"CENTESIMUS ANNUS 25 YEARS LATER"

CONFERENCE AT THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, APRIL 15-16, 2016

SPEAKERS INLCUDE: BERNIE SANDERS, EVO MORALES, RAFAEL CORREA, JEFFREY SACHS, AND MORE

Information about the conference on Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences Website

The Conference at the Pontifical Academy of Social Science (April 15-16th 2016) was held in celebration of the 25 year anniversary of Pope John Paul II's Centesimus Annus. This conference is noteworthy, because in attendance was Bernie Sanders, democratic candidate for the president of the United States, Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador, as well as some other notable speakers, such as the American economist Jeffrey Sachs.

 

CENTESIMUS ANNUS - POPE JOHN PAUL II'S THOUGHTS ON EASTERN EUROPE'S ECONOMIC FUTURE IN FINAL DAYS OF COMMUNISM

The encyclical Centesimus Annus was written by Pope John Paul II during the last days of the Cold War. With the days of communism coming to a close in Eastern Europe, John Paul II attempted to develop an informed perspective on the economic prospects of Eastern Europe at the time. He became deeply involved in the question of what the new economy would look like.

The encyclical is partially a refutation of Marxist/communist ideology and the condemnation of the dictatorial regimes that practiced it, but it is also a warning about the future of the capitalistic system that would succeed it. In this encyclical, Pope John Paul II highlighted the importance of freedom. With the fall of communism, it was assumed that people would enjoy greater freedom. Pope John Paul II highlighted freedom as a concept that defends the dignity of every person, and is always oriented towards the common good. But he warned that such freedoms would be threatened by the excesses of untrammeled finance. Looking at our world twenty five years later, this warning was deeply prescient. Today the globe lives under the greatest income inequality in history. The current pope (Pope Francis) has called our era the "Globalization of Indifference," an era where the globalization process is indifferent to the suffering it causes in deepening the plight of the poor, and in its rapacious and seemingly endless destruction of the environment and life on the planet.

In turn the Centesimus Annus was written in the 100 year anniversary of the Rerum Novarum, which was an encyclical written by Pope Leo XIII on the rights of the working poor, in relation to the industrial revolution and unrestricted capitalism.

PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES HOLDS CONFERENCE

IN TWENTY FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CENTESIMUS ANNUS

The conference recently held at the Pontifical Academy of Social Science on April 15-16 2016 continues on the heels of Centesimus Annus and Rerum Novarum. In celebration of the twenty five year anniversary of the Centesimus Annus, the Pontifical Academy of Social Science organized a symposium that would not be a commemorative event, but a series of serious academic discussions with professors, economists and heads of states.

The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences itself was established by the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II (January 1st 1994) with the goal of promoting the study and progress of social sciences, primarily economics, sociology, law and political science.

The goal of this symposium was to address the question: "What have been the major changes in economic, political, and cultural life over the past 25 years to which the Church must respond today?" Other goals were to talk about the developments on culture, such as the impact of the internet, the marketization of life, the new dynamics of secularization as well as the growth of religions like Islam.

 

BERNIE SANDERS MEETS WITH THE POPE

What is also significant is that during this conference, Bernie Sanders met with the Pope in the Vatican (NBC News, 4-16-16). Sanders called this short visit an "honor and a joy." "Today certainly was the highlight of the trip," Sanders told NBC News of his 6 a.m. (midnight ET) meeting with the pontiff outside the papal residence's breakfast room. He called the pope "one of the great leaders in this world." "In terms of economic justice, the need to combat climate change — nobody in the world has been more profound and articulate than the pope, and I'm delighted to go forward with him on those issues," said Sanders, who has made wealth inequality a cornerstone of his campaign.

When asked about the meeting with the senator, the Pope stated, "This morning when I left, Sen. Sanders was there. ... He knew I was leaving at that time and I had the kindness to greet him and his wife and another couple who were with them...When I came down, I greeted them, shook their hands and nothing more. This is good manners. It's called good manners and not getting mixed up in politics," the pope said. "If anyone thinks that greeting someone means getting involved in politics, they should see a psychiatrist."

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Pope also thanked Sanders for coming to speak about "the moral economy."

When asked if the meeting could be interpreted as political, Sanders said, "This was absolutely not political. This is a senator who for decades has been speaking about the moral economy." 

However, there was some controversy about the invitation of Bernie Sanders to the conference, which was the product of infighting among the Vatican's social scientists. The President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Margaret Archer claims that Sanders pushed for the invitation. Yet this claim was quickly refuted by a senior papal official who on Friday said, "U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was invited to speak at an April 15 Vatican event by the Vatican." (Mother Jones). The invitation that was sent to Sanders was dated back to March 30th and signed by Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, who is senior to Archer. So it's pretty clear that Sanders did not push for the invitation as part of some political ploy, but was invited by the Vatican.


FULL PAPAL TEXTS

Laudato Si: 2015 (Pope Francis)

An encyclical written by Pope Francis on climate change.

 

Lumen Fidei: 2013 (Pope Francis)

An encyclical written by Pope Francis on faith, completing what his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI had previously written about charity and hope,

the other two theological virtues, in his encyclicals Deus caritas est and Spe Salvi.

 

Centesimus Annus: 1991 (Pope John Paul II)

Thoughts of Pope John Paul II on the economic situation of Eastern Europe in the final days of the Cold War

 

Rerum Novarum: 1891 (Pope Leo XIII)

Thoughts of Pope Leo XIII on the rights of the working poor, in relation to the industrial revolution and unrestricted capitalism


POPE FRANCIS OFFICIAL WEBSITES

The Holy See: Francis   

The Pope Video: Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network

The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network - Apostleship of Prayer


POPE FRANCIS'S STATEMENTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Care for Creation (Video)

Pope Francis: Heed ‘the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ (Crux, 6-18-15) OFFICIAL STATEMENT/REPORT FROM THE POPE: "LAUDATO SI"

The Pope's Most Powerful Quotes About Climate Change (Huffington Post, 12-1-15)


CONFERENCE LINKS

Information about the conference on Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences Website

Conference Booklet

Photos of Conference


SOME KEY PAPERS AND SPEECHES AT THE CONFERENCE

PASS (Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences) President Professor Margaret Archer, Professor Daniel Finn - Word of Welcome  (Video only)

Senator Bernie Sanders - The urgency of a moral economy: reflections on the 25th anniversary of Centesimus Annus (Video and Text)

President of Bolivia, Evo Morales - The new proposals coming from Latin America (Video only. Speech on Youtube. In Spanish)

President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado - Changes in the world political situation since 1991 (Text only. In Spanish)

Professor Jeffrey Sachs - The world economy and economics since Centesimus Annus (Video only)

Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga - New challenges and new concerns since Centesimus Annus (Video only)

Hon. Rocco Buttiglione - First respondent (Text only)

Professor José Casanova - Changes in the world cultural situation since 1991 (Text only)


SPEAKERS

Bernie Sanders (Official Website)

President of Bolivia, Evo Morales (Official Website)

President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado (Official Website)

Jeffrey Sachs (Official Website)

Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga (Wikipedia)

Hon. Rocco Buttiglione (Wikipedia)

José Casanova (Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs)


ARTICLES

Bernie Sanders Meets Pope Francis During Visit to Vatican City (NBC News, 4-16-16)

Pope meets with Bernie Sanders, thanks him for addressing Vatican on the 'moral economy' (Jerusalem Post, 4-16-16)

Evo Morales Trip to Vatican City (Prensa Latina, 4-16-16) In Spanish

Bernie Sanders Has Really Pissed Off Margaret Archer (Mother Jones, 4-16-16)

Pope Francis: Sanders meeting 'not political meddling' (BBC, 4-16-16)

Read the Speech Bernie Sanders Gave at the Vatican (Time, 4-15-16)