Seminar on the Global Common Good:
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is grateful to the undersigned experts and academics who gathered at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on July 11-12 to discuss the urgent questions of a more inclusive economy and governance for the common good. Pope Paul VI challenged his fellow Church-leaders to enter into dialogue with other Christian brethren and all people of goodwill, to discern the options and commitments which are called for in order to bring about the social, political and economic changes seen in many cases to be urgently needed (Octogesima Adveniens § 4). This is exactly what we undertook to do throughout the weekends sessions.
More specifically, according to Pope Francis, we cannot understand the Good News of Jesus Christ the gospel of dignity and fraternity, of justice and peace without being aware of real poverty, i.e., by turning our backs on the scandal of exclusion or blindly hoping that it will take care of itself (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, § 54). Quite on the contrary, it will be by putting the human being back into the heart of economics and politics, by welcoming the participation of the poor, that poverty can be overcome and the planet safeguarded.
Final Statement:
As a fruit of the discussions, we participants, joined by others who wish to add their names, are pleased to put forward the following final statement of concern and engagement:
Beyond the Globalization of Indifference: Towards a More Inclusive Economy
In the face of the many unresolved issues brought to the fore by the financial crisis and our ongoing inability to bring an end to endemic poverty and exclusion, there is substantial agreement between us that, as a human community, we must recover our moral compass and re-examine the assumptions of our economic theory to be more realistic and based on a more complete view of the human being and of the world.
An economic system is like a natural environment. It requires diversity to strengthen its resilience. We therefore acknowledge the contribution of various actors to the economy, and in particular women and rural workers, and support the ongoing development of the many different organizational forms (for profit corporations, cooperatives, productive not for profit entities, ethical or sustainable banks and businesses, social business, and so on). They contribute to the production of social capital, as well as economic value, as an expression of economic democracy and for the fulfilment of the human being. Inadequate regulation must not be allowed to harm this biodiversity.
