TruthBook Religious News Blog

THIRD ENCYCLICAL

ON A MORAL ECONOMY

Select excerpts from Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical on the economy and Catholic social teachings:

• "The dignity of the individual and the demands of justice require, particularly today, that economic choices do not cause disparities in wealth to increase in an excessive and morally unacceptable manner ..."

• "We should not be (globalization's) victims, but rather its protagonists, acting in the light of reason, guided by charity and truth."

• "... Ideological rejection of God and an atheism of indifference, oblivious to the Creator and at risk of becoming equally oblivious to human values, constitute some of the chief obstacles to development today. A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism. Only a humanism open to the Absolute can guide us in the promotion and building of forms of social and civic life -- structures, institutions, culture and ethos -- without exposing us to the risk of becoming ensnared by the fashions of the moment."

• Humankind should ask for God's grace ... "to receive the daily bread that we need, to be understanding and generous towards our debtors, not to be tempted beyond our limits, and to be delivered from evil."

• "Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end that provides a sense both of how to produce it and how to make good use of it. Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty."

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

Pope Benedict XVI today called for reforming the United Nations and establishing a "true world political authority" with "real teeth" to manage the global economy with God-centered ethics.

In his third encyclical, a major teaching, released as the G-8 summit begins in Italy, the pope says such an authority is urgently needed to end the current worldwide financial crisis. It should "revive" damaged economies, reach toward "disarmament, food security and peace," protect the environment and "regulate migration."

Benedict writes, "The market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak."

The encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) is a theologically dense explication of Catholic social teaching that draws heavily from earlier popes, particularly PaulVI's critique of capitalism 42 years ago. And echoing his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict says, "every economic decision has a moral consequence."

This is a really great article about the Pope's latest encyclical. It is well worth the read...Jesusonian ideals!!! Please click on "external source" for the entire piece.

Labels: Cathy Lynn Grossman, Charity in Truth, ethics, God, Pope Benedict XVI, United Nations

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Muslim scholars hail interfaith harmony

By Taleb Bin Mahfooz

JEDDAH – The speech of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, at the UN interfaith conference in New York on Wednesday has underlined the importance of promoting dialogue, understanding and tolerance among human beings, as well as respect for all their diverse religions, cultures and beliefs gaining the appreciation of Muslim scholars. The speech further advances the true cause of Islam to promote dialogue, rejecting the use of religion to justify acts of terrorism, the killing of innocent civilians, violence and coercion, they agreed.

At uncertain times of war and political conflicts wrapping the world, the King has managed to disseminate the culture of dialogue across the globe through the UN based on common values among religions and cultures.

In his speech, King Abdullah showed the world the pure and true image of Islam that calls for peace, tolerance, human rights, and justice, said Saleh Al-Bugami, general secretary of Islamic Society of Jurisprudence and member of the Shoura Council. By “bringing adherents of different sects and religions together,” the King has taken a giant stride to place the issue on the international front at such a difficult time in human history, he added. The dialogue initiative is clearly a message of peace based on common human values without any compromises on the basics of creeds.

Labels: creeds, faith, interfaith, Islam, King Abdullah, Taleb Bin Mahfooz, United Nations

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Friday, November 07, 2008

Struggles in the world of religion

Posted By Geoffrey P. Johnston

Later this year the United Nations will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But is that milestone worth celebrating when so many people in the world are persecuted because of their religious beliefs?

You can be sure that when the UN General Assembly meets on December 10th, many hollow speeches about human rights will be made by indecisive leaders who are too timid to confront tyranny or halt ethnic cleansing.

In a better world, one in which leaders back up their high-minded talk with action, the community of nations would stage a massive anniversary gala, replete with fireworks, to celebrate the global triumph of human rights over religious intolerance and organized barbarity.

Sadly, having failed to live up to the promise of the Universal Declaration, humanity has not earned such a celebration.

To be sure, Canadians and Americans have reasons to rejoice –we live in the freest societies in the world and enjoy unrivalled religious liberties–but we should temper our celebrations with the knowledge that religious bigotry runs rampant elsewhere.

Indeed, for indigenous Christians and other persecuted religious minorities struggling to survive the harsh reality of today’s Muslim world, there is little reason to celebrate. Nevertheless, there is still hope for the future.

Although the international community is notoriously slow in responding to crimes against humanity, history tells us that widespread human rights abuses can spur advancements in international justice.

When the Second World War ended, for example, and the scope of Nazis Germany’s systematic slaughter of at least six million Jews was revealed, the civilized world recoiled in horror. And the newborn human rights movement cried out, "Never Again!"

The impact of the Holocaust on international law has been profound, according to former Ivy League scholar and current federal Liberal politician Michael Ignatieff. During his tenure at Harvard University, he wrote that the establishment of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 "was in large measure a response to the torment of the Jewish people."

When the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration, it affirmed the inalienable human rights of people around the globe and placed limits on the sovereignty of the nation-state. Unfortunately, that has not stopped certain nations from flouting the international human rights regime.

For complete articles, please click on "external source" at the bottom of the article.

Labels: Geoffrey P. Johnston, religious freedom, United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Friday, May 23, 2008

'Faith and health go together,' Tutu tells U.N. in Geneva

By Peter Kenny, May 21, 2008

[Ecumenical News International, Geneva] Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a man known for speaking out about injustices from whatever side they come, and for his charismatic preaching peppered with heart-wrenching anecdotes. However, when he visited the United Nations in Geneva on May 20, he stressed the link between "faith and health."

Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 at a time when black South Africans were rising up in revolt against his country's apartheid racist system of white domination, and he was a vociferous opponent of the regime. Still, he also famously intervened to stop militants who were trying to kill a local member of a black community by setting fire to a gasoline-soaked tire and placing it around his neck, because he was suspected of being an informer.

The Nobel peace laureate said that people who were suffering under tyranny these days were in Zimbabwe, Burma and Tibet. The archbishop has condemned the totalitarian actions of the government of Zimbabwe led by President Robert Mugabe, and did so long before other Church leaders dared to. He also fights his government for what he has labelled as their heartless policies to those living with HIV and AIDS.

"It is a Godly coincidence that nearby the World Council of Churches is also celebrating its 60th anniversary," Tutu, who is 76, told his U.N. hearers. "Together, the WHO and WCC share a common mission to the world, protecting and restoring body, mind, and spirit.

The archbishop added that it was important that 2008 also marked the 40th anniversary of the Christian Medical Commission, whose values and experience in primary health care shaped the 1974 WHO Guidelines for Primary Health Care, which were reaffirmed at Alma Ata (the then capital of Kazakhstan) in 1978.

"You see, we -- faith and health -- have been together a very long time. Health is not only freedom from suffering and illness but, according to your Constitution, 'Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.' These words enshrine the fundamental reason you are here, and suggest something of what we share in our commitment to the world together," asserted Tutu.

He added, "Perhaps it would be good for us to include the recognition that there is an intrinsic relationship between God and humankind, which can be acknowledged as 'spiritual well being'? Perhaps one day this notion of well being can be included in the WHO definition of health?"

Labels: Desmond Tutu, faith, health, Peter Kenny, spirituality, United Nations