Members of religious orders should not be ignorant of economic realities in their own communities, the Vatican has told religious. A recent circular letter from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life dealt with the use of financial resources by religious orders. Under church law, each order is required to Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Economics’
Archbishop Balvo calls for ethical economic reform
Tuesday, July 8th, 2014
Archbishop Charles Balvo has called for an ethical economic reform. Balvo, who was recently the Pope’s representative [apostolic nuncio] in Wellington was addressing the United Nations Environmental Assembly. He said that while the desire to moderate the consumption of goods was commendable, it was necessary to abandon the model of “an uncontrolled consumerism, an immeasurable Read more
Tax, the poverty gap and NZ
Friday, May 30th, 2014
At its simplest, the groundbreaking work by French economist Thomas Piketty proves no more than what we thought we already knew: the rich get richer. Whether the poor also get poorer is another matter. What would the taxi driver who took me across Beijing last year in a Toyota tricked out with three smartphones have Read more
Financial advice won’t pull poor out of poverty
Tuesday, April 15th, 2014
I was working on a standard-of-living case and was shown figures prepared by an approved budget advisory service for Meg and her daughter Stacey (I have simplified some detail and changed their names). Meg’s chronic health condition ruled out paid employment, so she was on a benefit. The budget recorded the family’s 2012 weekly income Read more
Truth behind NZ’s sexy global business image
Tuesday, February 25th, 2014
Economist Brian Easton says New Zealand’s sexy image on the global business stage does not necessarily translate to a better life for those on low incomes, particularly women and children. Easton, who’s recently published a user’s guide to economic inequality, says inequality is difficult to measure. One indicator might show it going up while another Read more
Pope Francis’ theory of economics
Friday, December 6th, 2013
It would make for some pretty amazing headlines if Pope Francis turned out to be a Marxist. Between his hints at rehabilitating liberation theology—condemned by his predecessors—and talk about casting off “the economic and social structures that enslave us,” Marxism isn’t totally out of the question. But happily for nervous church leaders, Francis’s first Apostolic Exhortation, issued Tuesday, doesn’t quite suggest someone Read more
Why the wealth gap is bad for everyone
Friday, June 21st, 2013
Charles Clark probably doesn’t win a lot of friends in his chosen profession when he says that most economists don’t really understand the economy. But even though he earns a living teaching economics at St. John’s University in New York, Clark believes that understanding how the economy really works requires more than just a classroom Read more
Occupy Wall Street — economics as if people mattered
Friday, November 11th, 2011
This article is by Fr Chris Middleton SJ, the Principal of St Aloysius College, Milson’s Point, in Sydney. It is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the college’s newsletter The Occupy Wall Street protests have swept around the globe. While it is hard to identify a coherent program in these protests, it is Read more
Pope did comment on current situation in Europe
Friday, September 30th, 2011
In difficult times many people look to religious authorities for help and guidance; and religious authorities, in turn, rarely miss an opportunity to comment on current events. While Pope Benedict said he had not come to Germany “primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen rightly do but, rather, to meet people and Read more
Archbishop: Banks need to wake up to moral responsibility
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster has told the financial sector to wake up from their moral sleep. Speaking at the London School of Economics he said that while some were seeking a change of culture, as a group the financial sector had failed to reform itself. “Until a different culture has taken hold, I cannot Read more