Pope Francis: Too much exclusion for a world in which all are equal

Pope Francis sends a letter to the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund as they begin their virtual spring meetings. In his letter, the Pope stresses the importance of developing a just and equal society for all.

By Vatican News staff writer April 2021

In a letter addressed to the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, Pope Francis noted that over the last year, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, "our world has been forced to confront a series of grave and interrelated socio-economic, ecological and political crises".

As the groups meet this spring, the Pope stresses that it is his hope that their discussions may contribute to a model of 'recovery' capable of generating new, more inclusive, and sustainable solutions to support the real economy, assisting individuals and communities to achieve their deepest aspirations and the universal common good.

Equal, yet excluded

Pope Francis went on to note that "for all our deeply-held convictions that all men and women are created equal, many of our brothers and sisters in the human family, especially those at the margins of society, are effectively excluded from the financial world". The pandemic, he continued, has reminded us that "no one is saved alone". "If we are to come out of this situation as a better, more humane, and solidary world," he said, "new and creative forms of social, political and economic participation must be devised, sensitive to the voice of the poor and committed to including them in the building of our common future", through inclusive projects.

Need for a global plan

The Pope then noted that many countries are now consolidating a recovery plan for Covid, but that "there remains an urgent need for a global plan that can create new or regenerate existing institutions, particularly those of global governance, and help to build a new network of international relations for advancing the integral human development of all peoples". This, he explained, means giving poorer and less developed nations an effective share in decision-making and facilitating access to the international market.

We cannot overlook the “ecological debt” that exists especially between the global north and south, continued the Pope. "We are, in fact, in debt to nature itself, as well as the people and countries affected by human-induced ecological degradation and biodiversity loss", he added. In this regard, the Pope said, "I believe that the financial industry, which is distinguished by its great creativity, will prove capable of developing agile mechanisms for calculating this ecological debt, so that developed countries can pay it, not only by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy or by assisting poorer countries to enact policies and programmes of sustainable development, but also by covering the costs of the innovation required for that purpose".

He continued, "Central to a just and integrated development is a profound appreciation of the essential objective and end of all economic life, namely the universal common good: Public money should never be disjoined from the public good, and financial markets should be underpinned by laws and regulations aimed at ensuring that they truly work for the common good".

A future for our common home

Bringing his letter to a close, the Pope said that it is time to acknowledge that markets do not govern themselves. "Markets need to be underpinned by laws and regulations that ensure they work for the common good, guaranteeing that finance works for the societal goals so much needed in the context of the present global healthcare emergency."

Finally, the Pope expressed his hope that in these days of formal deliberations and personal encounters, the two organisations with "bear much fruit from the discernment of wise solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future. A future where finance is at the service of the common good, where the vulnerable and the marginalized are placed at the centre, and where the earth, our common home, is well cared for"

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-world-monetary-fund-message.html

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to the World Bank Group and International Monetary FundApril 7, 2021

I am grateful for the kind invitation to address the participants in the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund 2021 Spring Meetings by means of this letter, which I have entrusted to Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

In this past year, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our world has been forced to confront a series of grave and interrelated socio-economic, ecological, and political crises. It is my hope that your discussions will contribute to a model of “recovery” capable of generating new, more inclusive and sustainable solutions to support the real economy, assisting individuals and communities to achieve their deepest aspirations and the universal common good. The notion of recovery cannot be content to a return to an unequal and unsustainable model of economic and social life, where a tiny minority of the world’s population owns half of its wealth.

For all our deeply-held convictions that all men and women are created equal, many of our brothers and sisters in the human family, especially those at the margins of society, are effectively excluded from the financial world. The pandemic, however, has reminded us once again that no one is saved alone. If we are to come out of this situation as a better, more humane and solidary world, new and creative forms of social, political and economic participation must be devised, sensitive to the voice of the poor and committed to including them in the building of our common future (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 169). As experts in finance and economics, you know well that trust, born of the interconnectedness between people, is the cornerstone of all relationships, including financial relationships. Those relationships can only be built up through the development of a “culture of encounter” in which every voice can be heard and all can thrive, finding points of contact, building bridges, and envisioning long-term inclusive projects (cf. ibid., 216).

While many countries are now consolidating individual recovery plans, there remains an urgent need for a global plan that can create new or regenerate existing institutions, particularly those of global governance, and help to build a new network of international relations for advancing the integral human development of all peoples. This necessarily means giving poorer and less developed nations an effective share in decision-making and facilitating access to the international market. A spirit of global solidarity also demands at the least a significant reduction in the debt burden of the poorest nations, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Relieving the burden of debt of so many countries and communities today, is a profoundly human gesture that can help people to develop, to have access to vaccines, health, education and jobs.

It is time to acknowledge that markets - particularly the financial ones - do not govern themselves. Markets need to be underpinned by laws and regulations that ensure they work for the common good, guaranteeing that finance - rather than being merely speculative or self-financing- works for the societal goals so much needed during the present global healthcare emergency.

In this regard, we especially need a justly financed vaccine solidarity, for we cannot allow the law of the marketplace to take precedence over the law of love and the health of all. Here, I reiterate my call to government leaders, businesses and international organizations to work together in providing vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy (cf. Urbi et Orbi Message, Christmas Day 2020).

It is my hope that in these days your formal deliberations and your personal encounters will bear much fruit for the discernment of wise solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future. A future where finance is at the service of the common good, where the vulnerable and the marginalized are placed at the centre, and where the earth, our common home, is well cared for.

In offering my prayerful best wishes for the fruitfulness of the meetings, I invoke upon all taking part God’s blessings of wisdom and understanding, good counsel, strength and peace.

From the Vatican, 4 April 2021

S.A., 4 aprile 2021

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2021/04/07/message-of-his-holiness-pope-francis-to-the-world-bank-group-and-international-monetary-fund

Side dig on Anjay Banga

==AJAY BANGA worked for EXOR AGNELLI FAMILY > FIAT > Fascism

Before being nominated to the World Bank, he was the chairman of Exor, the Netherlands-based investment holding company controlled by the Italian Agnelli Family,[7][8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajay_Banga

Agnelli and fascism

IMAGE: Mussolini giving a speech in Turin with Agnelli in 1923

An acquaintance of Benito Mussolini since 1914, Agnelli was appointed in 1923 by Mussolini as a senator for the National Fascist Party.[23] His newspaper La Stampa distanced themselves from Mussolini; thanks to his connections with the House of Savoy, he could assert autonomy from the Italian fascist regime. As an example, he appointed Curzio Malaparte, who was disliked by Mussolini, as director of La Stampa, and took on as private tutor of his grandson the liberal anti-fascist Franco Antonicelli,[24] and allowed his nephews to attend as their tutor the anti-fascist Augusto Monti, and another anti-fascist, Massimo Mila, as their musicologist.[25] In addition, he sought as accountant Vittorio Valletta, who was known to the Fascist regime for his social democratic ideas, membership in Freemasonry, and clandestine connections with exiled anti-fascists in France, including Giuseppe Saragat.[15] Mussolini described Agnelli as too old to be fascist, and he was suspected by the regime of helping the anti-fascist movement Giustizia e Libertà in the 1930s.[25]

Asked whether Agnelli could be considered an anti-fascist, Castronovo said: "No, for him fascism still remained the regime that guaranteed 'effective labour discipline' and with which it was necessary — bon gré, mal gré — to coexist in the interests of one's industry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Agnelli

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy (15 December 1932; Grand Officer: 1 February 1920; Knight: 8 December 1898)

Knight of the Order of Labour (30 May 1907)

Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (6 February 1921)

Inducted into the European Automotive Hall of Fame in 2001.[33]

Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002.[34]

The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italian: Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, and it is one of the rare orders of knighthood recognized by papal bull, in this case by Pope Gregory XIII.[2] In that bull, Pope Gregory XIII bestowed upon Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and his Savoy successors, the right to confer this knighthood in perpetuity. The Grand Master is Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice, also known as the Duke of Savoy, the grandson of the last King of Italy, Umberto II. However, Emanuele Filiberto's cousin twice removed Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta claims to be grand master as his father claimed to be head of the house of Savoy.

The order was formerly awarded by the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) with the heads of the House of Savoy as the Kings of Italy. Originally a chivalric order of noble nature, it was restricted to subjects of noble families with proofs of at least eight noble great-grandparents. The order's military and noble nature was and is still combined with a Roman Catholic character.

After the abolition of the monarchy and the foundation of the Italian Republic in 1946, the legacy of the order is maintained by the pretenders of the House of Savoy and the Italian throne in exile.

The order is estimated to include about 2,000 members around the world, with about 200 in the United States. The Order also has roster consultative status with the United Nations, as part of the U.N.'s ECOSOC.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Saints_Maurice_and_Lazarus