Pope: Market capitalism fails; new politics needed

Copies of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, with the front page detailing Pope Francis’ new encyclical, are distributed to the faithful Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. More photos at arkansasonline.com/105vatican/
(AP/Gregorio Borgia)
Copies of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, with the front page detailing Pope Francis’ new encyclical, are distributed to the faithful Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. More photos at arkansasonline.com/105vatican/ (AP/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME -- Pope Francis says the coronavirus pandemic has proven that the "magic theories" of market capitalism have failed and that the world needs a new type of politics that promotes dialogue and solidarity and rejects war at all costs.

Francis on Sunday laid out his vision for a post-covid world by uniting the core elements of his social teachings into a new encyclical aimed at inspiring a revived sense of the human family. "Fratelli Tutti" (Brothers All) was released on the feast day of his namesake, the peace-loving St. Francis of Assisi.

The document draws its inspiration from the teachings of St. Francis and the pope's previous preaching on the injustices of the global economy and its destruction of the planet and pairs them with his call for greater human solidarity to confront the "dark clouds over a closed world."

In the encyclical, Francis rejected even the Catholic Church's own doctrine justifying war as a means of legitimate defense, saying it had been too broadly applied over the centuries and was no longer viable.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to view » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLX_fY8fo-8]

"It is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a 'just war,'" Francis wrote in the most controversial new element of the encyclical.

Francis had started writing the encyclical, the third of his pontificate, before the coronavirus struck, and its bleak diagnosis of a human family falling apart goes far beyond the problems posed by the outbreak. He said the pandemic, however, had confirmed his belief that political and economic institutions must be changed to address the legitimate needs of the people most harmed by the coronavirus.

"Aside from the differing ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident," Francis wrote. "Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing, or to refine existing systems and regulations, is denying reality."

He cited the grave loss of millions of jobs as a result of the virus as evidence of the need for politicians to listen to popular movements, unions and marginalized groups and to craft more just social and economic policies.

[Gallery not loading above? Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/105vatican/]

"The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has demonstrated that not everything can be resolved by market freedom," he wrote. "It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy directed at 'promoting an economy that favours productive diversity and business creativity' and makes it possible for jobs to be created, and not cut."

He denounced populist politics that seek to demonize and isolate, and called for a "culture of encounter" that promotes dialogue, solidarity and a sincere effort at working for the common good.

As an outgrowth of that, Francis rejected the concept of an absolute right to property for individuals, stressing instead the "social purpose" and common good that must come from sharing the Earth's resources. He repeated his criticism of the "perverse" global economic system, which he said consistently keeps the poor on the margins while enriching the few -- an argument he made most fully in his 2015 landmark environmental encyclical "Laudato Sii" (Praised Be).

Francis also rejected "trickle-down" economic theory as he did in the first major mission statement of his papacy, the 2013 "Evangelii Gaudium," (The Joy of the Gospel), saying it simply doesn't achieve what it claims.

Francis' English-language biographer, Austen Ivereigh, said with its two key predecessors, the new encyclical amounts to the final part of a triptych of papal teachings and may well be the last of the pontificate.

"There is little doubt that these three documents ... will be considered the teaching backbone of the Francis era," Ivereigh wrote in Commonweal magazine.

Francis made clear the text had wide circulation, printing the encyclical in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and distributing it free in St. Peter's Square on Sunday to mark the resumption of printed editions following a hiatus during the covid-19 lockdown.

Pope Francis delivers a blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday duringthe Angelus noon prayer. The pope released an encyclical laying out his ideas for a post-pandemic world that promotes international solidarity and rejects war.
(AP/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis delivers a blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday duringthe Angelus noon prayer. The pope released an encyclical laying out his ideas for a post-pandemic world that promotes international solidarity and rejects war. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Pope Francis travelled to the homeland of his nature-loving namesake on Saturday to sign an encyclical laying out his vision of a post-COVID world built on solidarity, fraternity and care for the environment.
In his first outing from Rome since the coronavirus lockdown, Francis celebrated Mass on Saturday in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis in the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi. (Vatican Media via AP)
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Pope Francis travelled to the homeland of his nature-loving namesake on Saturday to sign an encyclical laying out his vision of a post-COVID world built on solidarity, fraternity and care for the environment. In his first outing from Rome since the coronavirus lockdown, Francis celebrated Mass on Saturday in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis in the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi. (Vatican Media via AP)
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Pope Francis travelled to the homeland of his nature-loving namesake on Saturday to sign an encyclical laying out his vision of a post-COVID world built on solidarity, fraternity and care for the environment.
In his first outing from Rome since the coronavirus lockdown, Francis celebrated Mass on Saturday in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis in the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi. (Vatican Media via AP)
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Pope Francis travelled to the homeland of his nature-loving namesake on Saturday to sign an encyclical laying out his vision of a post-COVID world built on solidarity, fraternity and care for the environment. In his first outing from Rome since the coronavirus lockdown, Francis celebrated Mass on Saturday in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis in the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi. (Vatican Media via AP)
Free copies of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano with the front page about Pope Francis' encyclical "All Brothers" are distributed by volunteers to faithful at the end of the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Francis on Sunday laid out his vision for a post-COVID world by uniting the core elements of his social teachings into a new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti” (Brothers All), which was released on the feast day of his namesake, the peace-loving St. Francis of Assisi. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Free copies of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano with the front page about Pope Francis' encyclical "All Brothers" are distributed by volunteers to faithful at the end of the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Francis on Sunday laid out his vision for a post-COVID world by uniting the core elements of his social teachings into a new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti” (Brothers All), which was released on the feast day of his namesake, the peace-loving St. Francis of Assisi. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Upcoming Events