Papal message seeks 'global authority'

Pope Benedict yesterday called for a "world political authority" to manage the global economy and for more government regulation of national economies to pull the world out of the current crisis and avoid a repeat.

The Pope made his call for a re-think of the way the world economy is run in a new encyclical which touched on a number of social issues but whose main connecting thread was how the current crisis has affected both rich and poor nations.

Parts of the encyclical, titled Charity in Truth, seemed bound to upset free marketeers because of its underlying rejection of unbridled capitalism and unregulated market forces, which he said had led to "thoroughly destructive" abuse of the system.

The Pope said every economic decision had a moral consequence and called for "forms of redistribution" of wealth overseen by governments to help those most affected by crises.

The Pontiff said "there is an urgent need of a true world political authority" whose task would be "to manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result".

Such an authority would have to be "regulated by law" and "would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights".

"Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums," he said.

The United Nations, economic institutions and international finance all had to be reformed "even in the midst of a global recession", he said in the encyclical, a booklet of 141 pages.

The Pope's call for a supranational body to tackle global economic woes disturbed some Catholic capitalists.

"There is a difference between coordination and mandate... a reckless loan in the United States can and did impoverish people in Latvia. So obviously coordination is important as long as it is not mandates," said Frank Keating, CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers and former Governor of Oklahoma. An encyclical is the highest form of papal writing and gives the clearest indication to the world's 1.1 billion Catholics - and to non-Catholics - of what the Pope and the Vatican think about specific social and moral issues.

This one was addressed to all Catholics and "all people of good will" and was released on the eve of the start of the G8 summit in Italy and three days before the Pope is due to discuss the global downturn with US President Barack Obama.

In several sections of the encyclical, Benedict made it clear he had great reservations about a totally free market.

"The conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from 'influences' of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive way," he said.

"In the long term, these convictions have led to economic, social and political systems that trample upon personal and social freedom and are therefore unable to deliver the justice that they promise," he added.

Profit was useful only if it served as a means to a brighter future for all humanity.

"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," he said.

He said the current economic crisis was "clear proof" of "pernicious effects of sin" in the economy.

Papal encyclicals on social issues

• 1891 - Rerum Novarum (Of New Things) by Pope Leo XIII launched Catholic social teaching by arguing for better conditions for labourers, fair wages, trade union rights and moral standards in business.

• 1931 - Quadragesimo Anno (After Forty Years) 1931 by Pope Pius XI rejects communism and unbridled capitalism. It stresses solidarity and subsidiarity, the principle of making decisions at the least centralised level possible.

• 1961 - Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher) by Pope John XXIII adds a global approach by calling for development aid for poor countries and moral guidelines for global economic relations.

• 1963 - Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) by Pope John XXIII urges "all men of good will" to seek world peace "in truth, justice, love and freedom."

• 1967 - Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples) by Pope Paul VI examines imbalances in the global economy and proposes a world fund to aid poor countries free themselves from famine, poverty, illness and ignorance.

• 1981 - Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) Pope John Paul II reviews social issues 90 years after Rerum Novarum and discusses the dignity of workers and new issues such as disabled workers and emigration.

• 1987 - Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concern) by Pope John Paul II says the gap between rich and poor countries continues to grow and argues that real development is based on equality and international solidarity.

• 1991 - Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year) 1991 by Pope John Paul II came just after the fall of communism. The Polish-born pope stressed the unjust distribution of wealth worldwide, exploitation of the environment and the need to regulate international capital flows to promote the common good.

• 1995 - Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) by Pope John Paul II described life as a gift of God to be protected against abortion and euthanasia. It criticised use of the death penalty and stressed the duty to care for the poor and sick.