Bishop Mario Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told Vatican Radio that Pope Francis is not calling for the abandonment of the market economy.
His remarks followed a very strong speech by the Pope in favour of an economy that should always be more inclusive.
Toso said the Pope’s speech was distorted by accusations that the speech had Marxist undertones. He said the Pope’s words do not imply the abandonment of a market economy, and that his allusion to an “economy that kills” refers to the idolatry of money.
Abortion to be made a universal goal?
A Vatican source told The Tablet that some national and international bodies are promoting the inclusion of abortion as one of the 17 proposed Sustainable Development Goals that will replace the eight Millennium Development Goals.
The primary aim of the goals is to end poverty by 2030; a goal which enjoys universal approval.
However, the fifth goal reads: “Attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere.” The text that accompanies the goal includes a commitment to “ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights”. These phrases, which are still in draft form, are taken by some to refer to abortion.
Catholic charity organisation Cafod said it will be unable to give 100 per cent backing to the new goals, currently in draft form. The Vatican source which spoke to The Tablet said that abortion rights are being promoted before rights to basic health necessities like clean water and sanitation.
‘Social media can drown out God’
Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evanglisation, said excessive noise, particularly from social media, can make it hard for young people to encounter God. The archbishop spoke about the need for silence and a personal encounter with Christ.
Workers’ right to object
The bishops of the Philippines have published Pastoral Guidance on the Implementation of the Reproductive Health Law. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, president of the bishops’ conference, said the document sought to remind Catholic healthcare workers that they have the right to object to the dispensing contraceptives.
Last April the Supreme Court of the Philippines gave a sentence that supports a conscientious objector’s rights and upholds the protection of the family.
Mgr Villegas said the bishops had a pastoral duty to give the “necessary information and instruction” to Catholic doctors, nurses and other medical workers as well as Catholic public servants.
‘Confront migration issues’ – Bishops
In a statement, the bishops’ conferences of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the US reiterated the urgency to respect human dignity of undocumented migrants, strengthen governmental institutions, firmly combating the reprehensible activity of illegal groups and organised crime and investing in Central America.
“We call on business leaders, especially Catholics, to invest and contribute to the promotion of justice and equality. We exhort parents to not expose their children to the dangers of the dangerous journey toward Mexico and the US. And we ask society to in general to assume their rightful roles.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)