Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

Pope Francis hints at eventual retirement plans

Tuesday, June 17th, 2014

Pope Francis has hinted that if he eventually retires from the papacy, he might return to live in his native Argentina. In an interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia last week, the Pope was asked if he still had a room reserved in a retirement home in Buenos Aires. Pope Francis said “yes”, explaining that Read more

After the boom comes the pinch

Friday, May 16th, 2014

It’s tough to picture the future if you’re a New Zealander under 30. Your first home has never been more out of reach, if you want to live in one of the main centres – not that we have much of a choice, because high rates of unemployment and thousands of dollars of student debt Read more

Cardinal Pell demands plain English in new Vatican role

Friday, March 7th, 2014

The Pope’s finance chief says the working languages of the Vatican’s new Secretariat for the Economy will be English as well as Italian. Cardinal George Pell said this will mean that the new Vatican department will be able to access the best people from around the world. In late February, Pope Francis announced the secretariat Read more

Pope Francis denounces ‘trickle-down’ economic theories

Friday, November 29th, 2013

Pope Francis on Tuesday criticized growing economic inequality and unfettered markets in a wide-ranging and decidedly populist teaching that revealed how he plans to reshape the Catholic Church. In an apostolic exhortation titled “Evangelii Gaudium,” or “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis has set an agenda to return the Catholic Church to the humility Read more

Pope condemns idolatry of cash in capitalism

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

Pope Francis called for a global economic system that puts people and not “an idol called money” at its heart during a speech on Sunday in the Sardinian capital of Cagliari. Addressing about 20,000 people, the pontiff said that his parents had “lost everything” after they emigrated from Italy and that he understood the suffering Read more

Too much religion can harm economy – study

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

A new study reported in the Social Psychological and Personality Science said too much religion can harm a society’s economy by undermining the drive for financial success. Religion News Service reported that the study of almost 190,000 people from 11 religiously diverse cultures is raising eyebrows among some of England’s religious leaders for suggesting Judaism Read more

Historian Walter Lacqueur on the decline of Europe

Tuesday, August 6th, 2013

British-American historian Walter Laqueur experienced the demise of the old Europe and the rise of the new. In a SPIEGEL interview, he shares his gloomy forecast for a European Union gripped by debt crisis. SPIEGEL: Mr. Laqueur, you experienced Europe and the Europeans in the best and the worst of times. Historical hot spots and Read more

Pope Francis acts to reform Holy See’s economy

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013

Pope Francis has named an international commission of eight business and legal experts — mainly lay people, including one woman — to plan a reform of the Holy See’s economy and administrative structures. The commission’s president, Maltese economist Dr Joseph Zahra, is already an auditor of the Vatican’s budget management office. The other members come 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