Posted on 11/30/2012 5:32:37 PM PST by annalex
For your pinging pleasure.
charity is nothing if forced....
From wikipedia:
Rerum Novarum (Latin for On the New Things) is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”. Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler and Cardinal Henry Edward Manning were influential in its composition.
It discussed the relationships and mutual duties between labour and obtaining capital, as well as government and its citizens. Of primary concern was the need for some amelioration for “The misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.”[1] It supported the rights of labor to form unions, rejected communism and unrestricted capitalism, whilst affirming the right to private property.
Many of the positions in Rerum Novarum were supplemented by later encyclicals, in particular Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno (1931), John XXIII’s Mater et Magistra (1961), and John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus (1991).
And from Rerum Novarum, thinkers like GK Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc derived Distributism which supports private property as the foundation of society and which is neither pro-capitalist nor pro-socialist.
Unfortunately, my old posts on Rerum Novarum on FR are gone.
Surely forced distribution of property under certain circumstances in order to benefit the poor is a public good and so, while not charity, is still a legitimate function of government, according to the Catholic concept of government as a guardian of public good.
To dismiss all government role in economy as a displacement of charity is a bit too sweeping.
That's the beauty of the free enterprise system. It's voluntary.
We are all the owners of our own one person enterprise and we market our knowledge and skills to the best of our ability.
Some people are more successful than others.
Them that could, did. Them that couldn't, didn't.
Of course we are charitable to the old, young and handicapped.
Economic activity should be voluntary.
Charity should be voluntary.
Sometimes society has suffering, and no one steps up and voluntarily does anything. I have no easy answer to that conundrum. Force is bad. Suffering is bad. We live in a broken world and things don’t always follow along the lines we might like.
The Church is supposed to oppose a strong central government unless absolutely necessary, limited to functions that lower orders of authority can not handle on their own.
The Church is supposed to oppose Socialism.
But, sadly, it often does not.
Thanks for posting this. Finding articles like this that I wouldn’t otherwise come across via most of the media is one of the things that I really enjoy about FR.
**Is capitalism Catholic?**
Wouldn’t it have been a better title to ask if capitalism is Christian?
In answer to the question, of course, capitalism is OK with Catholics — otherwise you would not have private businesses laying lawsuits of the Obama asministration about the HHs mandate.
| This domain IS FOR SALE! Any takers? |
Thank you for reading.
My fingers did not work as fast as my brain did there.
otherwise you would not have private businesses laying lawsuits at the feet of the Obama asministration about the HHs mandate.
There are sensitibilities about it that are specifically Catholic. We, for example, consider usury to be sinful.
I wish i could find a parish with a priest like Fr Sirico.
Individuals that come to the conservatism upon leaving the
left really have a lot say that I find interesting.
I received communion from Fr.Sirico on the National Review
cruise in 2008. He is the brother of Tony Sirico who was of
course ‘Paulie Walnuts’ on The Sopranos,one of my favorite
characters. Unfortunately, they are estranged,I believe.
Capitalism is what people do when they are free.
Thus, it is Catholic.
Good point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.