Latest news with #EvangeliiGaudium
Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Pope Leo XIV outlines a path for a modern church that follows Pope Francis' steps
Pope Leo said he was committed to following a path of modernisation and cited a major document that Pope Francis issued in 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS VATICAN CITY – In his first formal address to Roman Catholic cardinals, Pope Leo XIV on May 10 said he would continue the work of Pope Francis in steering the church in a more missionary direction, with greater cooperation among church leaders and a closeness to the marginalised. Pope Leo said he was committed to following a path of modernisation and cited a major document that Pope Francis issued in 2013. From that document, Pope Leo highlighted multiple objectives, including 'growth in collegiality'; 'popular piety'; a 'loving care for the least and the rejected'; and 'courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world'. 'Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth,' Pope Leo said, referring to the document, called 'Evangelii Gaudium'. The new pope also explained the choice of his name. The previous pope with his name, Pope Leo XIII, issued a document called the 'Rerum Novarum,' known in English as 'Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour,' in the late 19th century in which he emphasised the church's right to make assertions about social issues as they related to moral questions. The document 'addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution,' Pope Leo explained. Now, the pope added, another industrial revolution was taking place in the field of artificial intelligence. That, he said, would 'pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour'. The church, he said, 'offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response'. The reference to Pope Francis' document was not the only endorsement that the new pope gave of his predecessor. Pope Francis, Pope Leo noted, was a 'humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters' who gave an 'example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life'. The cardinals appeared to have noted the message about maintaining the direction set by Pope Francis' papacy. As he exited the meeting, Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Venezuela said the pope 'spoke about the continuity of the pontificate of Francis'. Later, Pope Leo paid a visit to St Mary Major, where Pope Francis is buried. He stood in front of his predecessor's simple marble tomb. Before kneeling in front of it in prayer, he laid a white rose on it. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Leo XIV Outlines a Path for a Modern Church That Follows Francis' Steps
In his first formal address to Roman Catholic cardinals, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said he would continue the work of Pope Francis in steering the church in a more missionary direction, with greater cooperation among church leaders and a closeness to the marginalized. Leo said he was committed to following a path of modernization that the Church began in the 1960s, and cited a major document that Francis issued in 2013. From that document, Leo highlighted multiple objectives, including 'growth in collegiality,' 'popular piety,' a 'loving care for the least and the rejected,' and 'courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world.' 'Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth,' Leo said, referring to the document, called Evangelii Gaudium. The new pope also explained the choice of his name. The previous pope with his name, Leo XIII, issued a document called the 'Rerum Novarum,' known in English as 'Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor,' in the late 19th century in which he emphasized the church's right to make assertions about social issues as they related to moral questions. The document 'addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution,' Leo explained. Now, the pope added, another industrial revolution was taking place in the field of artificial intelligence. That, he said, would 'pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.' The church, he said, 'offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response.' The reference to Francis' document was not the only endorsement that the new pope gave of his predecessor. Francis, Leo noted, was a 'humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters,' who gave an 'example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life.' The cardinals appeared to have noted the message about maintaining the direction set by Francis' papacy. As he exited the meeting where Leo spoke, Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Venezuela said the pope 'spoke about the continuity of the pontificate of Francis and then he asked some questions to us.' Those questions were 'mostly about the formation of priests and bishops,' the cardinal added. On his way out of the meeting, Cardinal Sean Brady of Ireland said that Leo was in the process of 'greeting everybody now, which is very nice.'
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
The next pope should be more accepting of free markets
When Jorge Mario Bergoglio stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in 2013, what the world saw was both familiar and new. Surrounded by the usual courtly trappings, he looked every bit a pope. Yet Bergoglio, who called himself Francis, soon made it clear that he brought to Rome a set of pastoral priorities forged, not in the rarefied salons of Europe, but in the destitute barrios of Buenos Aires. In his first encyclical, 'Evangelii Gaudium,' Francis reasserted the church's preferential option for the poor and critiqued what he called 'an economy of exclusion.' 'Such an economy kills,' he wrote. 'As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.'
Forbes
25-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What Pope Francis Thought About Business Ethics
As the world mourns the loss of Pope Francis, I am reminded of my own interaction with the Vatican early in Francis's papacy. The Pope was eliciting the input from the business community on how one overcomes social and economic exclusion. This dialogue occurred not long after Francis wrote Evangelii Gaudium in which he prays for more politicians capable of 'sincere and effective political dialogue' aimed at addressing the social and economic barriers that threaten our societies across all geographies, political and economic philosophies, walk of life. The Pope goes further in advocating a 'new political and economic mindset which would help break down the wall of separation between the economy and the common good of society'. But why should there even be a wall separating the economy from the common good of society? Clearly this perception of a two-speed global economy, delivering with largesse for a 'mobile minority', seemingly at the expense of the immobile majority, is the principal reason behind this year's Edelman Trust Barometer finding that a majority (61%) of global respondents believe '… that government and business make their lives harder and serve narrow interests, and wealthy people benefit unfairly from the system.' And it is this widely held public sense of too many being outside the bakery window looking in, that has undermined political stability and social order. This 'separation between the economy and the common good…' follows a period of hyper-globalization during which to many wealth creation was seen as a desirable end in itself. However, wealth should not be an end in itself, but rather an outcome of the generation of real value. To be sustainably successful, business leaders need to pursue the creation of great life-enhancing products, or new consumer-enabling services, or great ideas….and wealth will follow. John Kay, the founding head of Oxford University's Said School of Business, calls this 'obliquity' and argues that you cannot find happiness by desperately looking for happiness itself (happiness is the result of pursuing those activities/things that genuinely make you happy). So, too, wealth generation is the result of pursuing those things that add value. During my tenure as CEO, I would remind my peers (and Board) that purpose drives performance and that performance/profit is the outcome and not the goal. Find those pursuits that add real value, and wealth will follow. Much of this might seem contrary to what many believe is the fundamental principle of capitalism, perhaps most famously articulated by Milton Friedman in his influential 1962 book, Capitalism and Freedom, noting that 'There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its resources to engage in activities designed to increase its profits…' And it is perhaps under this rubric we have constructed this 'wall between the economy and the common good…,' which Pope Francis decried. But there should be no such wall—even in the most orthodox capitalist system. The intellectual father of modern capitalism, Adam Smith, is too well remembered for such phrases as 'the invisible hand.' In truth, Smith's legacy, and assumptions about capitalism, have been grossly oversimplified. Smith was a dogged advocate of the view that free enterprise absolutely required strong moral and ethical foundations and that most market participants needed to be those guided by (in his words) 'propriety, prudence and benevolence' for the system to work properly. Smith is, of course, best known for his 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations, which many consider to be the founding document of free-market capitalism. But Smith himself placed greater value on his earlier work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, in which he explores 'the ability to think and act morally in the face of pure natural interest'. So today it is appropriate for us to recall Pope Francis's admonition that, 'business is a vocation, a noble vocation, provided that those engaged in it see themselves as challenged by a greater meaning in life' enabling them 'truly to serve the common good by striving to increase the goods of this world and to make them more accessible to all' . The world will be in a much better place the sooner we were to follow this Papal exhortation not just as a moral imperative, but also as an economic necessity.
Herald Malaysia
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Archbishop Kurtz: US Church saw in Pope Francis the face of God's mercy
In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, the former President of the US Bishops' Conference who accompanied the late Pope on his Apostolic Visit to the United States in 2015, says Americans "were yearning" for Pope Francis' message of mercy. Apr 25, 2025 Archbishop Kurtz and former President Barack Obama welcome Pope Francis to the United States on September 19, 2015 By Deborah Castellano Lubov"The Church and our nation saw in Pope Francis the face of God's mercy." The former head of the US Bishops, who led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops during the Holy Father's historic visit to the United States in 2015, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, made that statement in an interview with Vatican News. The Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville, Kentucky, began the interview by acknowledging that "not only the Church, but the world is mourning the death of Pope Francis." 'People yearned for his message of mercy' While expressing disbelief that it's been almost ten years since the late Pope made his Apostolic Journey to the United States in September of 2015, he said, "My mind and heart are filled with memories." "The Church and our nation saw in Pope Francis," he emphasized, "the face of God's mercy, and he was clear in saying that he's not the Messiah, but that Jesus is." 'The Church and our nation saw in Pope Francis the face of God's mercy.' "I think he was received so well," he highlighted, because "we live in such a hurting world that people yearn to hear the message of mercy." Archbishop Kurtz praised the "beautiful pastoral message" throughout Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, ' Evangelii Gaudium, 'The Joy of the Gospel,' noting it is something "that perhaps will tie together the twelve years of his service as our Holy Father." "This exhortation," he said, "really came from his heart and from his priorities." America welcomed Pope's affirmations of human dignity In a special way, the former head of the US Bishops recalled the Pope's visit to Washington, DC, and his widely appreciated remarks to the Joint Meeting of Congress. "I think it was his address at the Joint Meeting of Congress that was the most moving to me, and perhaps it will be the most remembered in many ways, not just in Church records, but in the history of our nation." The reason for this, he noted, is because "Pope Francis spoke of freedom and the need to use freedom well and to treat people with dignity." "But," Archbishop Kurtz marveled, "he especially spoke about American heroes, people, everybody from Doctor Martin Luther King Junior to Thomas Merton, to Dorothy Day. He made his presentation so personal and personable." Having accompanied the Holy Father during the Apostolic Journey through Washington, New York, and Philadelphia, he reflected on the final leg of the visit to Philadelphia. Reeling in beautiful memories "In Philadelphia, he stayed at Saint Charles Seminary, which is my alma mater , where I went to the seminary," he remembered, expressing his joy to be there. "Another memorable visit," he underscored, "was to a prison in Northeast Philadelphia," noting how meaningful it was to be there with Pope Francis, adding, "It certainly struck me that one of the last visits, pastoral visits he made around Easter time, was again to a prison." After this reflection, Archbishop Kurtz reflected with a final thought. "Certainly, our Church mourns," he noted, "but I think many of us will just reel in the beautiful memories of our Holy Father." 'Certainly, our Church mourns, but I think many of us will just reel in the beautiful memories of our Holy Father.'--Vatican News
