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The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - July 09, 2009
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VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Meets With Australian and Korean Leaders
WORLD FEATURES
Newman: Doctor of Post-Conciliar Church?
Holy See Calls for Health Care Aid
ROME NOTES
Uncovering Michelangelo; Mary's 1st Portrait
FORUM
Samuel Gregg: Spiritual Trumps Secular in Encyclical
Stratford Caldecott: Metaphysics Has Returned
Matthew Bunson: Church Has One Social Doctrine
Allan Carlson: The Family Wage in "Caritas in Veritate"
DOCUMENTS
Papal Letter to Italian Leader Ahead of G-8
Holy See to UN on Global Trends and Development
Pope Meets With Australian and Korean Leaders
G-8 Participants Making Way to RomeVATICAN CITY, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As the Group of Eight summit is under way in L'Aquila through Friday, select leaders are making their way to Rome to greet Benedict XVI.
A Vatican communiqué reported that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia and President Lee Myung-Bak of the Republic of Korea both met with the Pope today, and both subsequently met with the Holy Father's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
During Rudd's audience with the Holy Father, "mention was made of the Holy Father's trip to Sydney in July 2008 for World Youth Day, recollecting the great spirit of collaboration between the ecclesiastical and civil authorities that characterized the organization of that event."
"Attention also focused on the current international and regional situation, with reference to both respect for religious liberty and environmental problems," the note added.
After the audience, Rudd spoke to the press and commented on the meeting. Among other things, the prime minister related how he told the Pope that he was reading the newly published encyclical "Caritas in Veritate." The Holy Father had already planned to give the Australian leader a signed copy as a gift.
Rudd also mentioned to Benedict XVI the "inspiration that many Australians feel at the example of Blessed Mary MacKillop" (1842-1909). The religious, who founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, could be the first Australian saint.
"The Holy Father showed great interest and remembers well his visit to her tomb in Sydney last year," the prime minister said.
Rudd also visited the tomb of Pope John Paul II i n the Vatican Grottoes.
Korea
During President Lee's audience, the two spoke of the political situation of the Korean peninsula.
North Korea has put the peninsula at the center of world attention by conducting a nuclear test in May, and several ballistic missile launches since April.
According to a Vatican communiqué, the 30-minute "cordial discussions provided an opportunity for an exchange of ideas on certain themes of common interest, among them the effects of the world economic crisis, especially on the poorest countries, and the political and social situation on the Korean peninsula."
At the G-8 meeting on Wednesday, the leaders condemned "in the strongest terms" North Korea's actions, adding that they "pose a danger to peace and stability in the region and beyond."
"At a bilateral level, mention was made of the good relations that exist between the Republic of Korea and the Holy See, as well as of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and of co-operation between Church and State in the educational and social fields."
The Pope also gave the president a signed copy of "Caritas in Veritate."
In a break with protocol, Lee's wife accompanied him in a white dress, the color that in Korea symbolizes peace. Vatican protocol reserves this color for Catholic queens, and all other women are to dress in black.
The visit was the third time a president of the Republic of Korea visited the Pope.
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Newman: Doctor of Post-Conciliar Church?
Scholar Affirms Cardinal's Understanding of Catholic HistoryVATICAN CITY, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A scholar who specializes in the life of Cardinal John Henry Newman is explaining the importance of the Servant of God in the Church after the Second Vatican Council.
Ian Ker is a professor at the University of Oxford, and the author of "John Henry Newman: A Biography," which was first published in 1988 and reissued last week.
In an article published today by Britain's The Catholic Herald, Ker asserted that Cardinal Newman will be seen as "the doctor of the post-conciliar Church."
On July 3, Benedict XVI announced his approval of a miracle through Newman's intercession, advancing the cause for his canonization.
< br />The Servant of God was approved for beatification after the miraculous healing of an American permanent deacon who had a debilitating spinal disorder.
People always asked me, said Ker, "why, for instance, the founder of Opus Dei could be canonized so comparatively quickly after his death, while the cardinal had not even been beatified."
He explained that "it was because the members of Opus Dei were busy asking for their founder's intercession, while the kind of people who studied and wrote about Newman were not."
However, he added, "in recent years all this has changed."
Historical importance
Ker affirmed that the Pope underlined "the beatification of Newman as being of great importance for the Church."
The cardinal has often been called "the Father of Vatican II" because he "anticipated key themes of the council," the scholar explained.
H e continued, "But if Newman was an innovative or radical theologian, he was so only because he was a deeply historical theologian."
Ker affirmed: "Where Newman anticipated the council in his theology, he was always careful not to exaggerate, not to lose his balance.
"It is well known, for example, that Newman championed the cause of the laity, but he never conceived of some kind of lay as opposed to clerical Church.
"From his study of the Greek Fathers he understood the Church to be primarily a sacramental communion, the organic community that Vatican II embraced in the two opening chapters of the Constitution on the Church."
The scholar noted that the cardinal, being immersed in history, "understood very clearly that councils move 'in contrary declarations [...] perfecting, completing, supplying each other.'"
He continued: "Vatican I's definition of papal infallibility needed to be complemented, modified by a much larger teaching on the Church, so, Newman correctly predicted, there would be another council which would do just that.
"But equally Vatican II needs complementing and modifying.
"Newman keenly appreciated that councils have unintended consequences by virtue both of what they say and what they don't say."
Thus, Ker said, an issue that the Second Vatican Council was silent on became a main theme of Pope John Paul II's pontificate: evangelization.
The scholar predicted that due to Newman's understanding and proliferation of these points of Church history, he will be seen not only as a "Father of Vatican II," but also as a "doctor of the post-conciliar Church."
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Holy See Calls for Health Care Aid
Warns That Sickness Has No BordersVATICAN CITY, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See is affirming that developing countries need continued aid, especially with health care, if the world is to recover from the current economic crisis.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent representative of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, stated this today.
He gave the address at a High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council on "Current global and national trends and their impact on social development, including public health."
The archbishop expressed concern for the World Bank predictions that 53-65 million more people will fall into extreme poverty by the end of this year, and that the number of "chronically hungry people" will exceed one billion.
The prelate affirmed that 80 0 million of these live in areas with weak public health systems, and that "innovative health care initiatives are urgent."
Moreover, he pointed out, if there are cutbacks in international aid due to the economic recession, or if there is an increased number of people seeking health care, the "already fragile public health systems in developing countries" will be unable to care for "their most vulnerable citizens."
The archbishop called for a solution to this problem, as an expression of solidarity as well as a "matter of justice."
He explained that justice demands overcoming the "temptation to reduce public services for a short-term benefit against the long-term human cost."
Critical factor
Archbishop Tomasi added that "aid for development should be maintained and even increased as a critical factor in renewing the economy and leading us out of the crisis."
< br />He pointed out that inequalities in public health must be eliminated, "between countries and within countries, and between racial and ethnic groups."
The prelate emphasized the situation of women, who in many regions "receive poorer quality health care."
He underlined the Catholic Church's commitment to help in the "most isolated and marginalized areas and among people who rarely enjoy access to health care."
In particular, the archbishop pledged the Church's help in Africa, the dedication to "stand alongside the poorest people in this continent in order to uphold the inherent dignity of all persons."
"In an increasingly interdependent world," he pointed out, "even sickness and viruses have no boundaries, and therefore, greater global cooperation becomes not only a practical necessity, but more importantly, an ethical imperative of solidarity."
This health care must be guided by the "best" tradition, Archbishop Tomasi added, that respects the "right to life from conception until natural death for all regardless of race, disability, nationality, religion, sex and socio-economic status."
He highlighted the need to find "more than financial solutions to the challenges posed by the economic crisis to global efforts aimed at assuring universal access to health care."
Quoting Benedict XVI's latest encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate," he stated, "Economic activity cannot solve all social problems through the simple application of commercial logic."
The prelate called for an "ethical approach to development" that is "centered on the human person rather than profit."
This model, he added, must include "the needs and aspirations of the entire human family."
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Full tex t: http://zenit.org/article-26415?l=english
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Uncovering Michelangelo; Mary's 1st Portrait
The Truth Beneath the CenturiesROME, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The last works of Michelangelo were often perceived as old and world-weary, the artistic rumblings of a man who had had his fill of Rome and the papacy. This week, however, the unveiling of the restored Pauline Chapel dispelled that myth by wiping the years of grime and faulty restorations from Michelangelo’s final painting and allowing his masterful hand and his startling palette to shine forth.
The Pauline Chapel, situated close to the Sistine Chapel, was constructed under Pope Paul III Farnese in 1539 in honor of his name saint. In 1541, the Pope awarded the decorative commission to a 66-year old Michelangelo, fresh from his labors on the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.
The pairing of the subjects was unusual. Tradition dictated that the death of Peter mirror that of Paul. But in this case the martyrdom of St. Peter found its complement in the Conversion of Saul, for each, the pivotal moment of witness. Stretched across some 445 square feet, the fortunate few of the papal court privy to the private chapel watched these enormous dramas play out as they approached the altar.
Centuries of huge candelabra set up for the Forty Hour’s devotion, atmospheric damage to the wall and heavy alteration to the chapel had dimmed the colors and buckled the surface to represent a dingy mass of barely comprehensible figures.
Art history, taking its cue from the introspective, heart-heavy poetry of the aging artist, saw in the work evidence of a painter who had lost his spark, the vast ambition of the Last Judgment dissipate d into a few figures gathered in the lower part of the panel.
Historian John Symonds, in his biography of Michelangelo, wrote, “We cannot refrain from regretting that seven years of his energetic old age should have been devoted to work so obviously indicative of decaying faculties.”
Now, the loving five-year restoration by Maurizio de Luca has brought to light not a tired artist of swiftly degenerating talents, but a recharged and rejuvenated Michelangelo, ready to face new challenges and offer yet more innovative inspiration for future painters.
The most striking element of the work is the brilliant color palette. After the flesh tones against a lapis sky of the Last Judgment, Michelangelo used a rainbow of hues for his images of St. Peter and St. Paul. According to Maestro de Luca, the deep mulberry, sunflower yellow and flashes of poppy red recall the 15th century works illustrating the lives of Christ and Moses lining the walls of the Sistine Chapel.
Included among the prestigious painters who worked on the panels in 1480, when Michelangelo was a mere child of 5, was Domenico Ghirlandaio, in whose studio the young Florentine would first learn to paint. These painters favored the technique of “buon fresco," a layer of fresh plaster quickly painted with water soaked pigment to form a kind of colored stone. The principal pigments were made from inexpensive organic materials, so to render their works more precious, studios added more costly colors “a secco” or on dry wall. Malachite for green, and lapis lazuli for blue, were two colors guaranteed to garner attention and favor from viewers, while gold leaf was a surefire dazzler.
In the Sistine Chapel ceiling where he had painted almost 30 years earlier, Michelangelo eschewed the secco pigments and copious gilding for the most part, preferrin g his work to be admired for more than its weight in gold. In the Last Judgment, he lavishly covered the wall with lapis, but then rigidly limited his palette for the figures. Only in this last fresco does Michelangelo return stylistically to the studio where he first took a brush in hand, by using vivid jewel tones throughout both the stories of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Michelangelo generally avoided adding portraits to his paintings. His old master Ghirlandaio, on the other hand, was famed for the amount of contemporaries he could squeeze into any given sacred scene.
In the Pauline Chapel however, he made several exceptions. In the Conversion painting, Saul is seen as an older man, when indeed he would have been about 30 at the time of this event. The aged face of Saul appears to be a portrait of his patron Paul III, looking quite similar to the famous portrait of the Pontiff executed by Titian. Michelangelo also added his o wn image in the painting of St. Peter’s martyrdom, arms folded in the lower left-hand side, gazing sadly upon the murder of the first Pope.
Michelangelo made a career of challenging the pictorial space. His figures always seem to occupy three dimensions, suspended between our world and theirs. Michelangelo’s Pauline painting enhanced this dynamism, with horses running into the distance and figures running from distant hills, while other personages seem to lean out into the chapel. Michelangelo’s St. Peter turns from his cross and challengingly glares at all who enter the chapel. Conversion, like that of Saul, ultimately means witness, like that of Peter.
The intensity of these works, from the sharply foreshortened Christ flying through space to the groups of emoting onlookers, project far more spiritual tension that his cycle on the Sistine vault. This Michelangelo, in the heat of the Reformation, seems to be remembering another aspect of his youth, the fiery sermons of conversion and repentance of Girolamo Savonarola, whose work, Vasari tells us, Michelangelo “kept in great veneration.”
As Michelangelo painted these works, controversy and conflict raged around him. The Reformation was in full swing, the Church had lost people and prestige. Yet Michelangelo drew from the traditions and piety of his youth to present a vision that would speak powerfully to the future, the very definition of a masterpiece.
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Luke's other story
In the same century that Rome nurtured the genius of Michelangelo, the city also took steps to ensure a succession of well-trained and successful artists by founding the Academy of St. Luke. Although the age of Pope Sixtus IV had seen the first tentative statues for a “University of Painters and Miniaturists," the official foundation dates to 1577, the reign of Pope Gregory the XIII. The Pope gave the fledgling academy a fir st home on the Esquiline Hill in the Church of St. Luke, patron of painters.
Luke the Evangelist was something of a Renaissance man himself. According to tradition, the saint was not only a doctor and best-selling author, but also responsible for painting the first image of the Madonna and Child.
A close friend and collaborator of St. Paul, Luke was also a Gentile, which opened the door for the rich artistic tradition of the Greco-Roman world to lend its gifts to the spread of God’s word. This tradition highlights how Luke evangelized with words and images, setting a lofty goal for Christian artists.
Raphael reputedly immortalized this story in a painting that still graces the Academy’s present headquarters of the Palazzo Carpegna by the Trevi Fountain.
Luke’s painting, on the other hand, had another fate. Tradition has it that Luke sent the portrait to Antioch with the text of his Gospel. It remained there until the middl e of the fifth century, when it was taken to Constantinople and placed in a monastery. Finally, the icon was brought from Constantinople to Cyprus during the 12th century and is present now at the "Holy Royal Monastery of Kykko Founded with a Cross" in Cyprus. The Madonna Salus Popoli Romani in St. Mary Major is believed to be an ancient copy of the work.
The Academy was furthered and assisted by several popes, particularly Urban VIII Barberini. Some of history’s greatest artistic stars were inducted into the Academy. Annibale Carracci, Bernini, Guido Reni, and even Velasquez and David numbered among the members. Two women, Lavinia Fontana in the 17th century and Angelica Kaufmann in the 18th, were admitted into the elite group.
While the principal function of the Academy was to offer lectures and lessons for artists, particularly in drawing, the backbone of Italian art, the spiritual side was never neglected. The members met in the Church of San Martina and San Luca by the Forum, rebuilt after Pietro da Cortona, the prince of the Academy, found the remains of the virgin martyr Martina in the crypt while preparing a place for his own burial. Pope Urban VIII, thrilled by the discovery, funded the rebuilding by Pietro da Cortona and the result was the first Baroque church.
After 1870, the Academy dwindled in importance, but still remains active today sponsoring lectures and restorations. But sadly, St. Luke remains only in name; the evangelizing spirit that fueled his brush is long gone.
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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University’s Italian campus and University of St. Thomas’ Catholic studies program. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org
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Samuel Gregg: Spiritual Trumps Secular in Encyclical
Benedict XVI Shows He's a Follower of Jesus ChristBy Samuel Gregg
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As one would expect with an encyclical from Benedict XVI, its strength lies in its use of theology to re-orientate Catholics and other Christians away from thinking in a merely secular -- and sometimes hyper-politicized way -- about questions such as economic and political questions.
The Christian understanding of truth and love and Catholicism's careful integration of these theological and moral realities lifts us up and out of what the Pope calls the false ideologies and utopias that disfigure our minds and actions. Though they are mentioned sparingly, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas are clearly two of the major influences upon the theology informing this text, alongside sacred Scripture.
In these respects, Benedict XVI is being faithful to his theological method of "ressourcement," pioneered by figures such as Henri de Lubac, S.J., which involves renewing the Church through returning to the primary sources of Christian inspiration. This helps to explain, for instance, the language of gift that permeates the encyclical and reminds us that the model of Christ the Son as God the Father's gift to us has implications for economic and political life.
Obviously, there will be intense debate about some of the prudential judgments about questions of economic policy expressed in "Caritas in Veritate." Here we find an element of "on the one hand this, on the other hand that," which is not always coherent. I would also suggest that the often-negative relationship between extensive wealth-redistribution and the prior necessity of wealth-creation have not been sufficiently considered.
Concerning the global economy, there is nothing new about the encyclical's reference to a world political authority from the standpoint of Catholic social teaching. In fact, some argue that it represents a logical extension of natural law reasoning about the political order.
The problem is how a world authority could possibly manage the global economy -- i.e., billions of economic choices by billions of people and institutions on a daily basis. The principle of subsidiarity provides us with some guidance, but the encyclical may underestimate the tendency of state and international bureaucracies to pursue agendas that have everything to do with their own interests and nothing to do with the poor.
Of course, there are many economic and cultural observations in the encyclical that bear repeating. Benedict XVI's dismissal of dependency theory as " erroneous," his warning against protectionism, and his affirmation that it is people rather than the market economy per se that creates economic evils should be welcomed as helpful correctives to particular ideas that often prevail among social justice activists.
Above all, the insistence upon permeating commercial and economic life with Christian truth -- especially moral truth -- and Christian love represents a bold challenge for us to apply the Catholic faith to every aspect of our economic lives.
In this regard, Benedict XVI is neither an anarcho-capitalist from the pages of "Atlas Shrugged," nor a socialist straight out of "Das Kapital." He is nothing more and nothing less than a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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Samuel Gregg, who has a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy from the University of Oxford, is the director of research for the Acton Institute. He is the author of several books including "On Ordered Liberty" (2003), "A Theory of Corruption" ; (2004), "Banking, Justice and the Common Good" (2005), and "The Commercial Society" (2007).
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Stratford Caldecott: Metaphysics Has Returned
And More Overlooked Themes of New EncyclicalBy Stratford Caldecott
OXFORD, England, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- There are four particular elements of "Caritas in Veritate" on "integral human development" that are worth mentioning because they have so far not been widely noticed.
First, this encyclical is closely connected to the Pope’s two previous encyclicals -- on love and on hope -- and forms with them a triptych on the Christian faith, in both its theoretical and its practical dimensions, namely, love and hope grounded in truth.
Second, the encyclical takes Catholic social teaching to a new level by basing it explicitly on the theology of the Trinity and calling for "a deeper critical evaluation of the category of relation." Metaphysics is back.
Ne xt, it introduces a new principle -- that of "gratuitousness" and "reciprocal gift," which enables us to break the "hegemony of the binary model of market-plus-State" (38, 39, 41).
In other words, economics as a human activity is not ethically neutral and must be structured and governed in an ethical manner; that is, in accordance with the highest ends of man.
Economics and politics are not to be separated, because justice must enter into the economy from the outset, and justice is made perfect only in "giving and forgiving."
The radical implications of this principle for the market economy will need time to unfold.
Finally, those in the Distributist, Green, and "alternative economics" movements will be encouraged that the encyclical opens the door to the development of alternative "economic entities" that act on principles other than pure profit, or which treat profit merely as a means to a social end, including cooperatives, credit unions, micro-finance, and the "economy of communion" (46).
In fact, it hopes that new "hybrid" forms of commercial behaviour will emerge in the marketplace in the future (38). It insists that the "weakest members of society should be helped to defend themselves against usury" (65), and insists that use of technology be subordinated to the "holistic meaning" of the human (70).
It consolidates the strong environmentalist emphasis of John Paul II within Benedict XVI's vision of integral human development, linking human to environmental ecology and the natural law (51).
Man is called to be the wise steward of creation, defending earth, water and air as "gifts of creation that belong to everyone," and helping to prevent mankind from destroying itself (51).
The Pope writes that it is "incumbent upon the competent authorities to make every effort to ensure that the economic and social costs of using up shared environmental resources are recognized with transparency and fully borne by those who incur them, not by other peoples or future generations: the protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate obliges all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet" (50).
But all this is set against a spiritual horizon, for we cannot achieve true solidarity with others without transcending our own selfish and material concerns in the "experience of gift" (34).
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Stratford Caldecott is the G.K. Chesterton Research Fellow at Benet’s Hall, Oxford, and editor of Second Spring and Sophia Institute Pr ess.
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Matthew Bunson: Church Has One Social Doctrine
"Caritas in Veritate" Provides Synthesis of Old and NewBy Matthew Bunson
FORT WAYNE, Indiana, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" eloquently reiterates the coherence of Catholic social teaching, but it likewise makes manifest the essential links between truth and charity and the real world.
For the Holy Father, charity and truth are not abstract concepts, but must be seen for what they are, "the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity" (No. 1). In this concern, the Holy Father offers a remarkably bold reminder that human life must be at the center of that development.
"Caritas in Veritate" is splendidly faithful to all of the Church's social teachings on the human person's inviolable dignity as well as the transcendent value of natural moral norms. By quoting from every social encyclical since Leo XIII's "Rerum Novarum" in 1891, the Pontiff refutes any misinterpretations of Catholic social teaching that there are two functional typologies, one pre-conciliar and one post-conciliar. Rather, he quotes Pope John Paul II when he states firmly, "there is a single teaching, consistent and at the same time ever new" ("Sollicitudo Rei Socialis," 3). Expressing that sense of newness, "Caritas in Veritate" also offers considerable innovation in its prescription for the present global financial crises by highlighting the right to life in relation to genuine progress.
The Holy Father notes that economic development and humanitarian aid from the West are too often accompanied by the imposition of dehumanizing programs and exploitation of labor and natural resources, but they can also entail an obligation to embrace the same toxic reproductive and technological policies that are creating a demographic catastrophe in the first world.
Benedict XVI argues that not only does the culture of death inherently trample upon the dignity of the human person and responsible human freedom, it is bad economics because of the strains it places on social welfare systems and labor resources, not to mention the wider impoverishment of culture. The Pope writes, "Morally responsible openness to life represents a rich social and economic resource" (No. 28).
The encyclical makes the link "between life ethics and social ethics" (No. 15), especially in its tribute to the late Pope Paul VI's prophetic encyclicals "Populorum Progressio" (1967) and "Humanae Vitae" (1968). In "Populorum Progressio," Paul VI anticipated the problems that have attended globalization, and in "Humanae Vitae," he predicted with searing accuracy the long-term socia l effects of a contraceptive culture. Reflecting on both of these earlier documents, "Caritas in Veritate" proclaims that true development must encompass the rights of all human persons, including the unborn.
In his elegant synthesis of Catholic social thought and Catholic moral teachings, Benedict XVI has given the world a profound assessment of authentic human development. Part of that is fostering the culture of life. As Benedict XVI teaches, "Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves toward the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good" (No. 28). This is a significant moment in Catholic social teaching, and the encyclical will be the source of fruitful reflection for many years to come.
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Matthew Bunson, who has a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation, is a senior fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He is the author of more than 35 books, including "We Have a Pope, Benedict XVI," "The Encyclopedia of Catholic History," and "Papal Wisdom, Words of Hope and Inspiration from Pope John Paul II."
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Allan Carlson: The Family Wage in "Caritas in Veritate"
Encyclical Contains Potential Ambiguity on Key PointBy Allan Carlson
ROCKFORD, Illinois, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As the press has widely reported, "Caritas in Veritate" stands out for its critical stance toward contemporary global capitalism. However, on one matter, the encyclical letter is ambiguous about a long-standing principle of Catholic social justice: the principle of a "family wage" resting on distinctive social and economic roles for men and women.
In his great encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (1891), Pope Leo XIII declared it "a most sacred law of nature that the father of a family see that his offspring are provided with all the necessities of life." For their part, mothers were "intended by nature for the work of the home [...] the education of children and the well-being of the family." Consequently, Leo argued the principle underlying all employer-worker contracts must be that the wage be at least "sufficiently large to enable [the worker] to provide comfortably for himself, his wife, and his children."
In "Quadragesimo Anno" (1931), Pope Pius XI termed it "an intolerable abuse [...] to be abolished at all costs" for mothers to be forced by their husbands' low wage to work outside the home, thereby neglecting their natural responsibilities, "especially the training of children." He added that "[e]very effort must therefore be made" to insure "that fathers of families receive a wage large enough to meet ordinary family needs adequately." He rendered "merited praise to all, who with a wise and useful purpose, have tried and tested various ways of adjusting the pay for work to family burdens."
Pope John Paul I I's "Laborem Exercens" (1981) avoided direct discussion of complementary male and female roles, saying instead that the just wage for an adult responsible for a family is that "which will suffice for establishing and properly maintaining a family." However, the encyclical praised social policy measures such as allowances or grants to mothers devoting themselves exclusively to their children.
And in his apostolic constitution "Familiaris Consortio," also issued in 1981, John Paul II clearly stated that "society must be structured in such a way that wives and mothers are not in practice compelled to work outside the home, and that their families can live and prosper in a dignified way even when they themselves devote themselves full time to their own family."
In contrast, "Caritas in Veritate" seems to assume that mothers will be in the workforce (No. 63). It makes no mention of the special work of women in the home, while acknowledging "the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and his or her family." In discussing "decency" in regard to work, Benedict XVI describes "work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community; work that enables the worker to be respected and free from any form of discrimination; work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for their children, without the children themselves being forced into labor." Earlier Popes would have added "and mothers" to that last phrase; Benedict XVI seems to have quietly accepted the two-earner or two-career family as the new social and economic norm.
This may be a case of simply acknowledging current reality. In the developed world (and starting in the late 1960s), capitalism’s hunger for the labor of adult women broke though the legal and cultural barriers created over the prior 100 years to protect the mother in the home. In the developing world, women's labor is now simply assumed. To progressive eyes, the mother in the home is at best an antiquarian curiosity.
However, this potential shift raises troubling questions about the nature of the Catholic family. Has the rich concept of complementarity -- men and women being equal in dignity but different in function -- been deemphasized? Has the Christian Democratic defense of the full-time mother subtly given way to the Swedish model of gender equality in the workplace?
Benedict XVI has spoken about the dignity of motherhood in many other settings, but the silence in this encyclical concerning familial roles has created an ambiguity that could undermine the very institution the Pope is strenuously trying to protect. Perhaps a future apostolic letter will clarify these points.
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Allan Carlson is Preside nt of The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society, and author, most recently, of "Third Ways: How Bulgarian Greens, Swedish Housewives and Beer-Swilling Englishmen Created Family-Centered Economies -- And Why They Disappeared" (ISI Books).
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Papal Letter to Italian Leader Ahead of G-8
"Maintain and Reinforce Aid for Development"VATICAN CITY, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the letter Benedict XVI sent July 1 to Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ahead of the Group of Eight summit L'Aquila, which is under way through Friday.
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Hon. Mr Prime Minister,
With a view to the upcoming G8, the Group of the Heads of State and Government of the most industrialized countries, that will be taking place in L'Aquila from 8 to 10 July under the Italian Presidency, I am pleased to send a cordial greeting to you and to all the participants. I therefore willingly take the opportunity to make a contribution to the reflection on the meeting's themes, as I have done in the past.
I was informe d by my collaborators of the commitment with which the Government, over which you have the honour to preside, is preparing for this important meeting. I am also aware of the attention you have given to the reflections which, based on the themes of the upcoming Summit, have been formulated by the Holy See, the Catholic Church in Italy and the Catholic world in general, as well as the Representatives of other religions. The participation of Heads of State or Government not only of the G8 but also of many other nations will ensure that in order to find ways to a shared solution to the principal problems that are affecting the economy, peace and international security, the decisions to be adopted can more faithfully mirror the viewpoints and expectations of the peoples of all the continents.
Broadened to encompass the discussions of the forthcoming Summit, this participation therefore seems particularly timely, given the many problems in the world today that are highly interco nnected and interdependent. I refer in particular to the challenges of the current economic and financial crisis, as well as to the disturbing data of the phenomenon of climate change. These cannot but impel us to wise discernment and new projects to ""convert' the model of global development" (Benedict XVI, Angelus Reflection, 12 November 2006; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 15 November 2006, p. 1), rendering it capable of effectively promoting integral human development, inspired by the values of human solidarity and of charity in truth. Several of these themes are also treated in my third Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, which in the next few days will be released to the press.
In preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, on the initiative of John Paul II, the Holy See paid great attention to the work of the G8. My venerable Predecessor was in fact convinced that the liberation of the poorest countries from the burden of debt and, more generally, the uprooting of the causes of extreme poverty in the world depended on the full assumption of shared responsibility towards all humanity, which is incumbent on the most financially developed Governments and States.
These responsibilities have not diminished; on the contrary, they are even more urgent today. In the recent past, partly thanks to the impetus that the Great Jubilee of 2000 gave to the search for adequate solutions to problems related to the debt and to the economic vulnerability of Africa and other poor countries, and partly thanks to the notable economic and political changes in the global scene the majority of less developed countries has been able to enjoy a period of extraordinary growth. This has permitted many of them to hope in the achievement of the goal fixed by the international community on the threshold of the third millennium: to defeat extreme poverty by 2015.
Unfortunately, the financial and economic crisis that ha s been besieging the entire planet since the beginning of 2008 has transformed the circumstances. Now, there is a real risk not only that hopes of emerging from extreme poverty will be extinguished but on the contrary that even populations which have until now benefited from a minimum of material well-being will sink into poverty.
Furthermore, the current global economic crisis carries the threat of the cancellation or drastic reduction of programmes for international aid, especially for Africa and for the other economically less developed countries. Therefore with the same force as that with which John Paul II asked for the cancellation of the foreign debt I too would like to appeal to the member countries of the G8, to the other States represented and to the Governments of the whole world to maintain and reinforce aid for development, especially aid destined to "make the most" of "human resources", not only in spite of the crisis, but precisely becau se it is one of the principal paths to its solution.
Is it not in fact through investment in the human being in all the men and women of the earth that it will be possible to succeed in effectively dispelling the disturbing prospectives of global recession? Is not this truly the way to obtain, to the extent possible, a trend in the world economy that benefits the inhabitants of every country, rich and poor, large and small?
The issue of access to education is intimately connected to the efficacy of international cooperation. Thus if it is true that "investing" in men and women is necessary, then the goal of basic education for all, without exception, by 2015 must not only be met but must also be generously reinforced. Education is an indispensable condition for democracy to function, for fighting corruption, for exercising political, economic and social rights and for the effective recovery of all States, poor and rich alike. And, by correctly applyi ng the principle of subsidiarity, the support of development cannot but take into account the far-reaching educational action that the Catholic Church and other religious Denominations carry out in the world's poorest and most neglected regions.
I am therefore keen to remind the distinguished participants of the G8 that the measure of technical efficacy of the provisions to adopt in order to emerge from the crisis coincides with the measure of its ethical value. In other words, it is necessary to bear in mind practical human and family needs. I refer, for example, to the effective creation of positions for all, that enable workers to provide fittingly for their family's needs and to fulfil their primary responsibility as educators of their children and protagonists in the community to which they belong.
"A society in which this right is systematically denied", John Paul ii wrote, "in which economic policies do not allow workers to reach satisfact ory levels of employment, cannot be justified from an ethical point of view, nor can that society attain social peace" (Centesimus Annus, n. 43; cf., Laborem Excercens, n. 18).
And for this very purpose the urgent need for a fair system of international trade is essential, putting into practice and if necessary even going beyond the decisions made in Doha in 2001 to promote development.
I hope that all creative energy will be devoted to achieving the UN Millennium Goals concerning the elimination of extreme poverty by 2015. It is only right to reform the international financial structure to ensure effective coordination of national policies, to prevent credit speculation and to guarantee a broad international availability of public and private credit at the service of production and work, especially in the neediest countries and regions.
The ethical legitimization of the political commitments of the G8 will naturally demand that they be confr onted with the thought and needs of the entire International Community. To this end, it seems important to reinforce multi-lateralism, not only for economic matters but also for the entire spectrum of the issues concerning peace, global security, disarmament, health and protection of the environment and of natural resources for the present and future generations. The extension of the G8 to other regions certainly constitutes important and significant progress; yet at the time of the negotiations and concrete and operational decisions, it is necessary to take into careful consideration all needs, not only those of the countries that are most important or that have a more marked financial success. In fact, only this can make these decisions actually applicable and sustainable over time.
Let the voices of Africa and of the less economically developed countries be heard! Let effective models be sought in order to link the decisions of the various groups of countries, includi ng the G8, with the Assembly of the United Nations. In this way each nation, whatever its political and financial importance, may legitimately express itself in a position of equality with the others.
Lastly, I would like to add that the decision of the Italian Government to host the G8 in the city of L'Aquila a decision approved and shared by the other member States and guests is particularly significant. We have all witnessed the generous solidarity of the Italian people and of other nations, of national and international organizations towards the populations of the Abruzzo region hit by the earthquake.
This mobilization of solidarity could constitute an invitation to the members of the G8 and to the Governments and Peoples of the world to face united the current challenges that place humanity with no possibility of postponement before crucial decisions for the destiny of mankind itself, which is closely connected with the destiny of creation.
Hon. Mr Prime Minister, as I implore God's assistance for all those present at the upcoming G8 in L'Aquila and for the multilateral initiatives intended to resolve the economic and financial crisis and to guarantee a future of peace and prosperity to all men and women without exception, I gladly take this opportunity to express, once again, my esteem for you and, as I assure you of my prayers, I extend to you a respectful and cordial greeting.
From the Vatican, 1 July 2009
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Holy See to UN on Global Trends and Development
"The Global Economic Crisis Continues Unabated"GENEVA, JULY 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the statement Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent representative of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, gave today at a High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council on "Current global and national trends and their impact on social development, including public health."
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Madame President,
1. The international community is struggling to find solutions to the financial and economic crisis that greed and lack of ethical responsibility have brought about. While analysts debate the causes of the crisis, the social consequences of new poverty, loss of jobs, malnutrition and stifled development, all impact the most vulnerable groups of people and therefore call for effective and pro mpt answers. The Delegation of the Holy See appreciates the fact that the focus of attention is directed in this High-Level Segment, in a most timely manner, on "Current global and national trends and their impact on social development, including public health." The global economic crisis continues unabated. It is exacerbated by the emergence of a previously unknown influenza virus, A-H1N1 already recognized at pandemic proportion with a future impact that cannot be projected with much certainty, and by the global food security crisis that endangers the lives of millions of people, particularly the world’s poorest, many of whom already suffer from acute and chronic malnutrition. These examples show once again the link between poverty and health and the disproportionate burden on developing countries and even on the poor in the developed ones. Faced with such urgent global challenges, the future is mortgaged in a way that young people risk to inherit a severely compromised economic system, a society without cohesion, and a planet damaged in its sustainability as a home for the whole human family.
2. The Holy See Delegation notes with deep concern predictions by the World Bank that during 2009, an additional 53 to 65 million people will be trapped in extreme poverty and that the number of people chronically hungry will exceed one billion, 800 million of whom live in rural areas where public health is weakest and where innovative health care initiatives are urgent. We can reasonably conclude that significant numbers of those extremely poor and hungry people will be more at risk of contracting both communicable and chronic, non-communicable diseases. Moreover, if they are faced with cutbacks in international aid or if there is an increased number of people seeking care, the already fragile public health systems in developing countries will not be able to respond adequately to the health needs of their most vulnerable citizens. In addressing this problem, even more than an expression of solidarity, it is a matter of justice to overcome the temptation to reduce public services for a short-term benefit against the long-term human cost. In the same line, aid for development should be maintained and even increased as a critical factor in renewing the economy and leading us out of the crisis.
Madame President,
3. Another key obstacle to achieving the internationally articulated goals in public health is to address the inequalities that exist both between countries and within countries, and between racial and ethnic groups. Tragically, women continue in many regions to receive poorer quality health care. This situation is well known to people and institutions working on the ground. The Catholic Church sponsors 5,378 hospitals, 18,088 health clinics, 15,448 homes for the elderly and disabled, and other health care programmes throughout the world, but especially in the most isolated and marginalized areas and among people who rarely enjoy access to health care provided under national, provincial or district level governmental health schemes. In this regard, special attention is given to Africa, where the Catholic Church has pledged to continue to stand alongside the poorest people in this continent in order to uphold the inherent dignity of all persons.
4. There is an increasing recognition that a plurality of actors, in the respect of the principle of subsidiarity, contribute to the implementation of the human right to primary health care. Among the civil society organizations assuring health care within various national systems, the programmes sponsored by the Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations stand out as key stakeholders. WHO officials have acknowledged that such organizations “provide a substantial portion of care in developing countries, often reaching vulnerable populations living under adverse conditions.”[1] However, despite their excellent and documented record in the field of HIV service delivery and primary health care, faith-based organizations do not receive an equitable share of the resources designated to support global, national and local health initiatives.
5. The mere quantitative tracking of aid flows and the multiplication of global health initiatives alone may not be sufficient to assure “Health for All”. Access to primary health care and affordable life-saving drugs is vital to improving global health and fostering a shared globalized response to the basic needs of all. In an increasingly interdependent world, even sickness and viruses have no boundaries, and therefore, greater global cooperation becomes not only a practical necessity, but more importantly, an ethical imperative of solidarity. However, we must be guided by the best healthcare tradition that respects and promotes the right to life from conception until natural death for all regardless of race, disability, nationality, religion, sex and socio-economic status. Failure to place the promotion of life at the center of health care decisions results in a society in which an individual’s absolute right to basic health care and life would be limited by the ability to pay, by the perceived quality of life and other subjective decisions which sacrifice life and health in exchange for short-term social, economic and political advantage.
6. In conclusion, Madame President, the Holy See Delegation wishes to call attention to the need for more than financial solutions to the challenges posed by the economic crisis to global efforts aimed at assuring universal access to health care. In his new encyclical Pope Benedict XVI states:
"Economic activity cannot solve all social problems through the simple application of commercial logic. This needs to be directed towards the pursuit of the common good, for which the political community in particular must also take responsibility."[2]
An ethical approach to development is needed which implies a new model of global development centered on the human person rather than profit, and inclusive of the needs and aspirations of the entire human family.
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[1] DeCock, Kevin (2007), "Faith-based organizations play a major role in HIV/AIDS care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa," as quoted in press release by the World Health Organisation, 9 February 2007, Washington, D.C.
[2] Benedict XVI, Encyclical letter "Caritas in Veritate," n. 36.
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