This way, the Church won’t completely abandon his teachings.
Weigel said John Paul had a unique insight on the value of labour.
“John Paul speaks of work not as punishment for original sin but rather as work for our participation in God’s ongoing creation of the world,” Weigel said. “Our work is not making more but being more. Work is part of human vocation. Work is part of human responsibility.”
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