Bernie Sanders calls for a 'moral economy' at the Vatican
Bernie Sanders addresses the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
Photo: cbsnews.com
“Bernie Sanders launched one of the most powerful indictments of modern capitalism of his campaign in the Vatican on Friday (15 April 2016), saying that the greatest challenge facing the world was a moral imperative to redirect “our efforts and vision to the common good”.
The sweeping remarks were delivered in the shadow of St Peter’s dome, about an hour after the Democratic presidential candidate touched down in Rome for a short stay in the EternalCity to take part in a Vatican-sponsored academic conference.
Sanders seemed to relish adopting some of the damning language Francis himself has used to describe the harm of “unfettered capitalism”, which the Argentinean pontiff has denounced as “the dung of the devil”.
Alluding to the words of Pope Leo XIII over a century ago that pointed to the “enormous wealth of a few as opposed to the poverty of the many”, Sanders said the situation was far worse today.
Sanders also pointed to the “unheeded” warnings of Pope John Paul about the “excesses of untrammelled finance”, which he said had been “deeply prescient” following the fall of communism in eastern Europe.
“Speculation, illicit financial flows, environmental destruction, and the weakening of the rights of workers is far more severe than it was a quarter century ago,” Sanders said. “Financial excesses, indeed widespread financial criminality on Wall Street, played a direct role in causing the world’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.”
Sanders delivered his remarks at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, at an academic conference which also hosted the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, and the Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa.”
Read more:
The above excerpts were taken from:
Bernie Sanders stresses 'common good' in Vatican attack on capitalism
For further readings on the social teachings of the Catholic Church see:
Globalisation for the Common Good
