Although some are claiming that today's integrated economy makes “the role of States redundant,” the Pope argued that instead, “it commits governments to greater collaboration with one another.” In terms of the resolution of the current crisis, Benedict opined, “the State's role seems destined to grow, as it regains many of its competences. In some nations, moreover, the construction or reconstruction of the State remains a key factor in their development.”
Turning to globalization, the Pontiff stated that by itself it is “neither good nor bad” and that it provides an opportunity to further improve the unity of the human family.
“The processes of globalization,” he asserted, “suitably understood and directed, open up the unprecedented possibility of large-scale redistribution of wealth on a world-wide scale.” Nevertheless, he cautioned that if this is badly directed, it could “lead to an increase in poverty and inequality, and could even trigger a global crisis. It is necessary to correct the malfunctions, some of them serious, that cause new divisions between peoples and within peoples, and also to ensure that the redistribution of wealth does not come about through the redistribution or increase of poverty: a real danger if the present situation were to be badly managed.”
“International cooperation,” Benedict XVI explained, “requires people who can be part of the process of economic and human development through the solidarity of their presence, supervision, training and respect. From this standpoint, international organizations might question the actual effectiveness of their bureaucratic and administrative machinery, which is often excessively costly. At times it happens that those who receive aid become subordinate to the aid-givers, and the poor serve to perpetuate expensive bureaucracies which consume an excessively high percentage of funds intended for development.”
Stewardship of the Environment
One of the most anticipated sections of the Pope's new encyclical deals with the environment. Saying that today one often hears people asserting that their rights be respected, the Holy Father cautioned that this must be balanced out by our understanding of our duties to our fellow man.
“Today the subject of development is also closely related to the duties arising from our relationship to the natural environment,” the Pope wrote. “The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole.”
“However,” he warned, “it should also be stressed that it is contrary to authentic development to view nature as something more important than the human person. This position leads to attitudes of neo-paganism or a new pantheism — human salvation cannot come from nature alone, understood in a purely naturalistic sense.”
But it is also necessary “to reject the opposite position, which aims at total technical dominion over nature, because the natural environment is more than raw material to be manipulated at our pleasure; it is a wondrous work of the Creator containing a 'grammar' which sets forth ends and criteria for its wise use, not its reckless exploitation,” the Holy Father taught.
Reflecting on the experience of the world, Pope Benedict observed that, “The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa. This invites contemporary society to a serious review of its life-style, which, in many parts of the world, is prone to hedonism and consumerism, regardless of their harmful consequences.”
Noting that the “Church has a responsibility towards creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public sphere,” Benedict said that “she must defend not only earth, water and air as gifts of creation that belong to everyone. She must above all protect mankind from self-destruction. There is need for what might be called a human ecology, correctly understood.”
As countries around the world consider ways to care for God's Creation, Pope Benedict stressed that to protect nature, it is “not enough to intervene with economic incentives or deterrents; not even an apposite education is sufficient.
“These are important steps, but the decisive issue is the overall moral tenor of society.”
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Pope Benedict XVI finished his reflections on the need to care for the environment by pointing out that our “duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others.”
“It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment and damages society.”
To read Pope Benedict XVI's full encyclical, please visit: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=944