We at Casa Maria are huge fans of the new Holy Father because he lays out the truth, even about the economy! And he dares to acknowledge that our Creator God calls all women and men to liberate themselves from slavery, even economic slavery! May our work here at Casa Maria be based in and inspired by “The Pope Speaks Out on Money and Power.”
“Our human family is presently experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we consider the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the positive achievements which contribute to the authentic welfare of mankind in fields such as those of health, education and communications. At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the majority of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situation of insecurity, with dire consequences…. One cause of this situation, in my opinion, is in our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society. Consequently, the financial crisis which we are experiencing makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in a profound human crisis: in the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.
“The worldwide financial and economic crisis seems to highlight their distortions and, above all, the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces men and women to just one of their needs alone, namely consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started down the path of a disposable culture. This tendency is seen on the level of individuals and whole societies; and it is being promoted! In circumstances like these, solidarity, which is the treasure of the poor, is often considered counterproductive, opposed to the logic of finance and the economy. While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling. This imbalance results from ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good. A new, invisible at times virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rule. Moreover, indebtedness and credit distance countries form their real economy and citizens from their real buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread corruption and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on the worldwide dimensions. The will to power and possession has become limitless.
“Concealed behind this attitude is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like solidarity, is a nuisance! It is regarded as counterproductive, as something too human because it relativizes money and power, as a threat because it rejects manipulation and subjection of people, because ethics leads to God who is situated outside the categories of the market. These financiers, economists and politicians consider God to be unmanageable. God is unmanageable, even dangerous, because He calls man to his full realization and to independence from any kind of slavery.”
-Pope Francis, Vatican City, May, 2013
traducción por Jimmy Ojeda
El Papa habla sobre el Dinero y el Poder
“Debemos reconocer que la mayoría de los hombres y mujeres en nuestro tiempo, continúan viviendo diariamente en condiciones de inseguridad, con terribles consecuencias… Una causa de esta situación, en mi opinión, es nuestra relación con el dinero, y el aceptar su poder sobre nosotros y nuestra sociedad. ¡Hemos creado nuevos ídolos! La adoración del becerro de oro, ha fundado una nueva y descorazonada imagen en el culto hacia el dinero y una dictadura económica si rostro y sin ningún verdadero objetivo humano.
“La crisis global financiera y económica pareciera resaltar sus distorsiones, y sobre todo, la gran deficiente perspectiva humana, la que reduce a los hombres y mujeres a solo una de sus necesidades, que es el consumismo. Peor aún, las personas mismas ahora son consideradas como bienes de consumo que pueden ser usadas y tiradas. Hemos iniciado el sendero de una cultura de desecho. Esta tendencia es vista a nivel individual y en sociedades enteras. ¡Y está siendo promocionada! En circunstancias como esta, la solidaridad, que es el tesoro del pobre, es frecuentemente considerada contraproducente, opuesta a la lógica de la finanza y la economía. Mientras que el ingreso de las minorías está incrementando exponencialmente, aquel de la mayoría se está desmoronando.
“Camuflado detrás de esta actitud, esta un rechazo a la ética, un rechazo de Dios. ¡La ética, al igual que la solidaridad es un fastidio! Es considerado contraproducente, como algo demasiado humano porque es relativo al poder y el dinero, como una amenaza porque rechaza la manipulación de las personas, ya que la ética nos conduce hacia Dios quien está situado fuera de las categorías del mercado. Estos financieros, economistas, y políticos consideran a Dios inmanejable. Dios es inmanejable, incluso peligroso, porque El llama al hombre a su total realización e independencia se cualquier tipo de esclavitud.”
El Papa Francisco, Ciudad del Vaticano, Mayo, 2013