Vatican official: Pope not calling for abandonment of market economy

July 14, 2014

The secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has told Vatican Radio that Pope Francis is not calling for the abandonment of the market economy.

Bishop Mario Toso made his remarks as the pontifical council held a two-day conference entitled “The Global Common Good: Towards a More Inclusive Economy.” According to Vatican Radio, Bishop Toso

said distorted interpretations of the Pope’s words and accusations of Marxism underlined the need to explain that the Pope’s proposal for an “economy that is always more inclusive” does not imply the abandonment of a market economy, and that his allusion to an “economy that kills” refers to the idolatry of money.

In a press release issued prior to the conference, the pontifical council stated that “the seminar materials confirm that Catholic Social Teaching does not fight a market-based economy provided it operates in a coordinated fashion and is oriented toward the common good; where the free market develops with inclusivity, stability, transparency and democracy (rather than an oligarchy). This means an economy that considers its political and philosophical base as well as its financial impact.”

 

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Further information:

• Conference underlines Pope’s social justice teachings (Vatican Radio)
• Vatican Seminar on the Global Common Good (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace)