This month the Pope asks us to pray ‘that the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equity, taking account of the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest’.

 

Cathy Molloy

Social Theology Officer with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice

 

 

In times of recession such as we are experiencing in Ireland these days there is a very natural tendency to ‘batten down the hatches’, to shut out the wider world in our effort to hold onto what we have. When we have lost out, it is hard not to put all our energy and focus on to our own survival and that of those we love, or are immediately responsible for.

This is as true at national level as it is at the level of family. Pope Benedict, with this month’s intention, is asking us to cast the net much wider and to think of the real needs of the poorest peoples and to pray for justice and fairness in the management of the world economy. The globalisation of prayer might be one way to describe what he is talking about.

Among the most serious issues facing us all today is the question of climate change and environmental destruction. Scientists tell us that this has been brought about largely by the reckless exploiting of the natural resources of our world. These resources, which the social teaching of the church tells us are for the benefit of everyone, have been plundered mainly in the service of levels of consumption in rich countries that are simply not sustainable. The fundamental needs of the poorest peoples have too often been trampled on in the process.

In countries where poverty is partly the result of the heavy burden of foreign debt, accompanied by trading agreements that prohibit fair access to world markets for their goods, conditions can make it virtually impossible to avoid exploitation of the environment. We see the effects in disturbed weather patterns, drought, crop-failure and the displacement of people, with generations of children growing to adulthood in refugee camps in many parts of the world. In justice the economic and social costs of using up shared resources should be borne by those who incur them not by other peoples or by future generations. This intergenerational aspect of justice is central to what the Pope means by justice and equity in the management of the world economy.

We know from the debates of recent months that many people feel a sense of outrage and injustice at the fact that people who had no part in the actions that led to the financial crisis are forced to pay the price of the recklessness and greed of others. Whether in terms of job losses, cut-backs to services or a in living standards, we are all affected and our children will continue to have to make up the losses for years to come. So, we may all have to do with less at Easter or Christmas, or be unable to buy the new clothes we might like, or go on a holiday, but hopefully we can rely on our government to ensure that the least well-off in Ireland will have shelter, water and sufficient food. We hope also that basic health-care and education will be provided, even if not to the standards we would like.

None of these necessities of life are sure for the vast numbers among the world’s poorest peoples. High levels of consumption in the richest countries are only part of the story. Unfair, restrictive practices and trading agreements, low prices paid for raw materials and subsistence wages paid to workers, high prices which deprive many of essential medicine, are responsible for holding back the development of many people.

The absence of justice and equity in the management of aspects of the world economy means that many people are without livelihoods. Here we are not talking just about job-losses and less money for new clothes. We are talking about the necessities for living – water, food, shelter. Leaders of rich countries certainly are aware of the problems –they debate the appropriate amount of aid to be given according to their current financial status. But is there not an apparent contradiction in wealthy countries allocating aid to developing countries without also acknowledging and seriously reducing their own part in causing the need for that aid?

Those who manage the world economy have enormous responsibility for the well-being of all people and peoples. They need our prayers. Desire for justice and equity is not a given of leadership. Leadership and good management are not givens of those who desire and work for justice and equity. We might join our prayers to those of the Pope in the hope that these qualities may be to the fore in those men and women who are charged with working out the way ahead for the economic development of all peoples. The interdependence and interconnectedness of people and peoples becomes more obvious as the impact of world recession is understood. They need also to listen to people at all levels of society in all countries to discover their real needs beyond the basics of survival.

Maybe it’s time to acknowledge that ever more material wealth, particularly when it is so unevenly distributed, is not the answer to the pursuit of happiness. A sense of belonging, participating in society, having a real say in what affects your life, the chance to love and be loved, are important real needs of people whatever their circumstances.

Along with our prayers, we can also change the way we think and act. We can make the connections between the material consumption involved in our life-style, and the drain on scarce resources that is caused by what we use, not to mention what we waste. We know that this impacts on the very survival of others in faraway parts of the world.

Maybe it’s also time to acknowledge that, right now, here at home, the emotional survival of many people will need to be helped by attention to their real needs, such as belonging and participating in the community, knowing they are valued and loved whatever their social and economic circumstances. We must act as well as pray. The Pope’s intention this month requires nothing less.