Last July, Pope Francis addressed a closed-door conference titled “The Global Common Good: Towards a More Inclusive Economy.” Organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Rome, the final statement that echoed a central idea defended by Pope Francis – the need to reverse the current “throwaway” culture to put the human person at the center of the global economy – was signed by 70 financial experts.
The blunt disparity and inequality between the few rich and majority of the poor in the world population today fuel many evils which cannot be properly addressed without tackling their root causes. A research from Oxfam shows that 85 of the richest people in the world control as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. Those richest 85 people share a combined wealth of £1 trillion, as much as the poorest 3.5 billion of the world’s population have. It’s a chilling reminder of the reality of the extent of wealth inequality in our world. (www.theguardian.com).
This widening inequality is the backdrop of the numerous, cruel and senseless attacks on humanity we all have recently witnessed – the senseless murder of almost 300 people on Malaysian Airlines MH17 over Ukraine, the horrendous violence inflicted on Christians in Pakistan, the devastation in Gaza, the thousands decimated in South Sudan because of a power struggle,…just to mention a few. This dehumanization speaks of a selective capitalism which leaves behind the majority of humanity, where peoples are reduced to numbers, leaving behind basic options on market integrity, justice, equal opportunities, solidarity, reciprocity… so fundamental for the well-being of all.
As Church, we are not immuned to this economic panorama of the world. We cannot be! We are called to ‘sail against this wind of division and inequality’ by making cause with the poor, the vast majority of the world’s population today. Pope Francis, in his message for this year’s World Mission Day, states it clearly: “The joy of the Gospel is born of the encounter with Christ and from sharing with the poor. For this reason, I encourage parish communities, associations and groups to live an intense fraternal life, grounded in love for Jesus and concern for the needs of the most disadvantaged.”
It is urgent to move towards a more humane economic system where profit may not dictate the rules but moving toward a more “inclusive capitalism,” a system where the human person takes precedence over any economic and political game and, in this, the Church has a great role to play: leading by example and placing the means we have truly at the service of the poorest and most neglected; abstaining ourselves from compulsive consumption; using the money entrusted to us as means for mission and not as means in itself, nurturing that freedom that the Gospel tells us: “Do not be afraid, you are worth much more than many sparrows” (Mt. 10:31). It is time to rekindle the joy of taking part in the mission of building a more humane and fraternal world where “the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich” (Mt. 15:27) may become the bread of dignity for all.
