| Some
Church Responses
to Globalisation From
the Justice of Each Comes Peace for All
In his message for the celebration of the
World Day of Peace on 1 January 1998, Pope John
Paul II addressed the reality of the
globalization of the economy and of finance, and
the rapid progress related to information
technologies. According to the Pope, the
challenge is to ensure a globalization in
solidarity without marginalization. He urged the
international organizations to help promote a
sense of responsibility for the common good with
human person always at the centre of every social
project.
On a related
issue, the foreign debt, the Pope recognized
special aid as a helpful tool for poor countries
to overcome their situations of disadvantage. The
heavy burden of external debt, however, should be
reduced to avoid deepening the problems which are
accompanying the globalization process.
Address
of the Holy Father
Extracted from the address of John Paul
II to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical
Council for Culture, 16 March 2002:
| The
phenomenon of globalisation, which is a
cultural fact of life today, is at once a
difficulty and an opportunity. While it
has a tendency to obliterate the specific
identities of different communities and
to reduce them to folklore memories of
ancient traditions bereft of their
original meaning and cultural and
religious value, globalisation also helps
to break down barriers between cultures
and gives people the chance to meet and
to get to know each other. At the same
time, it obliges national leaders and
people of good will to do their utmost to
ensure that what is proper to individuals
and cultures is respected, to guarantee
the good of persons and nations, and to
practise brotherhood and solidarity.
Society as a whole is facing formidable
questions about man and his future,
especially in areas like bioethics, the
use of the earth’s resources, and
decisions on economic and political
issues, so that the full dignity of human
beings may be recognised and they may
continue to play an active part in
society and be the ultimate criterion for
society’s decisions. The Church in
no way seeks to take the place of those
who are responsible for public affairs.
She does hope to have a place in these
debates, to keep people’s minds open
to the light of the full meaning of what
it is to be human, something that is
etched into a person’s very nature. |
Concern
of the Asian Church
Extracted from the Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Asia"
of the Holy Father John Paul II to share with the
Church in Asia and throughout the world the
fruits of the Special Assembly for Asia of the
Synod of Bishops, which was held from 18 April to
14 May 1998 in the Vatican:
| Considering
the question of human promotion in Asia,
the Synod Fathers recognized the
importance of the process of economic
globalization. While acknowledging its
many positive effects, they pointed out
that globalization has also worked to the
detriment of the poor, tending to push
poorer countries to the margin of
international economic and political
relations. Many Asian nations are unable
to hold their own in a global market
economy. And perhaps more significantly,
there is also the aspect of a cultural
globalization, made possible by the
modern communications media, which is
quickly drawing Asian societies into a
global consumer culture that is both
secularist and materialistic. The result
is an eroding of traditional family and
social values which until now had
sustained peoples and societies. All of
this makes it clear that the ethical and
moral aspects of globalization need to be
more directly addressed by the leaders of
nations and by organizations concerned
with human promotion. The Church
insists upon the need for "globalization
without marginalization". With the
Synod Fathers, I call upon the particular
Churches everywhere, and especially those
in the Western countries, to work to
ensure that the Church's social doctrine
has its due impact upon the formulation
of ethical and juridical norms for
regulating the world's free markets and
for the means of social communication.
Catholic leaders and professionals should
urge governments and financial and trade
institutions to recognize and respect
such norms.
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Voice
in the United Nations
In the intervention at the annual
session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
of the United Nations, 18 July 2001, Archbishop
Diarmuid Martin emphasized that globalization
should be a process of inclusion to serve every
individual person and to achieve a truely
sustainable development.
Related
Discussions and Reflections
- Trade,
Development and the Fight against Poverty
This is a reflection prepared by
the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace on the occasion of the Seattle
Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organisation "Millennium Round"
in 1999. It deals with important
questions concerning world trade and
presents with background on specific
topics as well as proposals based on the
principles of the Church social teaching.
- The
Social Dimensions of Globalisation
The proceedings of a workshop
held by the Pontifical Academy of Social
Sciences on "The Social Dimensions
of Globalisation" in 2000, this book
offers a variety of perspectives and
solutions for an understanding of what
globalisation really is and what it
really means.
- Globalization
Ethical and Institutional Concerns
These papers were presented at
the Seventh Plenary Session of the
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences,
held in 25-28 April 2001.
Responses
of the Christian
Conference of Asia
CCA has been responding in many ways to
the challenges of globalisation. With an overall
concern for more interreligious dialogue, CCA
seeks the possibilities of collaborating with
different faith groups to develop a better
understanding among each other and at the same
time, to deal with the negative impact of
globalisation together. Issues related to
globalisation, such as economic domination,
political imperialism, cultural aggression,
environmental degradation and global terrorism,
have been included in the programs and concerns
of different program areas or desks of CCA.
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