The Pope uses terminology such as the following to express an informed opinion regarding the moral and ethical imperatives presented by the economic disparity that exists in the world today:
...a revolution of opportunity, in which all the world's people actively contribute to the economic prosperity and share in its fruits.
...attentive to the moral dimension of the issues involved.
...belief in the equal dignity of all the members of the human family demand policies aimed at enabling all people to access to the means required to improve their lives, including the technological means and skills needed for development.
Respect for nature by everyone...
All of these comments refer to issues that are now being hotly contested and, IMO, express the Vatican's perspective on the current process of "globalization" which so far has been by, for and about benefiting multinational corporations. Such as:
...the secrecy in which these agreements are being crafted that are the direct cause of the requirement for 2 miles of chain link fence and 6000 cops around the meeting headquarters to "protect" the proceedings.
...the use of "Free Trade" agreements to supercede or circumvent local law regarding environmental protection..
(15 US wood product companies relocating to the Mexican state of Guerrero have already decimated 40% of the forest there in the last 8 years)
...working conditions(since NAFTA was passed, manufacturing wages in Mexico have not risen. They have dropped.)
... the role of the WTO in blocking the production of less expensive generic drugs for the treatment of AIDS and tuberculosis in the Third World...
...using the IMF Structural Adjustment Programs, or SAPs to mandate debtor governments to open their economies to foreign corporations, limiting competition, focusing agriculture production on export crops, balancing budgets through cuts in social programs and privatizing publicly held enterprises. (This is why the Pope called for Third World debt forgiveness)
...helping companies like Monsanto and ADM from gaining control of the world's food supply by chargingThird World farmers every year for a new supply of genetically engineered seeds.
...Shell Oil's cooperation with the military in Nigeria to clear opposition to their extraction plans.
...not tolerating the use of slave labor for the sake of corporate profit(as is rampant, for example, in the production of cocoa in the Ivory Coast-think about that the next time you have a piece of chocolate)
This is not providing access to the technology for development, or enabling or sharing anything, or acting ethically or morally. This is merely further exploitation and fostering dependency. Although the Pope may not have all the same facts at hand, IMO these are the kind of issues he is addressing in the language he used. |
