Pope Francis’ strident critique of an “unbridled capitalism” that is destroying the planet has turned heads across the globe.
Ahead of his upcoming visit to the United States, American politicians, religious leaders, and laypeople are eager to hear how Pope Francis thinks about economics and climate change.
Economics correspondent Paul Solman spoke with Jim Wallis and others in a segment for PBS Newshour about why the pope wants us to stop worshiping capitalism.
Jim Wallis explained how Pope Francis’ critique of capitalism matches God’s vision for the world, as well as the ministry and example of Jesus:
Jesus says, you either serve God or mammon. That’s pretty radical. Mammon means money. You serve God or you serve money. ...
How we decide the morality, the integrity, the righteousness of an economy is not how the wealthiest do, but how the poorest do. That’s in the text. Now, that is more radical than communism and socialism. ...
Is our economy today good news for the poor? The economy is for, more and more, the very top, the very few, and the middle are all very insecure. And half of God’s children, half the world’s people are left behind by the economy. God’s economy is very simple. There is enough, if we share it. It’s really as simple as that.
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