Thursday, July 17, 2014

The Centrality Of Man

Last week, Pope Francis reminded participants at an economic conference that man must always be at the center of the economy. Otherwise, we find ourselves guilty of an “anthropological reductionism.”

The Holy Father’s predecessor, Saint John Paul II, constantly challenged people to embrace a person-centered mentality. In his Centesimus Annus, he wrote:

Christian anthropology…is really a chapter of theology, and for this reason, the Church's social doctrine, by its concern for man and by its interest in him and in the way he conducts himself in the world, “belongs to the field ... of theology and particularly of moral theology.” The theological dimension is needed both for interpreting and solving present-day problems in human society. 

Social issues crop up at the economic and political level when we lose sight of the dignity of the human person, John Paul II warned us. Now Pope Francis is echoing his cry.

Saint John Paul II, please pray for us, that we might be free of the sin of reducing the human person to something less than what he is worth!

No comments:

Post a Comment