Vatican "Banker" on World's Financial Crisis

It's 2 a.m and thanks to an aching shoulder resulting from a hard fall I took the other day, I'm unable to sleep...at least for the time being. Dear Diane is snoozing soundly while I sit In this unlit corner of our hotel room tapping away on the iPad. I've already spent some time in prayer, and so what better use to make of these odd, dark hours than posting to this blog.

Over the years I've had people tell me that the Vatican shouldn't have a bank, that it is somehow a profanation of the Church's mission to be so actively involved in the financial world. But the Church must do it's work in the world and much of that work involves the distribution of funds to address both the spiritual and material needs of God's people. It's really no different than what we do at the ecumenical Wildwood Soup Kitchen. We raise funds, maintain various bank accounts, and use the money in those accounts to accomplish our mission of feeding the hungry. The Vatican does the same, but on a larger scale.

And in addition to being the physical home of the Church's leadership, the Vatican is also an independent state, and must be able to function effectively in it's relationships with other states. Indeed, It is this independence that allows the Church to act and speak so often and so effectively as the world's conscience.

Anyway, a few days ago I read a brief news item about the Vatican state bank, or as it is officially and more appropriately called, the Institute for Works of Religion. The head of the bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, aptly criticized the governments of both Europe and the USA for their handling of the current economic crisis. He called the European bailouts "ultimately harmful" and inflationary because they were used to relieve debt instead of promoting growth. He went on to challenge the US government's policy of "keeping gross domestic product growth high by supporting it with debt." His prescription? "...only a period of austerity, managed with integrity, can be the real key towards restoring growth."

Instead we just keep piling on the debt through profligate spending and no-growth "stimulus" plans designed more to appease special interests than promote real growth. And our elected leaders? They're petrified of upsetting voters who never tire of grasping for their pieces of the dwindling pie. It's all very unsettling.

To read more: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-bank-chief-issues-warning-about-us-european-economic-policies/


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Location:Lafayette, Indiana