Marx gets Vatican thumbs up

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article37253.ece ^

[kronos77]

Amid the worst recession in generations, Karl Marx, who famously described religion as “the opium of the people”, got a thumbs up from the Vatican overturning a century of Catholic hostility to his creed.

Marx, who predicted that capitalism would be destroyed by its internal contradictions, has joined Galileo, Charles Darwin and Oscar Wilde on a growing list of historical figures to have undergone an unlikely reappraisal by the Roman Catholic Church, The Times newspaper said on Thursday.

The British daily, quoting the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, said Marx’s early critiques of capitalism had highlighted the “social alienation” felt by the “large part of humanity” that remained excluded from economic and political decision-making.

Amid signs of recovery in global financial markets, Christian leaders have flayed the capitalist system for displaying a lack of moral values, arguing that ethical debates needs to be given greater prominence.

Georg Sans, a German-born professor of the history of contemporary philosophy at the pontifical Gregorian University, argues that Marx’s work remained especially relevant today as mankind was seeking “a new harmony” between its needs and the natural environment.

The report quoted Prof. Sans as saying that Marx’s theories may help to explain the enduring issue of income inequality within capitalist societies.

[Mad Dawg]

Wow! Four armpits!

What's your deodorant budget like?

As for the skin color, we all warned you about those silver halide treatments, but would you listen? Look at you now!

[Mrs. Don-o]

"...when you come right down to it this is remarkably similar to what other Christians do."

Eek! O noes!

It might have something to do with the unfortunate prevalence of all kinds of madcap, makeshift, backslidden, tawdry, shufflin', substandard (ahem) "human beings" in "churches"?

[Mrs. Don-o]

Whoa! This is classic!

[Mrs. Don-o]

You brief ode sweetie, you.

[Mad Dawg]

Turn in your decoder ring.

NO! PLEASE! MASTER! NO!

I'll be good. I'll go kill some scientists, I promise! I'll make it painful and then leave encrypted clues about it in paintings and stuff.

I'll even get a Jesuit to write an article referring obliquely to it.

[Mad Dawg]

All this tending and blurring does not give an accurate, still less a logical account of things.

Okay, what is the evidence to support the contention that an accurate and logical account is what is being sought here? I don't think that our antagonists are going for either accuracy or logic.

[SoothingDave]

She turned me into a newt.

[Mad Dawg]

Or Laz tends toward radioactivity, radioactivity is associated with nuclear stuff, that makes me think of The China Syndrome, therefore Lazamataz is Jane Fonda?

Works for me ....

[Mad Dawg]

IS it dead yet, or do we need to stomp on it some more?

[Judith Anne]

Gosh I hope not, it’s hilarious and I could use some more laughs. :D At anyone’s expense. Even my own.

[Judith Anne]

Wait-— I take that back!

It’s dead, Jim.

[Mad Dawg]

Conservatives believe the information is most available at the local and individual level, elitists believe that a centralized elite authority has the necessary information (and better wisdom, intellect and morality) to make the decisions.

Sometime you might want to look into what we feelthy papists mean by "subsidiarity." I actually dare to think you might like it.

[Mad Dawg]

It’s dead, Jim.

You're right, Bones. Still, keep your phaser handy. This enemy doesn't quit, even in the face of reason.

[the OlLine Rebel]

‘Marx’s early critiques of capitalism had highlighted the “social alienation” felt by the “large part of humanity” that remained excluded from economic and political decision-making.’

That’s funny, because at the time this underage “genius” who’d never been inside a factory wrote about these things, the US was the purest capitalist country in the world, and there were no doubts about people prospering and being happy about their lot there - including those poor immigrants who had worse troubles in their homelands.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"Looks like they say that the Church doesn’t have the technical ability to implement the system... and therefore, inherently endorses the State to do so."

How does this follow?

Do you think the Church saying "We don't have detailed plans to make each family's decisions" means "so Josef Fritzl can do as he likes"?

The Church does not claim to be an omni-competent agency which is an expert in every secular arena (whether politics or astrophysics or biology or whatever) but does claim to teaching authority (called "the Magisterium") in matters of faith and morals.

There ar two ways to err here: one is by taking a complete stand-off stance ("Third Reich? Well, it's not my vocation to make judgments about politics") or to try to "run everything" (like Cardinal Richelieu trying to "run" 17th century France.)

In general, the Church's pattern is that the Magisterium does the authoritative teaching on faith and morals (principles), while, on the other hand, the shaping of the secular world (practice) is the vocation of the laity.

If you're interested in pondering how this Church-and-state thing works out in the real world -- the "real world" being usually a mixed bag --- I offer you someting I wrote almost 15 years ago about one case among many: Quebec.

[stockpirate]

Please.....

[Mrs. Don-o]

I'd go with the extreme southern conditional tense, e.g.: "maybe might could

An' if that ain't true, grits ain't groceries.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I think you're referring to the latest encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate,” or “Charity in Truth.” It has a very full and solid section on subsidiarity, which is the principle that social responsibilities are always to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Pope Benedict goes on to say this:

“Subsidiarity is the most effective antidote against any form of all encompassing welfare state…In order not to produce a dangerous universal power of a tyrannical nature, the governance of globalization must be marked by subsidiarity, articulated into several layers and involving different levels that can work together.

“Globalization certainly requires authority, insofar as it poses the problem of a global common good that needs to be pursued. This authority, however, must be organized in a subsidiary and stratified way, if it is not to infringe upon freedom and if it is to yield effective results in practice.”

I think the problem many have -— and it’s an understandable one -— is that most of us haven’t the time, the sustained interest, or the analytical ability to read and digest a 30,000 word encyclical. So people glom onto some Reuters take-away quote, never noting that it’s in the midst of a much larger argument dealing with the crying need for localized and personalized initiative and responsibility.

[netmilsmom]

You forgot, "Rome says..."

And I do love Rome.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The vatican(sic) and priests can influence their members to vote in a certain way, can influence their worldview, and, indirectly, control the government of democracies.

As evidenced by unscientific exit polls showing a majority of "Catholics" voted for the Kenyan Communist in 2008, even though so many Bishops and Priests and the Vatican said not to.

Try again, sport.