VATICAN CITY, FEB. 2, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The economic crisis requires a new relationship between labor and capital and between the common good and the market, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this Saturday when he received in audience members of the Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori (Italian Confederation of Workers Unions) on the 60th anniversary of the group’s foundation.
“The great challenge and opportunity that the worrying economic crisis of the moment invites [us] to know how to take advantage of, consists in finding a new synthesis between the common good and the market, between capital and labor,” he said.
The Holy Father affirmed that the world of work is the “essential key” to every social question, “because it conditions not only the economic development but also the cultural and moral development of persons, families, communities and all of humanity.”
Citing Pope John Paul II, the German Pontiff emphasized that the Church “has never halted in considering the problem of work within a social question that has progressively taken on worldwide dimensions.”
He said that the economic crisis “is especially affecting the world of work” and requires “a free and responsible effort from everyone, that is, it is necessary to overcome particular interests or [those of] a sector, to confront difficulties together and united.”
“Never like today has a similar urgency been notable,” the Bishop of Rome suggested.
He said that the recession calls for solidarity and responsibility from everyone, as well as teamwork.
“The difficulties that the world of work is passing through urge an effective and more compact coordination between all the components of society,” Benedict XVI affirmed.
He expressed his hopes that “from the current worldwide crisis springs forth a common will to give life to a new culture of solidarity and responsible participation, indispensable conditions to build together the future of our planet.”
