The Vatican Calls For An End to Capitalism (The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace)

Real Clear Markets ^ | 10/30/2011 | Bill Frezza

[SeekAndFind]

Adding a spiritual dimension to the incoherent war on capitalism rapidly spreading across Europe and America, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, an official Vatican body, last week published a sweeping scholarly tome calling for the end of capitalism, individualism, free markets, and national sovereignty. Sound far-fetched? Consider what the proposal would entail.

Under the Council's proposal, the fiscal and monetary authorities of all nations of the world, as well as that of all financial institutions both public and private, are to be gradually subjugated under a supranational public authority with universal jurisdiction. This is to be financed by a global central bank empowered to collect a tax on all financial transactions. This bank would regulate all monetary exchange while also having the authority to promote global development and sustainability according to the principles of social justice and solidarity. It could also contribute to the creation of a world reserve fund to support the economies of countries hit by crisis.

This reform process is to be managed by the United Nations, whose mandate will be to act on behalf of the common good. Details as to what constitutes the common good are left to the reader's imagination.

I am not making any of this up; most of the words above come directly from the document. You can read it yourself on the Vatican website. I read it four times before I came to the conclusion that it was not published by The Onion. Given its timeliness and its influential source, I was amazed at how little news coverage it received.

Calls for the end of selfishness and income inequality coming from an organization that has spent centuries amassing treasure, none of which has been pledged to form the capital of the recommended global central bank, begs many questions.

[SeekAndFind]

Full Text: Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Here:

http://www.news.va/en/news/full-text-note-on-financial-reform-from-the-pontif

[MichaelP]

The Vatican can kiss my A$$ too!

Mike

[arderkrag]

The ecumenical movement reaches a fever pitch, and the one-world-church moves closer to being realized.

[Army Air Corps]

So, creating an unelected global thugocracy is their solution. Nice going, folks.

[airborne]

I'd like them to lead by example, sell of all of their massive treasure, and give it all away!

Then, maybe, we can talk.

[OldNavyVet]

This does not speak well about the Catholic Church.

A fact of life, to me, is that ...

Idiots reign where socialists prevail.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

This ain't "The Vatican."

It's one little obscure subcommittee of Leftists pretending to speak for "The Vatican."

[Alex Murphy]

....the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, an official Vatican body, last week published a sweeping scholarly tome calling for the end of capitalism, individualism, free markets, and national sovereignty. Sound far-fetched?

Not at all:

The notion that capitalism is somehow necessarily and inevitably a friend of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest American delusions of the past century. That doesn't make capitalism evil. It makes it a "philosophy according to human tradition" and no necessary part of the Faith.
-- Catholic apologist Mark Shea
in the FR thread Capitalism, Colossians and the Miller Brewing Company

[Don Corleone]

The Pope did not produce this paper. His is the only word that counts. The rest is interior POLITICS!

[silverleaf]

Someone needs to remind the Church that capital belongs to Caesar and Caesar’s profits prop up the socialist world

[wmfights]

...the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, an official Vatican body, last week published a sweeping scholarly tome calling for the end of capitalism, individualism, free markets, and national sovereignty.

This is really no different than what we see from academia. You get a bunch of "intellectuals" who love theory, but have never really done anything in the marketplace claiming they know a better way. They are ignorant and don't even know it.

[coloradan]

How are we expected to cease that which we do not have?

[TheBattman]

Another but if evidence backing up the line of thought that the Roman church will be part of the “new world order” that includes the Anti-Christ and one-world religious system that will be a primary support of the Anti-Christ.

[markomalley]

I read it four times before …

Amazing that he read it four times and could not comprehend simple English.

For example:

• Under the Council's proposal, the fiscal and monetary authorities of all nations of the world, as well as that of all financial institutions both public and private, are to be gradually subjugated under a supranational public authority with universal jurisdiction.

  Uhhh...not exactly. They are calling for something that beefs up the IMF. Bringing back the princples of Bretton Woods (for those who don't know, Bretton Woods pegged the values of currency to Gold. Yes, children, a gold standard)

• This is to be financed by a global central bank empowered to collect a tax on all financial transactions.

  Uh, not exactly. The exact words were:
  On the basis of this sort of ethical approach, it seems advisable to reflect, for example, on: a) taxation measures on financial transactions through fair but modulated rates with charges proportionate to the complexity of the operations, especially those made on the “secondary” market…
  In other words: they said people should think about something like that...they did not call for that as a definite part of a plan.

• This reform process is to be managed by the United Nations…
  Uh, not exactly. The document actually said: It would seem logical for the reform process to proceed with the United Nations as its reference because of the worldwide scope of its responsibilities, its ability to bring together the nations of the world, and the diversity of its tasks and those of its specialized Agencies.

  Proceeding with the UN as a "reference point" is not the same...or even close...to saying that all this power should be turned over to the UN. It actually means looking at the idea of the UN as a starting point for a model of how to proceed.

If you actually bother to read the document carefully, you'll find that it calls for a return to something similar to the Gold Standard and for responsible monetary policy (a/k/a not allowing for BS like QE2 or QE3...not allowing countries to become another Weimar Germany or another Nigeria...or another Bernacke-controlled USA).

But conspiracy theories are far easier to believe, I guess.

Oh, and for the record, I think the document is far too Pollyanish...but it is hardly anything even close to what the media (and many here) are trying to make it.

[Enosh]

"This reform process is to be managed by the United Nations..."

LOL!

[HamiltonJay]

Actually what folks need be reminded of, is that this document is meaningless politics and does not represent any sort of policy or doctrine.

I know the press won’t bother to investigate or report the truth, since they are lazy and leftist.. but hopefully some folks will here before they continue their bashing.

Get informed about the truth here:

http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=21986

[cowtowney]

bmp

[dragonblustar]

his ain't "The Vatican." It's one little obscure subcommittee of Leftists pretending to speak for "The Vatican."

Why can't the Pope get rid of these bums? He should purge out all marxists and leftists.

[MEGoody]

You claim this “ain’t the Vatican” and yet the article claims you can read it yourself on the Vatican website. Are you denying that it is on the Vatican website, or are you saying the Vatican has no control over what’s posted on its website?