Does the Pope Blast Capitalism?, by Fr. Robert Sirico. Acton Commentary. May 11, 2007:

"Pope's New Book Criticizes Capitalism" said the Associated Press. It was speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, the hot selling book that Pope Benedict XVI began writing before he was elected Pope. Now it is big news and selling in the millions.

The Boston Globe, MSNBC, Fox News, Miami Herald, and a hundred other outlets repeated the claim that the book knocks capitalism. He reportedly says that capitalism inflicts a kind of cruelty on people.

Now, in reading these stories, my first reaction was: What is meant here by capitalism? If by capitalism we mean a system where the elites own the wealth and the poor exist in a servile condition, yes, that sounds cruel. But if we mean the free economy, it is another matter entirely. The free economy (and you can call it capitalism if you want) has been the number one source of material liberation for the poor the world over.

We need only look at the last ten years in China, Eastern Europe, and Asia to see how the free economy has boosted life spans, reduced infant mortality, increased overall health, and fed millions in ways that would be unimaginable under controlled economies. The free economy is a life support system for the whole world. Could Benedict XVI really be departing from the teachings of John Paul II that economic freedom is but a part of a larger system of freedom and rights that is embraced by the Church?

What a surprise, then, awaited me when I actually received the book. . . .

Fr. Robert Sirico @ Theology on Tap (Rome, Italy)

Fr. Robert Sirico recently headed a "Theology on Tap" in Rome:

. . . Here in Rome, Theology on Tap has been gaining momentum ever since it was started last year. Last Thursday, a particularly interesting talk demonstrated even greater values to Theology on Tap than just getting young people to talk about God in the pub instead of just sports or movies.

Father Robert Sirico, president of the Michigan-based Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, opened the 2006 lectures with the provocatively titled talk, "Can a Rich Man Go to Heaven?"

With hundreds of business students arriving that week to get their dusting in humanities, the talk couldn't have been better timed. The aptly-named Scholars Lounge in Rome was packed.

Father Sirico approached the scriptural question with scriptural answers. He reminded the young people of Genesis, the creation of the world and that God deemed it "good." He spoke of Adam and Eve and the dignity of human work. He reminded a rapt audience of how "God takes the material world seriously." So much so that the Redemption took place in the material world.

With a few well-delivered phrases, Father Sirico knocked down the barriers between business students and theologians, and he then went to on to find common ground for the politically left or right. Elucidating the dangers of "canonizing the poor while demonizing the rich," Father Sirico also warned against "Calvinism on steroids" policies, which imply that attainment of wealth is a sign of God's favor.

In one of the most engaging moments of the evening, Father Sirico waxed autobiographical, revealing that briefly in his youth he had worn tie-dye and dreamed of redistributing wealth. The crowd, their jaws dropped in wonder, stared at the starry-eyed socialist turned captain of a Catholic think tank.

The discovery of Father Sirico's remarkable transformation also answered the question that had brought everyone to the pub that night -- "with God all things are possible."

Source: "Strong Brew, Theologically", by Elizabeth Lev. Zenit News Service. January 26, 2006.

Fr. Sirico on Dario Antiseri and the Debate on Relativism

[The following was conveyed to me by a representative of Istituto Acton in Rome, regarding the recent debate on relativism prompted by Sando Magister’s blog on Dario Antiseri (Disputed Questions. A Catholic Philosopher Argues for Relativism, by Sandro Magister. L'Espresso Nov. 3, 2005)]:

Statement by Rev. Robert A. Sirico:

It appears that a number of friends associated with the Acton Institute in Italy have recently entered into a vigorous and interesting discussion about the various meanings of relativism. I thought it might be of use to your readers to have my own reflections on that matter as well.

One of the insights of the Austrian school of economics has been to clarify the subjective nature of prices in a market economy operating relatively freely, along with the critical information and economic coordination that result from such free prices. One need not look far to see the deleterious effects in societies that attempt to regulate or controls prices.

Such economic subjectivism, which is rightly utilitarian in nature, ought not, in my assessment, to be confused with moral norms (virtues) which are objective in their nature and morally binding on the conscience for all people by virtue of the common nature with which they are endowed in their creation - whether or not people recognize their origin in God.

This access to moral truth by use of reason, often referred to as the Natural Law, is predicated on the belief that the human mind is a normatively reliable tool of cognition. It does not follow, however, that reason is infallible, much less that an apprehension of moral truth justifies in principle the use of coercion to force others to conform to its demands. "Christian truth is not of this kind," the Second Vatican Council reminds us.

In his pre-conclave address, the then Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of the threat of "a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires."

There is considerable room for a genuine plurality of views and disagreement among faithful Roman Catholics. Nonetheless, my own view is to affirm the condemnation of relativism as defined by the Holy Father, a condemnation that echoes the statements of the Magisterium on this matter as found in authoritative teaching documents such as Evangelium Vitae (no.20, no.70) and Veritatis Splendor ( no.1, no.48, no.84, no.101, no.106, no.112), and which, in addition to such authoritative pronouncements, I also find intellectually compelling.

I also wish to add that, as a corporate body, the Acton Institute is not engaging in this debate about relativism and no views expressed by any of the participants should be regarded as the position of the Acton Institute.

Rev. Robert A. Sirico
President, Acton Institute

John Allen Jr.'s Proposal for Dialogue . . .

Browsing the web I stumbled on this old story in John Allen Jr.'s column "Word from Rome" (National Catholic Reporter Oct. 4, 2002, which included details on his lunch with Fr. Sirico:

I was invited to a lunch Oct. 2 with Fr. Robert Sirico, head of the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is devoted to the relationship between religion and liberty. Sirico is a leading Catholic defender of a free market and limited government. He and the Acton Institute recently collaborated with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on a compendium of Catholic social doctrine.

The lunch took place at the apartment of Gaetano Rebecchini, a councilor of the Vatican city-state and the son of a former mayor of Rome, on the Via della Conciliazione. (The view of the Vatican is truly spectacular.) Rebecchini is the founder of the Centro per Orientamento Politico, a kind of think tank with a conservative flavor, and Sirico was in town to speak at one of its conferences.

I ended up seated across from Sandro Magister, a talented Italian Vaticanista who leans somewhat to the right, and this arrangement led to predictable jokes about how with Magister and I both present, all the Catholic bases were covered. (Actually, in my experience, journalists tend to regard one’s “nose for news” as a far more fundamental value than ideology, which Magister and I confirmed by revealing that we are avid readers of one another’s work).

Though Sirico struck largely predictable notes, such as the perils of the United Nations and the need to distinguish Catholic social thought from liberation theology, I found him open and thoughtful. His analysis of how the crucial inter-religious conversation of the future will be between progressive Muslims and “faithful” Christians was especially penetrating.

A suggestion for Martino, incoming president at Justice and Peace: It would be fascinating to sponsor a public event in Rome that would bring Sirico into conversation with Catholic social thinkers from other points of departure – the Catholic Worker movement, for example, or even a liberation theologian such as Gustavo Guttierez. Given the polarization that too often poisons conversation in the church, there’s urgent need for dialogue, and this would be a marvelous model.

I expect that Fr. Sirico would welcome a good, civil, public dialogue with the Catholic Workers (I have in mind the Zwicks @ Casa San Diego, Houston TX). Although I'm compelled to wonder if they would respond with the same degree of enthusiasm?

Against "Straw Man" Tactics -- A Response to Thomas Storck and Stephen Hand

David from La Nouvelle Theologie alerted me to an article on TCRNews by Thomas Storck, provocatively titled Fr. Sirico's New Gospel. Thomas Storck was a contributor to the now-defunct Caelum et Terra and is a contributing editor to The New Oxford Review and Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports (TCRNews.com) -- the latter two have, as of late, fallen into the unfortunate habit of launching "straw man" attacks against all those with whom they disagree (usually lumped together under the label "neocon"). This recent article by Storck is no exception.

It begins:

Fr. Robert Sirico is a priest who runs an organization called the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is dedicated to spreading the philosopy, so often condemned by the Church, of classical liberalism. Part of this classical liberal outlook is whole-hearted support for a largely unfettered free market. Just lately Fr. Sirico has taken a turn in praise of the rich, from whom he receives many donations. He writes, "As much as some might not like the rich, or as much as they might find them distasteful as a class, the rich are society's benefactors" (President's Message Acton Notes, July 2005). Such saluatary teaching! It is a shame that our Lord, and the inspired writers of Holy Scripture seemed to think otherwise about the rich. But, for fun, let's put Fr. Sirico's characterization of the rich, as "society's benefactors," into some passages of Scripture to see how they sound. Let's begin with our Lord . . .

The first paragraph alone gives one a sense of the rest of the article. Storck posts various scriptural criticisims of the wealthy (or, perhaps more specifically, the temptation to be wealthy as an obstacle to salvation -- Matthew 19:23-24; Luke 1:53; 6:24, 18:22-23; I Timothy 6:6-9; James 5:1-4). Apparently Storck is no stranger to the typically Protestant method of scriptural proof-texting, placing himself solely in the right and Fr. Sirico at odds with Jesus, from which he arrives at the following conclusion:

Doubtless Fr. Sirico and his followers will claim that things have changed since the time of our Lord. Under capitalism men no longer exploit their fellow men, rather one becomes rich by seeing some unmet need and selling us something that fills that need. Well, at least by persuading us that we have some unmet need and that only their product will meet that need. And of course, always at a just price and never with any exploitation of their employees. The fact that factories keep moving to places where the wages are lower and lower, from the American "rust belt" to the American South, then to Mexico and Central America, to India and China, wherever wages are lower and worker protections fewer - none of this of course means that the wages of their laborers were "kept back by fraud" nor that their cries will ever reach "the ears of the Lord of hosts." Of course not! Fr. Sirico himself assures them that they are "society's benefactors."

But the real difficulty lies deeper. Either Jesus Christ is God the Son, the Eternal Logos or he is not. If he is, then what he has said, about riches or about anything else, applies not only to the time when he was on this earth, but to all times. Arguments based on changes that are said to have taken place in economics cannot negate the Gospel, any more than arguments based on changes said to have taken place in our knowledge of sociology can negate the teaching of Gospel on marriage or the family. Thus Fr. Sirico becomes the herald of a new Gospel, the friendly American Gospel of wealth and comfort. But recall some other words of the Apostle Paul: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:3).

The blog Caelum Et Terra has already taken note of Storck's article, finding his tactic very clever. (If that's the case, they might get a kick out of any number of Protestant apologists who can bend and twist scripture to their will). There's already a good discussion going on between commentators, but I'd like to take a moment to respond to Storck's charges myself.

Let's start with the beginning, noting that Storck cites ONE SENTENCE from Fr. Acton. If we go to the source [July 2005 Acton Notes], we can find the full paragraph from which it was conveniently excerpted:

As much as some might not like the rich, or as much as they might find them distasteful as a class, the rich are society’s benefactors. They provide the capital base on which new investments are made and financed. They provide support for the arts, education, and charity. They fuel the luxury-goods industry—the most innovative market sector—with the result that these products (the Internet or wireless technology, for example) eventually become affordable and available to all.

One wonders if there is anything in that paragraph with which readers of this blog would honestly disagree.

For example, on my coffee table is a pile of books from a public library that probably wouldn't be around if not for the continued financial support of the wealthy.

One activity I enjoy doing on occasion is visiting an art or history museum that is maintained in part by wealthy "patrons of the arts."

The discoveries of science and medicine and technology that have helped rid the world of disease, lengthened humanity's lifespan, and facilitated the growth of human civilization have no doubt been assisted by the backing of wealthy philanthropists.

Right now, I'm typing this post on a computer that probably wouldn't exist today were it not for "rich benefactors." I use a Mac, and some might recall that Steve Jobs / Steve Wozniak started out in the Job's family garage prior to securing venture capital to become Apple Computer. You bet I'm grateful for the "rich benefactor" who decided to give them a helping hand).

Storck goes on to gripe: "Under capitalism men no longer exploit their fellow men, rather one becomes rich by seeing some unmet need and selling us something that fills that need. Well, at least by persuading us that we have some unmet need and that only their product will meet that need. And of course, always at a just price and never with any exploitation of their employees."

I presume Thomas Storck and Stephen Hand type their manifestos against the rich on similar computers, and would concede as to the usefulness. Surely they don't "need" them -- computers don't exactly constitute the "staples of survival" for you or I. Nor do telephones for that matter. But I'm thankful that I have one, and the blessings it has brought me in the form of communication with friends and family. I'm presently watching a movie on the early life of Pope John Paul II on television -- film and television both being superflous forms of entertainment, and by no means material "needs." What's the point of this? -- While it is correct to recognize that which we truly need in life from our "wants," it would be misleading to denounce the economic process for providing us such material comforts and the pleasures we enjoy in life.

But this is not so say that the free market (or what John Paul II cautiously praised as the "business economy" or "market economy") is subject to exploitation, corruption, and the promotion of decadent consumerism. The market, like all other human endeavors, is only as good as we make it. Does Fr. Sirico condone exploitation of employees? Storck gives nary a mention of the Whig-Thomist emphasis that our conduct of business must be informed by moral virtue or their agreement with JPII's worthy criticisms of the defects of capitalism. But if to support the free market automatically makes one a supporter of wage-slavery (as the Zwicks labeled Cardinal Dulles), one might as well lump John Paul II in the same boat, as I've demonstrated in my last post.

I do not believe in demonizing the rich or in reifying the wealthy a butt for scorn, derision and condemnation. That Thomas Storck engages in this tactic in forming a criticism of Fr. Sirico is disappointing and I would hope better from him. As for Fr. Sirico, we can gather what his true opinion is on "the rich" by asking him that very question -- or so Zenit.org did in a May 1, 2000 interview (Can a Camel Pass through the Eye of a Needle?):

ZENIT: There are those who think that one must be poor and oppressed to be saved and that wealth is synonymous with perdition.

FR. SIRICO: It is neither poverty nor wealth that saves a person. Only God's grace saves. St. Augustine said that it was not poverty that saved Lazarus, but his humility. It is not wealth that gives us God's blessing, but our moral conduct. Catholic tradition has always tried to distinguish between the opportunities and temptations that come with wealth. It has never canonized the poor "a priori" or demonized the rich, although it has called all, rich and poor alike, to commit their life to responsibility, generosity and sanctity.

* * *

It's come to my attention that this is not the first time Thomas Storck has engaged in such spurious criticism of Fr. Sirico. See his article "Can Economic Justice be Achieved Without Law? (New Oxford Review October 2000). The article is available on NOR's website for a fee. Here is Fr. Sirico's response, in which he rebutes Storck's attempt "to extrapolate from an excerpt a whole worldview to which [he] does not ascribe" -- a familiar strategy that is employed by Stephen Hand (TCRNews.com) and the Zwicks (Houston Catholic Worker).

From Fr. Sirico's response to Thomas Storck we can get a better sense of where he stands with respect to the issues:

I write in reply to an article in the October issue, “Can Economic Justice Be Achieved Without Law?” by Thomas Storck.

Mr. Storck criticizes the following statement of mine: “The way to have people make better choices is not to coerce their economic decision-making, but to inform their personal morality.” Unfortunately, Storck extrapolates from this excerpt an entire worldview to which he assumes I ascribe, including the idea that economic activity is an end in itself. Anyone familiar with my writing knows that I have claimed again and again that this is not the case. Economics is important but not total; it can provide truth about man, but not the whole truth; it is a necessary part of human existence, but it is not sufficient for human thriving.

Acton Notes, from which Storck draws his inference of my views, is a brief, popularly oriented monthly newsletter sent to donors and supporters of the Acton Institute. Anyone truly interested in gaining a robust, complete, and properly nuanced view of my positions and those of the Institute would do well to read at least a portion of the many monographs, scholarly articles, and other written materials that have been produced by the Institute over the past 10 years, especially our journal Markets and Morality (most of which is available at www.acton.org).

In the quotation Storck cites, I was simply attempting to make the point about the kind of non-coercive truth the Church proposes to the world that is outlined by John Paul II. In reference to the imposition of the true and good on others in the name of ideology, the Pope says, “Christian truth is not of this kind…the Church’s method is always that of respect for freedom” (Centesimus Annus [CA], n. 46). The model here, as Dignitatis Humanae (DH) points out, is Christ: “For He bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke out against it” (DH, n. 11).

Contrary to the implication of the article, I am in full agreement with the traditional Christian understanding of freedom as being in necessary relation with the truth. John Paul II is especially good on this point: The notion of freedom exercised in relation to truth has been a resounding theme of his pontificate. To believe that freedom is not the equivalent of license, however, is not necessarily to fall back on the power of the state as the normative enforcer of morality. To say, for instance, that a person commits sin and distorts his freedom by gossiping about his friend is not to say that there must be laws against every sort of gossip in order for people to be truly free (even if well-considered laws against slander and libel might be justified). The law is not always the most effective or the most appropriate instrument for bringing about the recognition of truth and the commitment to live according to it. In other words, the law — like economics — is a means, not an end.

Storck misrepresents my statement as implying that the law is irrelevant to morality and the economy. The principle of subsidiarity clearly permits certain limited interventions when necessary, but warns that “such supplementary interventions, which are justified by urgent reasons touching the common good, must be as brief as possible, so as to avoid removing permanently from society and business systems the functions which are properly theirs, and so as to avoid enlarging excessively the sphere of State intervention to the detriment of both economic and civil freedom” (CA, n. 48).

It would appear that a key difference between Storck and myself is that Storck believes that Church social teaching has specified exactly where, when, and how the government must intervene in society, while I believe that the Church has promulgated principles of social teaching, which are to be applied by people in the time and circumstances in which they find themselves. The exact extent and nature of government legislation on economic questions is a prudential question on which faithful Catholics may disagree. It is not a static dogma: “When it comes to reducing these teachings to action,” the Blessed Pope John XXIII wrote in reference to social teaching, “it sometimes happens that even sincere Catholic men have differing views” (Mater et Magistra, n. 238). Storck, contrary to John XXIII, seems to think that anyone who disagrees with him on whether or not the state should intervene in a particular case (again, one Catholic principle among many is that the state may and should intervene in some cases) cannot be at the same time a sincere and faithful Catholic.

The Church’s social teaching, the current Holy Father has emphasized, is a branch of moral theology — it is not economic theory, it is not social science, it does not answer technical questions concerning how effective a specific policy is or what are the best means to achieve a desired end. A corollary to this point is that the Church does not propose or endorse any economic system. “The Church has no models to present,” John Paul II insists, “models that are real and truly effective can only arise within the framework of different historical situations, through the efforts of all those who responsibly confront concrete problems in all their social, economic, political, and cultural aspects…” (CA, n. 43). Again, “The Church’s social doctrine is not a ‘third way’ between liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism, nor even a possible alternative to other solutions less radically opposed to one another; rather, it constitutes a category of its own” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 41).

It should be clear by now that the Church is not in the business of proposing specific economic plans, policies, or systems. She articulates the principles that ought to guide workers, businesspeople, politicians, and others participating in the economy. It is the task of those acting in the economic sphere to determine just how these timeless and indispensable principles apply in specific settings and circumstances. And on those applications, even “sincere Catholic men” can have different views.

One part of the mission of the Acton Institute is to educate the religious community on the merits of a scientific approach to economics and the exciting possibilities inherent in the project of unifying sound economic theory with transcendent truth. In this, we are following the principle that “the more men and women of science engage in rigorous research to penetrate the laws of the universe, the more insistent becomes the question of meaning and purpose, the more pressing the demand for contemplative reflection which cannot help but lead to a profound appreciation of the sense of man’s transcendence over the world, and of God over man” (John Paul II, Address to the International Conference on Space Research, Jan. 11, 1997).

Fr. Sirico's words speak for themselves. So too, I think, the tactic of deceptive quoting and false imputation by Thomas Storck.

On "The Preferential Option for the Poor"

Catholics who are the least bit aquainted with the social doctrine of the Church have encountered the term "preferential option for the poor." According to Charles Curran, the phrase has its origins in the "liberation theology" espoused by radical Catholic theologians in Latin America (excerpt from Catholic Social Teaching Georgetown UP, 2002).

In an article for the U.S. Catholic (Why the preferential option for the poor is not optional, November 1997), Jack Jezreel chronicles the use of the phrase from a 1979 pastoral document by the Latin American Bishops, to the 1986 statement "Economic Justice for All", revisited in 1994's "Communities of Salt and Light", as well as pontificate of Pope John Paul II.

[Update 6/19/05 -- According to one reader, the phrase "first appeared in official episcopal documents in the SECOND Latin American Episcopal Conference, that of Medellin, in 1968 -- the Liberation Theology movement in many ways grew out of this meeting. It is in the last pages of the Medellin documents, under the heading "Preferencia y Solidaridad"." Thanks!]

Pope John Paul II spoke of this preferential option on many occasions, preferring the term "preferential love for the poor" -- the website The Social Agenda, a collection of Magisterial texts compiled by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, from which we offer two excerpts that convey a sense of this "preferential option":

It will not be superfluous therefore to reexamine and further clarify in this light the characteristic themes and guidelines dealt with by the Magisterium in the recent years. Here I would like to indicate one of them: the preferential option or love of preference for the poor. This is an option, a special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions to be made concerning our ownership and the use of goods. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 42)

In seeking to promote human dignity, the Church shows a preferential love of the poor and voiceless, because the Lord has identified himself with them in special way (cf. Mt 25:40). This love excludes no one, but simply embodies a priority of service to which the whole Christian tradition bears witness. This love of preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care and, above all, those without hope of a better future. (Ecclesia in Asia, n. 34)

It should not suprise us that the phrase itself is subject to a wide variety of interpretations, often reflecting the political and spiritual orientation of the individual.

For instance, operating in the spirit of St. Francis, the Catholic Worker movement advocates the adoption of voluntary poverty. According to the Catholic Worker "Manifesto" Aims and Means:

"The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge and belief in love." (Dorothy Day) By embracing voluntary poverty, that is, by casting our lot freely with those whose impoverishment is not a choice, we would ask for the grace to abandon ourselves to the love of God. It would put us on the path to incarnate the Church's "preferential option for the poor."

In his thoughtful post Blessed Are They The Poor in Spirit: A Catholic View of Economics (Cooperatores Veritatis June 7, 2003) Greg Mockeridge contends that the "preferential option" entails the necessary inclusion of those in need, helping the poor to better themselves, to improve their economic conditions by putting their creativity to use in the workplace and becoming financially self-sufficient:

The genius in the cultivation of resources and economic success finds its fulfillment in the preferential option for the poor. A society whose economic activity is exclusive to anyone because of race or social class cannot truthfully claim economic prosperity despite superficial appearances of it. In ignoring the poor, society not only fails in its duty to help those in need, but also deprives itself of the beneficial contribution of ingenuity that is gained by those who, through their circumstances, have discovered ways to make astoundingly productive use from the most meager resources. Growing up in a large blue-collar family myself, I know first hand how to make abundances from the scantiest of means. This sort of ingenuity has been the hallmark of American economic prosperity. We have seen immigrants come to this country with nothing more than faith in God and gratitude for their freedom build economic empires. The preferential option for the poor is not a political play toy exploiting the needy by creating an unhealthy dependence on government programs nor is it "...exclusive or discriminatory toward other groups", (Centesimus Annus n 57), but a recognition that the economic chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

In Reforming Our Attitudes (Religion & Liberty September / October 1995), Fr. Robert Sirico, President of the Acton Institute, discusses how we can practice Christian charity in ways which recognize the innate human dignity of the poor:

First, we can no longer believe that the call of compassion is satisfied by simply writing a check. The poor are asking for much more than our money. We must begin to make the more difficult sacrifices of our time, energy and talents. We must go to the poor where they live and enter into their poverty in order to help them rise above it. In our efforts to help those suffering the effects of poverty, dollars may be the least important consideration.

Another attitude that must change is our tendency to believe that as individuals we cannot make a meaningful contribution. When faced with a homeless person, the temptation is to think “What could I, with my limited experience and resources, do?” We therefore turn to simply giving money. We need to rethink this response and consider other ways we can contribute; perhaps volunteering at a private shelter, or maybe starting a shelter where there is none, or even having a conversation with a homeless person, as a person, and ask them what they truly need. This is the more radical approach because it requires that we listen to the poor and allow them to become part of the solution — not just the target of our pity.

A third attitude we must adopt is that we no longer view the poor as incapable. One of the most egregious faults of current government programs is the hidden assumption that the poor will always remain poor. While admitting that some people suffer from more than the effects of poverty which prevent them from becoming productive members of society, many of those receiving government assistance can contribute to the elevation of their standard of living. The poor themselves have to be a part of the solution to their own problems. Requiring some level of participation and responsibility on the part of individuals will offer the opportunity for more than dollars or a job, it will offer the opportunity for self-esteem.

Fr. Sirico's approach strikes me as being suprisingly close to Dorothy Day's -- at least in spirit, if not in policy. Browse through her extensive writings and you'll encounter a strong believer in personal responsibility and self-empowerment, highly critical of state-sanctioned welfare and handouts which leave the poor in a state of dependency.

Contrary to the Catholic Workers of today who indulge in either general dismissals or denunciations of "the neocons", I believe Ms. Day would have the desire and the capacity to truly listen to somebody like Fr. Sirico, or Michael Novak for that matter. They may not see eye to eye on the merits of the free market, but it's likely that they would have discovered common ground in an appreciation of the personalism and social thought of Pope John Paul II.

* * *

In his pastoral letter A Time for Honesty, addressing the scandal of "pro-choice politicians" and the argument that "the Church has many social teachings and abortion is one of them," Rev. John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, took a moment to clarify the Church's position on social teaching -- given the nature of this post it seems fitting to close with his words:

The Church's social teaching is a diverse and rich tradition of moral truths and biblical insights applied to the political, economic, and cultural aspects of our society. All Catholics should form and inform their conscience in accordance with these teachings. But reasonable Catholics can (and do) disagree about how to apply these teachings in various situations.

For example, our preferential option for the poor is a fundamental aspect of this teaching. But, there are legitimate disagreements about the best way or ways truly to help the poor in our society. No Catholic can legitimately say, "I do not care about the poor." If he or she did so this person would not be objectively in communion with Christ and His Church. But, both those who propose welfare increases and those who propose tax cuts to stimulate the economy may in all sincerity believe that their way is the best method really to help the poor. This is a matter of prudential judgment made by those entrusted with the care of the common good. It is a matter of conscience in the proper sense.

Related Links & Resources

The online archives of The Acton Institute offer much food for thought on how we can engage in effective compassion and assist the poor and financially impoverished. Here are just a few:

• In Human Capital and Poverty (Religion & Liberty January/February 1998), Gery Becker notes that "Human capital, e.g., the skills, education, and values of an individual, constitutes our most valuable and available resource for ameliorating poverty."

• In Effective Aid to the Poor, Dr. Digby Anderson, Director of the London-based Social Affairs Unit, addresses the two challenges which poverty-relief faces: Generosity and Efficiency:
  Giving away money is easy, provided youve got enough in the first place. But giving away money efficiently is very difficult. And that remains true whether the donor is the state, a voluntary association, or an individual. . . . The modern church rightly tells the rich to give to the poor. It presents the problem as one of lack of generosity. And so, in part, it is. But the church has little to say about how the poor are to be identified, how much each one should get, how to establish priorities among claims for charity, which forms of help are best, and how to avoid help becoming harm.

• In Poverty, Virtue, and Grace (1996 Lord Acton Essay), Fr. Robert Johansen -- yes, of the blog Thrown Back -- draws upon the thought of Lord Acton, who "held the conviction, expressed by Christian thinkers throughout history, that poverty is not a merely material problem, but a moral and spiritual problem as well."

• John Paul IIs Use of the Term Neo-Liberalism in Ecclesia in America, by Michel Therrien. Based on a paper delivered at the Pontifical College Josephinum April 8, 2000.

• Finally, Fr. Neuhaus illustrates the need for civil dialogue on such matters between Catholics in "Against Neoliberalism" (First Things 95 August/September 1999: 80-99.):
  The Zwicks essay is an extended polemic against neoconservatism, a.k.a. neoliberalism, a.k.a. capitalism. So, as might be expected, Michael Novak, George Weigel, and Father Robert Sirico come in for very unfavorable mention. The neoliberalism supported by this writer and his friends, say the editors, "mows down people who are in other countries through slave wages, international trade agreements and torture taught at the School of the Americas to ensure that ‘freedom prevails. It is very violent." But the Zwicks go beyond the usual suspects. They write, "Another well–respected priest, Fr. Avery Dulles, S.J., defends slave wages as being better than no wages." Fr. Dulles is not simply a well–respected priest, he is undoubtedly the most widely respected Catholic theologian in the United States (to whom, not incidently, Appointment in Rome is dedicated). And, if one really wanted to press the point, might one not be able to make the case that low wages, even very low wages, are better than no wages at all? But, in fact, what the Catholic Worker says is false.

  Fr. Dulles tells me that he remembers meeting the Zwicks at a meeting in Washington and, in private conversation, asked them what they thought of the argument of an acquaintance of his who does business in Latin America and claims that, although the wages he pays are low by North American standards, they are much higher than his workers could otherwise obtain. He says he does not recall how the Zwicks responded to his question, if they did. Since then, however, they have more than once published the claim that Fr. Dulles "defends slave wages" in Latin America. Such libel does nothing to enhance the legacy of Dorothy Day which the Catholic Worker supposedly champions.

  Surely, as reasonable Catholics, we can do better?

Update - A good follow-up discussion of this issue at the Catholic legal theory blog Mirror of Justice:

• Mark Sargent asks How Elastic Is the Preferential Option for the Poor? (6/20/05)

• MOJ colleague Rick Garnett counters inThe Prefential Option: A follow-up (6/21/05)

• Another lively discussion by the Commentariat at Amy Welborn. (6/22/05)

• A thought in progress @ Disputations:
  If poverty is an economic problem to be solved, then it's not my problem; I can barely handle my own economic problems, much less help others with theirs. If it's an economic debate, it's not my debate.

  And if it's an economic problem or debate, it's not really the Church's problem or debate, in any particular way. All the Church would have to do is remind everyone of the basic moral principles, then let the economists and policy makers go to town.

  But I don't think that's what the Church says. I don't think she regards poverty as a problem to be solved so much as a sorrow to be joined in. . . .

  The Gospel is not an economic development plan. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or of drinking. Those of us who can speak of "the poor" rather than "we poor" must be in communion with those who can't, to share the life of the Spirit with them. Not in a patronizing way, assuring them they'll be just fine once they're dead; but in the way Christians were once known for loving each other.