Quotes and news

Today's 'Quotes and news' is dedicated to Pope Benedict's third encyclical Caritas in Veritate.

Moral values and economic recovery

The Pope lists four truths that must be part of plans of economic recovery if these are to succeed. These are: God is the creator of human life; every life is sacred; the earth was given to humanity to use and protect, and fourthly that God has a plan for each person. Charity, or love, is not an option for Christians, the Pope wrote, and "practising charity in truth helps people understand that adhering to the values of Christianity is not merely useful, but essential for building a good society and for true integral development".

Share earth's resources equitably

The Pope says the earth's resources must be shared equitably and the environment safeguarded for future generations, and heavily criticises states, organisations and companies that hoard non-renewable fossil fuels. "The international community has an urgent duty to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of non-renewable resources, involving poor countries in the process, in order to plan together for the future." Energy resources must be redistributed justly around the world, not left to "whoever is first to claim the spoils, or whoever is able to prevail over the rest," he said.

Love and politics

"To desire the common good and strive toward it is a requirement of justice and charity. To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good." The Pope wrote that the promotion of the common good requires that individuals get involved in institutions that structure society and its laws, its civic and political life and its culture. "This is the institutional path - we might also call it the political path - of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly," he said.

Being pro-life and pro-environment

Being pro-life is being pro-development, the Pope wrote. He asked: If society sees a new baby as a problem, how will its citizens view the poor? "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," Pope Benedict said. "The acceptance of life strengthens moral fibre and makes people capable of mutual help." In promoting a culture of life, the Pope suggested people look not only at the issue of abortion, but also at the planet as a living being. For the Pope, the destruction of the environment means the destruction of people's own life source.

Protection of all workers

Unions should also protect workers who are not unionised and workers in developing countries. "The protection of these workers, partly achieved through appropriate initiatives aimed at their countries of origin, will enable trade unions to demonstrate the authentic ethical and cultural motivations that made it possible for them, in a different social and labour context, to play a decisive role in development."

Eternal life

"Without the perspective of eternal life, human progress in this world is denied breathing-space."

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)