In the “Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis 1 wrote this:
“Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?” (Pope Francis. The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium): Apostolic Exhortation (p. 15). USCCB.)
“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.” (Pope Francis. The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium): Apostolic Exhortation (p. 15). USCCB.)
“The current financial crisis can make us overlook the fact that it originated in a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person! We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf (cf. Ex 32: 1-35) has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.” (Pope Francis. The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium): Apostolic Exhortation (p. 15). USCCB.)
It was these words from Pope Francis 1 that was the inspiration behind my composing this year Psalm Offering 4 Opus 7, “for the victims of corporate greed.”
(c) 2017 by Deacon Bob Wagner OFS. All rights reserved.
