Posted on 08/20/2009 12:30:40 PM PDT by IbJensen
As observers continue to decipher the meaning of Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, all appear to agree that the passage of note, the passage that may prove historic in its implications, is the one that is already becoming known as the “world political authority” paragraph:
In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority. . . .
Could Benedict be in favor of world government, as many now believe? Taken in the context of papal writings since the dawn of the UN, as well as Benedict’s own opinions, recorded both before and after his election as pope, the passage gains another meaning. It is in reality a profound challenge to the UN, and the other international organizations, to make themselves worthy of authority, of the authority that they already possess, and worthy of the expansion of authority that appears to be necessary in light of the accelerated pace of globalization.
It is true that Benedict believes that a transnational organization must be empowered to address transnational problems. But so has every pope since John XXIII, who wrote in 1963 that “Today the universal common good presents us with problems which are worldwide in their dimensions; problems, therefore, which cannot be solved except by a public authority with power, organization, and means coextensive with these problems, and with a worldwide sphere of activity. Consequently the moral order itself demands the establishment of some such form of public authority.”
But such an authority has been established, and we have lived with it since 1948, and in many ways it has disappointed. So Benedict turns John XXIII’s formulation on its head: Morality no longer simply demands a global social order; now Benedict underscores that this existing social order must operate in accord with morality. He ends his own passage on world authority by stating that “The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization. They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order. . . .” Note the phrase “at last.”
What went wrong? According to Benedict, a world authority worthy of this authority would need “to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth.” The obvious implication is that the current UN has not made this commitment.
To understand how the UN has failed, we must delve into the rest of the encyclical. According to Benedict, the goal of all international institutions must be “authentic integral human development.” This human development must be inspired by truth, in this case, the truth about humanity. Pursuit of this truth reveals that each human being possesses absolute worth; therefore, authentic human development is predicated on a radical defense of life.
This link is made repeatedly in Caritas in Veritate. “Openness to life is at the center of true development. . . . The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help. . . . They can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and individual.”
To some, it must seem startling how often Benedict comes back to life in an encyclical ostensibly dedicated to economics and globalization. But this must be understood as Benedict’s effort to humanize globalization. It can be seen as the global application of John Paul II’s own encyclical on life, Evengelium Vitae.
Without this understanding of the primacy of life, international development is bound to fail: “Who could measure the negative effects of this kind of mentality for development? How can we be surprised by the indifference shown towards situations of human degradation, when such indifference extends even to our attitude towards what is and is not human?”
Throughout the encyclical, Benedict is unsparing in the ways in which the current international order contributes to this failure; no major front in the war over life is left unmentioned, from population control, to bioethics, to euthanasia.
But none of this should come as a surprise. Since at least as far back as the UN’s major conferences of the 1990s—Cairo and Beijing—Benedict has known that the UN has adopted a model of development conformed to the culture of death. He no doubt assisted John Paul II in his successful efforts to stop these conferences from establishing an international right to abortion-on-demand. At the time, Benedict said, “Today there is no longer a ‘philosophy of love’ but only a ‘philosophy of selfishness.’ It is precisely here that people are deceived. In fact, at the moment they are advised not to love, they are advised, in the final analysis, not to be human. For this reason, at this stage of the development of the new image of the new world, Christians . . . have a duty to protest.”
Now, in his teaching role as pope, Benedict is not simply protesting but offering the Christian alternative, the full exposition of authentic human development. Whether or not the UN can meet the philosophical challenges necessary to promote this true development remains uncertain. But it should not be assumed that Benedict is sanguine; after all, he begins his purported embrace of world government with a call for UN “reform,” not expansion.
It makes perfect sense to me, IbJensen.
This pope could not have been any clearer in his defense of this very literal communistic agenda -- one elite power coordinating and controlling every aspect of every person and country on earth.
But that has always been the agenda of Rome so we shouldn't be surprised. Can another Inquisition ("with teeth") be far behind?
Lol. Wonder just what “hand” is “invisible?”
Dear brother in Christ, this is precisely what Pope Benedict is warning us about in Caritas in Veritate. He sees what's going on at the higher echelons of so-called "world government" and transnational institutions. He has "b*tch-slapped" the U.N. big time.
I can’t make rational sense of it
WHEN
I compare what he writes with the real world.
i.e.
He writes AS THOUGH
the satanic globalist government that has been in power for decades and is looming overtly on the near horizon
AS THOUGH
THAT
is remotely redeemable by TRUTH IN LOVE.
It’s not.
It will NOT be redeemed in any way shape or form or degree. Scripture is clear about that.
Things WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY MORE HORRIFIC
until AFTER Armageddon.
HE OUGHT to know that.
Pretending otherwise is . . . beyond words, for someone in his position.
Writing otherwise with all manner of double-speak hopeful sounding words and phrases plays dreadfully into the satanic globalist government’s hands.
I WISH
I could construe it otherwise.
Have pondered it for many weeks.
I would sure like to believ that.
If you can help me see that, wonderful.
I can’t see it from repeated readings.
-- direct quote, from the official English translation found on the Vatican website.67. In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect[146] and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago. Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good[147], and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth. Furthermore, such an authority would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights[148]. Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums. Without this, despite the great progress accomplished in various sectors, international law would risk being conditioned by the balance of power among the strongest nations. The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater degree of international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization[149]. They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order, to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations.
SURE SOUNDS LIKE
an intensifying, strengthening, worsening
of UN powers
to me.
Hideous.
Thanks.
Well done.
The only people this pope has "b*tch-slapped" would be the American people and citizens of free republics everywhere.
We've had this discussion before and we obviously take away very different opinions of the pope's remarks, especially those listed in POST 91.
Those words are his, and regardless of any surrounding florid prose, those words condemn him.
All Americans should be appalled at his careless dismissal of the liberties God has granted this country for 200 years. Pity some aren't.
Obama seems to want to regulate morality
Muslims want to regulate morality
The Taliban wants to regulate morality
Orthodox jews want to regulate morality
Christian fundamentalists want to regulate morality
A lot of the world's population don't want their morality regulated. A lot want it regulated, just not in the proposed ways
So just who is going to regulate the world's morality? If you believe, as the bible teaches, that man is depraved to begin with, regulating his morality is a futile endeavor
But it should not be assumed that Benedict is sanguine; after all, he begins his purported embrace of world government with a call for UN “reform,” not expansion.
*******************
It seems that the answer to the question is "No".
*********************
Indeed.
trhis distinction explains so much on the RF, doesn't it?
In other words, we will all live under the Law, and I do believe this has been tried before
I sure don’t know. Born again believers should also know enough not to vote for pro-choice candidates but apparently they do not.
If not for sin, we would be living in a world order. In a sinless world, man would obey natural law and be a united brotherhood.
We will live in the kind of world the Pope is talking about after the final judgment; but it is still a goal we should all strive for daily. If everyone did the right thing by every person encountered, this would be heaven on earth.
Our choice to sin affects everything. Some believe that this is why Satan defied God: God chose to create us with free will and Satan saw us as a flawed creation. He couldn’t accept God’s will about us.
Don’t count on everyone else knowing it before Catholics do. They are most apt to be deceived because they feel the Pope can do no wrong. There are many born again Christians who understand end times much more than Catholics do (most Catholics, not all) and we are aware of things as they are beginning to unfold.
On what basis do you make this statement? If this is a reference to "Papal Infallibility," it belies a typically superficial understanding of the term.
With all due respect, if I had to judge just from this one post, I'd say you really don't understand Catholics and Catholicism. And if this is the impression your Catholic friends have given you, maybe you should read up a little more, or expand your circle of buddies a bit.
What’s interesting is that the Pope’s idea of socialism doesn’t appear to be what the leftist view of socialism is. They are all willing to get on board universal health care but are they willing to support abortion to bring it about? Personally, I think the Pope naive believes that you can make pacts with the devil.
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