Catholic Business

Preferential Option for the Poor

A group of academics, some from Catholic University, sent an open letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, on the occasion of his addressing our 2011 graduating class a couple of weeks ago, accusing him of dissent because the budget cuts he is championing allegedly violate the Church's teaching on the preferential option for the poor.  I did not like the letter, both because of its overtly political intent, and also because of its clear misrepresentation of that teaching.

Fr. Sirico from the Acton Institute provided an early and thorough response. Kathryn Jean Lopez, a CUA alumna, wrote on the issue in the National Catholic Register, quoting a couple of other CUA faculty who had some incisive things to say about the letter.  

But perhaps the best closure on the issue is the recent exchange between Congressman Paul Ryan and Archbishop Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, also covered by Lopez, which demonstrates that Catholic Social Teaching is far more rich and insightful than the academics' letter held it out to be.  

Perhaps we can now return to studying Catholic Social Teaching as a source of great and timeless insight, instead of trying to force fit it into supporting our political preferences of the moment.  

 

Academic responses to Caritas in Veritate

 

From the Economist:

Pope Benedict XVI released his third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), in July 2009; it was supposed to come out earlier, but the Vatican wanted to be able to respond to the developing economic crisis. Now, business and law academics have had time to mull over Benedict’s words and decide what they imply for corporate governance.

The rest of the article is here.

Goldman Sachs doing God's Work

In an interview with the UK Sunday Times, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, claimed that he is doing God's work.  An article on the AOL DailyFinance site questions this claim.  I was quoted in the latter article, saying,

"The question of whether the CEO of Goldman Sachs is doing God's work is at one level a very complex one," says Dr. Andrew Abela, chairman of the Department of Business & Economics at the Catholic University of America. Abela, who is working on a book, Catechism for Business, says, "The vast size of the bank and its extensive influence on markets and on government policy, means that it is operating at all times in a moral minefield."

Unfortunately the rest of my quote didn't make it in:

"But at another level, the issue is a simple one: If you want to serve God in business then you need to have the intention to do so, and you need to act in ways that serve society. If your intention is instead to make lots of money, and you happen to do some social good along the way, there is not much honor or spiritual benefit there.  Similarly, if you intend to serve God and society, but the kinds of things you do actually harm people (government regulation often falls into this trap) then neither God nor society are served.  You need both the right intention and the right actions."

Brief overview of the encyclical

In an interview with Zenit, I gave a brief overview of Caritas in Veritate:

WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 7, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's new encyclical is not pretending to solve the worldwide financial crisis, but it points the way for building a solid economy through Christian virtue, says a business ethicist.

Andrew Abela is a marketing professor and chair of Catholic University of America's department of business and economics. He is currently working on a "catechism" for business leaders, applying principles of Catholic social teaching to questions of business ethics.

In this interview with ZENIT, Abela comments on Benedict XVI's latest encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate," which was released to the public today.

ZENIT: Could you give a "businessman's" summary of this encyclical? What are the main points for business leaders today?

Abela: A main point is that the economy is not a moral-free zone: both honesty and generosity are absolutely required if the market is to work and to serve the common good.  

Another point is that there is room for solidarity and generosity within the market, and that these in fact will make the market more effective by strengthening trust.  

Lastly, the encyclical points out that the most important aspect of development is spiritual development, and that openness to life "is at the center of true development" (No. 28).

(Read the rest here.)