We can not put "the idols of power, profit, money, over and above the value of the human person." Unemployment "is spreading like wildfire in large areas of the West and boundaries of poverty are spreading at an alarming rate. And there is no worse material poverty, I am compelled to emphasize, than that which does not allow people to earn their daily bread and deprives them of the dignity of work. "

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Rethinking solidarity", "returning to the centrality of man, to a more ethical vision of human activities and relationships" for "a global rethinking of the system" is a requirement made more pressing by the current crisis, with "the phenomenon of unemployment spreading like wildfire." The crisis, in fact, warns Pope Francis, "is not only economic and financial but is rooted in an anthropological and ethical crisis" that puts "the idols of power, profit, money, over and above the value of the human person "forgetting that" above the business, logic and parameters of the marketplace, is a human being", who must able to "live in dignity".

The meeting with the Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice Foundation, who have been holding an n international conference on the theme "Rethinking Solidarity for Employment: The Challenges of the Twenty-First Century", was an opportunity today for the Pope's reflection on the actuality of the social doctrine of the Church and the need to "combine Church teaching with socio-economic development, which, being constant and fast, always presents us with new aspects."



In a reference to the problem addressed by the Foundation - established by Pope John Paul II twenty years ago, and which bears the name of one of his encyclical on work and the human person - Francis noted that "rethinking solidarity" certainly "does not mean questioning recent Magisterium, the foresight and actuality of which is increasingly coming to bear". It means "above all combining Church teaching with socio-economic development, which, being constant and fast, always presents new aspects for discussion". Secondly, it means "deepening and further reflecting on it, to bring out the entire fecundity of a value - solidarity, in this case - that draws deeply from the Gospel, which is Jesus Christ, and as such contains inexhaustible potential".

"The current economic and social crisis adds urgency to this 'rethinking' and brings out the truth and relevance of the Churches social teaching even more." Inside the crisis is the phenomenon of unemployment, "the lack and of loss employment, which is spreading like wildfire in large areas of the West and which is alarmingly spreading the confines of poverty. And there is no worse material poverty, I am compelled to emphasize, than that which does not allow people to earn their daily bread and deprives them of the dignity of work. By now this 'something is wrong' no longer concerns only the South, but the entire planet. This is why there is an ever greater need to 'rethink solidarity' no longer as simple assistance to the poor, but as a global rethinking of the whole system, such as finding ways to reform it and correct it in a manner consistent with the fundamental human rights of all men. We must restore this word 'solidarity', which is not well seen by the economic world - as if it were a bad word - its well-deserved social citizenship".

"The current crisis is not only economic and financial but is rooted in an anthropological and ethical crisis. The idols of power, profit, money, over and above the value of the human person, has become a basic mode of operation and decisive criterion in organization. It is forgotten and people still forget that above the business logic and parameters of the marketplace, there is the human being and there is something which is due to man , by virtue of his profound dignity: the opportunity to live with dignity and participate actively in the common good. Benedict XVI reminded us that every human activity, even in the economic sphere, precisely because it is human, must be structured and governed in an ethical manner. We must return to the centrality of man, to more ethical human activities and relationships, without the fear that in doing so we will lose something. "