Pope Benedict XVI used his flight to Madrid for World Youth Day to call
for a new ethical code in global economics. Spain currently has the
highest unemployment rate in the industrialized world, with nearly 50
percent of its young people unable to find work.
“The economy doesn’t function with market self-regulation but needs an ethical reason to work for mankind,” the Pope told reporters aboard the papal plane.
“The economy doesn’t function with market self-regulation but needs an ethical reason to work for mankind,” the Pope told reporters aboard the papal plane.
“Man
must be at the center of the economy, and the economy cannot be
measured only by maximization of profit but rather according to the
common good.”
Pope Benedict drew upon his 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” or “Charity in Truth” in which he asserted that the dignity of the person must be central to all economic decisions.
Pope Benedict drew upon his 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” or “Charity in Truth” in which he asserted that the dignity of the person must be central to all economic decisions.
He
told reporters that the current economic crisis afflicting many young
people in countries like Spain again shows that a moral dimension isn’t
“exterior” but “interior and fundamental” to the formulation of economic
policy.
Among the welcoming party at Madrid’s Barajas Airport
were Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and
his conservative opposition leader Marian Rajoy.
With both men
listening, the Pope once again dwelt upon matters economic in his
opening remarks.
“Many young people look worriedly to the future,
as they search for work, either because they have lost their job or
because the one they have is precarious or uncertain.”
It was a
sentiment that echoed King Juan Carlos’ comments moment before. He said
Spain’s youth are “frustrated by the lack of personal and work
possibilities, and rebel against the serious problems facing the world
today.”
Last night, around 5,000 individuals took to the streets of Madrid to protest, they said, against the cost of the papal visit to Spain.
Last night, around 5,000 individuals took to the streets of Madrid to protest, they said, against the cost of the papal visit to Spain.
Police arrested eight of the demonstrators after groups of
protesters started taunting and attacking young pilgrims.
Organizers
of World Youth Day say the event is being fully paid for by the
Catholic Church and pilgrims but not by the Spanish state.
They also
point out the economic boost that a million or more visitors to Madrid
are giving to Spain’s ailing economy.