The Church, the Economy, and Social Justice: Reflections on Caritas in Veritate

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Daniel Finn,St. John鈥檚 University
Robert Imbelli,艾可直播 College
Stephen Pope,艾可直播 College

Date:听October 8, 2009

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Abstract

As the world recovered from a global economic crisis in June 2009, Pope Benedict XVI released an important papal encyclical on human economic development.听Caritas in Veritate听(Charity听in Truth) addresses important social questions at length from a Catholic perspective, and has prompted much discussion on both the political left and right. The Boisi Center brings together a panel of experts to reflect on the theological basis as well as the practical significance of the encyclical.

Speaker Bios

Daniel Finn

Daniel Finn听is a professor of economics and theology at St. John鈥檚 University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Professor Finn is the current president of the Society of Christian Ethics and a past president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Association for Social Economics. Professor Finn has written extensively on Catholic social thought and economics and his recent work includes听The Moral Ecology of Markets: Assessing Claims about Markets and Justice听(Cambridge, 2006) as well as articles in both Commonweal and Origins. He has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to theology and economics, including the Monica Hellwig Award from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities for outstanding contributions to Catholic intellectual life.

Robert Imbelli

Robert Imbelli听is an associate professor at 艾可直播 College and a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. Father Imbelli completed his S.T.L. at the Gregorian University in Rome and obtained his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Yale University. He was the director of the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at 艾可直播 College from 1986 to 1993, and is a past member of the board of the Catholic Theological Society of America. He edited and introduced the volume, "Handing on the Faith: the Church's Mission and Challenge," in 艾可直播 College's Church in the 21st Century series. He is also the author of several articles and chapters on Catholic systematic theology. His research interests include Christology, Trinitarian theology, and Christian spirituality.

Stephen Pope

Stephen Pope听is a professor of theology at 艾可直播 College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has since taught and written extensively on social ethics and theological ethics. Professor Pope is a member of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Catholic Theological Society of America. In 2007, he completed his most recent work,听Human Evolution and Christian Ethics听(Cambridge, 2007). He is also the author of听The Evolution of Altruism and the Ordering of Love听(Georgetown, 1994) and editor of听Essays on the Ethics of St. Thomas Aquinas听(Georgetown, 2001).

Event Photos

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L to R: Stephen Pope, Daniel Finn, Erik Owens and Robert Imbelli

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L to R: Daniel Finn and Stephen Pope

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Stephen Pope

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Daniel Finn

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Robert Imbelli

Event Recap

As parts of the world began to recover last summer from the global economic crisis, Pope Benedict XVI released an important encyclical, or teaching document, on human economic development. Caritas in Veritate (鈥淐harity in Truth鈥) brings Catholic social thought to bear upon global economic life in ways that have inspired, and confounded, readers across the political and theological spectrum. To gain some purchase on the implications and importance of this document, the Boisi Center hosted a conversation on October 8 (in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the Fulton Debate Room) with three Catholic scholars who are expert in economics, ethics and systematic theology.

The keynote speaker was Daniel Finn, professor of theology and the Clemens Professor of Economics and the Liberal Arts at St. John鈥檚 University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Professor Finn, author of several books on economics and Catholic social thought, discussed the 鈥淏ologna school鈥 of economic thought that undergirds Caritas in Veritate, which highlights reciprocity rather than altruism as a means of fostering right relations in the economic realm. The end goal is a more civil鈥攎eaning both civilized and non-state directed鈥攅conomy that encourages profit a means for achieving human and social ends. 鈥淗ybrid firms鈥 which pursue both commercial and social ends are necessary to achieving this goal, as is an active civil society.

The next speaker, 艾可直播 College theology professor Stephen Pope, focused on the ethical dimensions of the encyclical鈥檚 call for an 鈥渁uthentic humanism鈥 that seeks to reintegrate morality into public life, including economic activity. Social justice and charity are the keys to this effort, which must foster a global morality that can overcome the 鈥渆nlightened egoism鈥 inherent in current economic and social life. Professor Pope鈥檚 primary critique centered upon the encyclical鈥檚 breadth; in trying to cover too much ground, he said, it favored theological abstraction over concrete ethical analysis. A focus on the ethical challenges, Pope said, are crucial when contemplating the universal implications of love, charity, and social justice in a pluralist society that holds divergent views of such concepts.

The final panelist was Robert Imbelli, a Catholic priest and associate professor of theology at 艾可直播 College. A systematic theologian like Benedict XVI himself, Fr. Imbelli reminded the audience that theology properly forms the center of the pope鈥檚 encyclical, as evidenced by several themes in Caritas in Veritate. First, the encyclical roots Catholic social teaching in the Gospel rather than natural law reasoning, Imbelli argued, and any analysis of Caritas based only on de-contextualized natural law reasoning 鈥渞isks reducing religion to ethics.鈥 Second, Imbelli noted, the pope鈥檚 central argument for an 鈥渋ntegral humanism鈥 that embraces 鈥渢he good of every man and of the whole man鈥 is itself ultimately grounded in Christology, which explores the meaning of Christ鈥檚 incarnation. Fr. Imbelli concluded by reflecting on the limits of regulatory policy, for 鈥渟tructural change, however necessary, can never substitute for authentic conversion of hearts and minds,鈥 which itself requires ongoing spiritual exercise.

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Further Reading

"Pope Benedict鈥檚 'Caritas in Veritate'" by Daniel Finn in Commonweal, 2009.

Economics of Charity听by Daniel Finn, 2006.

"Not Bold Enough" by Eugene McCarraher in Commonweal, 2009.

"Pope Benedict XVI鈥檚 Caritas" Michael Novak in First Things, 2009.

"Reason and Natural Law" by Stephen Pope in The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics, ed. Gilbert Meilaender and William Werpehowski (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2005), p. 148鈥167.

"Benedict XVI鈥檚 Deus Caritas Est: An Ethical Analysis" by Stephen Pope in Applied Ethics in a World Church: The Padua Conference, ed. Linda Hogan (Orbis Books: Maryknoll, 2008), p. 271鈥277.

"Natural Law in Catholic Social Teaching" by Stephen Pope in Modern Catholic Social Teaching, ed. Kenneth R. Himes, O.F.M, et al. (Georgetown Univeristy Press: Washington D.C., 2005) p. 41-71.

"From the Vatican, a Tough Read" by Peter Steinfels in The New York Times, 2009.

"In Defense of Politics" Commonweal editorial, 2009.

External Links

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:听

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