Is Anyone Listening?

In April, Pope Benedict during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square said that greed lies at the root of all evil and is the source of the current economic crisis. Greed-one of the 7 deadly sins has caused havoc. On July 7th, Pope Benedict's third encyclical, Charity in Truth, was released. The document took two years to write and many revisions were made to incorporate "fallout from the financial crisis." It was released the day before leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations met to coordinate efforts to deal with the global meltdown, signaling a clear Vatican bid to prod leaders for a financially responsible future.......(Newsday). 

In the document, Pope Benedict wrote, global economic activity needs to be directed toward pursuit of the common good and that businesses need to stop speculating for short-term profits at the expense of the larger community. 

Is anyone listening? If Pope Benedict is correct, which I'm sure he is, and if greed caused this global financial meltdown mess, then his words from the encyclical, that justice must be applied to every phase of economic activity should be taken very seriously by world and business leaders. Obviously, lies, greed and selfishness is not working and is causing havoc, on rich and poor alike. American households lost $1.33 trillion of their wealth in the first three months of the year alone. 

Each day, according to Bread (published by Bread for the World), 26,000 children die due to preventable causes. Forty percent of people in the world today live on less than $2.00 a day. I support the work of Bread for the World and other charities and in these small ways I feel as if I'm doing something, doing my part to help. But there is still more to do. We can all do something, small or great to help improve the plight of the poor in our country and in the world. 

Perhaps when all of us who can help, start giving more and caring for our brothers and sisters, throughout the world, then things will begin to change. Then perhaps everyone's wealth will be restored.........The current course of action does not seem to be working for anyone.

NJA