“Endorsing utilitarian deregulation and global neoliberalism means imposing the law of the strongest as the only rule; and it is a law that dehumanizes,” the pope wrote in a letter to members of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Economics
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The future of the G.O.P. and the working class: What Trump’s cabinet pick tells us
President Trump has nominated Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former congresswoman backed by unions, as secretary of labor. Is it a sign of an improved relationship between labor and the G.O.P. ?
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Catholic institutions in Africa seek alternative funding as support from former missionaries fades
Catholic institutions in Zimbabwe and other African states once could rely on support from retired missionaries. Now the decline in missionary numbers has left African religious communities facing a financial crunch.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Debt relief advocates make their case to Joe Biden before he leaves the White House
More than 60 Catholic institutions, congregations and individuals have signed a letter imploring Mr. Biden to endorse a new round of assistance to the world’s most indebted nations from the International Monetary Fund.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis condemns economies that exploit child labor in first catechesis of 2025
“Today we know how to turn our eyes toward Mars or virtual worlds, but we struggle to look into the eyes of a child who has been left on the margins and is being exploited and abused,” the pope said at his general audience Jan. 8.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Destitute South Africans and migrants risk their lives in illegal mines—and are exploited by criminal gangs
In the small town of Stilfontein, some 90 miles from the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, hundreds, possibly thousands, of illegal miners have been underground in an abandoned mine shaft for more than a month.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The end of neoliberalism
In ‘Tyranny, Inc.,’ Sohrab Ahmari supplies a framework and examples of what has shaped the desperate plight of a growing number of Americans.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis says tax billionaires, stop sports betting in fiery economics speech
In a talk to leaders of popular grassroots movements, Pope Francis said, “It is often precisely the wealthiest who oppose the realization of social justice or integral ecology out of sheer greed.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Raising tariffs on Chinese goods could be bad for peace and the planet
Reducing our tariffs on Chinese exports, particularly solar panels and electric cars, would be an environmentally friendly move and would promote world peace.
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican investment office reports $49.6 million profit for 2023
The Vatican investment office made 45.9 million euros in profit in 2023, contributing millions of euros to the Vatican’s operating budget and in increasing its assets.