Probably the most severe sin we are committing today is that of indifference, looking away from the dramatic events surrounding us. It is a sin of omission for people who claim to have faith when they are untouched by the misery being brought about by economic crime, human smuggling, and social inequality.

These themes were debated at the international conference of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation in the Vatican in May. The title of the conference introduced an element of hope – Constructive Alternatives in an Era of Global Turmoil – with a focus on opportunities for job creation and human integrity in the digital space and incentives for solidarity and civic virtue.

The subjects covered by the Foundation are in response to Pope Francis’ demand that “we contribute to generating new models of economic progress more clearly directed to the universal common good, inclusion and integral development, the creation of labour and investment in human resources”.

Besides changing our economic models, we need to change the way we are educated and informed and to revive the values of the family

The prime focus is the person, his or her integrity and dignity, and the way the person relates with others and with creation and the Creator.

We are emotionally and spiritually numb today to the consequences of economic crime, which involves tax evasion, fraud and money laundering, as well as exploitation of the unemployed and migrants through systems and structures that we try to legiti­mise by setting up of companies in tax havens where no questions are asked; by bribing politicians as part of a praxis used by big corporates to gain access to new markets or make inroads in ‘soft power’; by engaging young people as unpaid interns with the excuse of gaining experience. The list is much longer. We have erased our conscience and everything goes.

The Church has difficulty to understand and make its voice heard on the tension being created on the moral truth of our faith. It is even more challenging when soli­darity is poorly understood and rarely practised. This is a world where the person is being taken for granted and where the end justifies the means. A Machiavellian tactic that business and politics are using is that of pursuing economic growth and profits at the expense of unequal sharing of resources in a situation where citizens and the State, consumers and producers are far removed from each other culturally and spatially.

Pope Francis is calling for a revival of spirituality that is authentic and raw, rather than ritualised and traditional. This can only be achieved if we follow the spirit of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament. This is not asceticism, but practical and dynamic living, in contrast to indifference and apathy. Besides changing our economic models, we need to change the way we are educated and informed and to revive the values of the family.

Corruption in politics and business reflects the modern deconstruction of families, information and education, where monetary and financial gain and conspicuous consumption are alienating the human person from the values of arduous work, ethical behaviour, truth, fulfilment and charity – the family of a husband and wife that genuinely care for the spiritual and material development of their children; the media that seeks the truth and announces only the truth; how business defines its purpose beyond the narrow demands of shareholders; and the education system that drops its obsession with certificates, diplomas and degrees but which develops fully integrated human beings who can choose between right and wrong.

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