He was referring to the the Pope's encyclical Laudato Si'.

"Thank God Catholics are free to disagree with this personal position of the Pope."

Hartwich questions whether the pope "actually understands what he is writing about."

The pope's discussion of 'relativism', relating to the potential for people to treat one another as objects, Hartwich says is confused.

"Some of his observations are so far off the mark that they would be offensive if one took them seriously," he said, referring particularly a passage in which Hartwich says the Pope equates "economists favouring markets" with "child molesters."

"This leads him to claim that this 'kind of thinking leads to the sexual exploitation of children and abandonment of the elderly who no longer serve our interests."

"It is also the mindset of those who say: 'Let us allow the invisible forces of the market to regulate the economy, and consider their impact on society and nature as collateral damage'."

"With all due respect, this is utter, offensive nonsense. Economists favouring markets do not share the same level of morality as child molesters." Hartwich said.

New Zealand Initiative has recently called for a shake-up of the New Zealand charities sector.

It also recommended to the New Zealand government that private investors be given the opportunity to invest in and make money from the provision of social services (social impact bonds)

Source

• oliverhartwich.com
• Image: nbr.co.nz

The organisation's latest report, Giving Charities a Helping Hand, analysed over a decade of regulatory change in the sector.

It found the rules were stacked against smaller operators while allowing commercial arms of large charities to claim income tax exemptions with little oversight.

"With about $16 billion flowing into charities a year, it is absolutely necessary to have effective regulation in place to maintain the public's trust in the sector," report author Jason Krupp said.
Read the full report