Pope Says Global Crisis a Test for Future

(01 Jan 09 - RV) Pope Benedict marked World Day for Peace and the feast of Mary Mother of God Thursday appealing for a reworking of the global financial system and a spiritual and moral revolution that puts solidarity for the poor in pride of place.


In ten thousand they had marched for peace from the centre of Rome to St Peter’s square under the banner of St. Egidio. In thousands more, across seven nations they had echoed that march calling for “Pacem in terris” in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Congo, in Sri Lanka.


To those marchers, and to the thousands of pilgrims and visitors to St Peter’s Square Pope Benedict revealed that his first objective at the beginning of this new year is to invite governments and simple citizens not to be discouraged by difficulties and failures, but to redouble their efforts. He said the second half of 2008 had revealed an economic crises of vast proportions, and that his message for the World Day for Peace, entitled “fighting poverty to build peace”, was his way of offering the Catholic Churches contribution to international dialogue for the promotion of a world order worthy of man.


In his homily delivered during mass in St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict said the current global crisis must be seen as a test: He asked “are we ready to read it in its full complexity, and see its as a challenge for the future instead of an emergency in need of short term solutions?”. He asked “Are we prepared to profoundly overhaul the dominant model for development, to correct it in a concrete and farsighted way?”.


In reality, said the Pope; “change is demanded not so much by immediate financial difficulties, but by the ecological health of the planet and a cultural and moral crises, the symptoms of which have long been evident in every corner of the globe”.

Indeed, following mass he told the thousands shivering beneath umbrellas in St Peter’s Square: “We must address the root causes of this crises. It is not enough – as Jesus said – to patch up an old suit”.


Pope Benedict told his congregation on Sunday that in concrete terms, we cannot fight poverty if we do not practice solidarity and equality, "reducing the gap between those who waste the superfluous and those who don’t even have the necessary means to live”. This he said “involves making just and sober choices, choices that we are obliged to make in order to wisely manage the earths limited resources”.


Quoting from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians the Holy Father said: “This is the message at the heart of today: The poverty of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem…. teaches us that in order to fight misery, be it material or spiritual, the path we must choose is solidarity, because it was solidarity that pushed Jesus to share in our human condition.


Pope Benedict went on to say “Mary, Mother of God, understood that God made himself poor for us, to make us rich by his poverty full of love, to urge us to stop our insatiable gluttony which raises wars and division, to invite us to moderate our mania to possess and to be open to sharing with and welcoming others”.