VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was a an address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, during the "Substantive Session" of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
In his English-language talk, which he delivered on July 4, Archbishop Tomasi made it clear that "the continued effort to address the plight of people trapped in poverty and to search for new ways and means to free them from its destructive consequences remains essential if the international community wants to achieve truly integral human development."
"Poverty elimination demands an integration between the mechanisms that produce wealth and the mechanisms for the distribution of its benefits at the international, regional and national levels."
"The projects of multilateral institutions and developed countries aimed at reducing poverty and improving growth in poor regions, like the Millennium Development Goals, the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Poverty Reduction Strategy, have made some limited progress," said the permanent observer.
After highlighting the fact that "eradication of poverty is a moral engagement," Archbishop Tomasi concluded by saying that "the various religions and cultures see the achievement of this end as a most important task that frees people from much suffering and marginalization, that helps them to live peacefully together, and that provides individuals and communities the freedom to protect their dignity and actively contribute to the common good."
Originally posted by ivanhoe ERADICATION OF POVERTY IS A MORAL COMMITMENT
VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was a an address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, during the "Substantive Session" of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
In ...[text shortened]...
DELSS/POVERTY/TOMASI:GENEVA VIS 070716 (250)
Empty sound bites. The Catholic Church talks a good game about ending poverty, but their actual deeds fall far short of those flowery words. In practice the Church is far more interested in preserving the status quo and maintaining their own power than with alleviating poverty.
Originally posted by rwingett Empty sound bites. The Catholic Church talks a good game about ending poverty, but their actual deeds fall far short of those flowery words. In practice the Church is far more interested in preserving the status quo and maintaining their own power than with alleviating poverty.
The depth of your pessimism is appalling ! I think the Catholic Church is capable of a great deal more than you give them credit for.
Originally posted by ivanhoe ERADICATION OF POVERTY IS A MORAL COMMITMENT
VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was a an address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, during the "Substantive Session" of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
In ...[text shortened]...
DELSS/POVERTY/TOMASI:GENEVA VIS 070716 (250)
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi is interested in a temporary solution to the poverty problem. You can never permanently help one group by simply giving them other people's money.
Originally posted by Rajk999 The depth of your pessimism is appalling ! I think the Catholic Church is capable of a great deal more than you give them credit for.
They made 500 people millionaires in the Los Angeles diocese.
Originally posted by kirksey957 Exactly! They should be praising Jesus for being ass raped.
It makes you wonder to what extent Catholic parishioners would continue to tolerate and fund organized crime at the diocese level. For example, if the priests in some diocese were murdering children by the hundreds instead of molesting them, and the Cardinal was shuffling them around to murder among new parishioners while silencing families of prior victims with huge monetary payoffs, do you suppose Catholic parishioners would still give money to the Church, knowing that a portion is going to the planned and budgeted murder fund, or do you suppose that would be sufficient cause to compel them to make a stand and say enough is enough, seeing that the child molestation rings have not been sufficient cause?
Originally posted by DoctorScribbles It makes you wonder to what extent Catholic parishioners would continue to tolerate and fund organized crime at the diocese level. For example, if the priests in some diocese were murdering children by the hundreds instead of molesting them, and the Cardinal was shuffling them around to murder among new parishioners while silencing families o ...[text shortened]... nd say enough is enough, seeing that the child molestation rings have not been sufficient cause?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6900129.stm
What I couldn't find in this article were any legal consequences (jail) for any of the priests for which this settlement was designed. There may be some, but I don't hear much about it.
Originally posted by ivanhoe ERADICATION OF POVERTY IS A MORAL COMMITMENT
VATICAN CITY, JUL 14, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was a an address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, during the "Substantive Session" of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
In ...[text shortened]...
DELSS/POVERTY/TOMASI:GENEVA VIS 070716 (250)
Why don't they just sell off some of the golden statues around the place. What do they need them for?
Originally posted by rwingett Empty sound bites. The Catholic Church talks a good game about ending poverty, but their actual deeds fall far short of those flowery words. In practice the Church is far more interested in preserving the status quo and maintaining their own power than with alleviating poverty.
I must however say that in Zambia, the Catholic church is responsible for more charitable work than any other denomination. They are the biggest denomination but I suspect even if one calculated it per capita of its members it would be near the top of the most charitable list.
So although they could do better they are far from being the worst.
Originally posted by twhitehead I must however say that in Zambia, the Catholic church is responsible for more charitable work than any other denomination. They are the biggest denomination but I suspect even if one calculated it per capita of its members it would be near the top of the most charitable list.
So although they could do better they are far from being the worst.
The church is merely dealing with the symptoms of an inherently unjust system they are instrumental in building and which they have helped perpetuate. Since Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire it has been against every fundamental change in societal relations. They have stuck with the ruling classes and the status quo exclusively. The Church has helped build and maintain a system of which exploitation and poverty are integral features, and then they turn around and piously offer relief against the very symptoms they are responsible for creating. All the church is really doing is putting a band-aid on the problem.
One of the few notable exceptions to this has been with Liberation Theology, prominent in Central and South America, where the local clergy has actively joined the political struggle to bring social justice to the poor and oppressed. Of course the Vatican has taken a dim view of Liberation Theology, with Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both issuing various condemnations against it.
Eradication of poverty ...... (VIS)
16 Jul '07 14:591 edit
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