Pope Benedict's new social encyclical is finished and will be released in May. It will commemorate Paul VI's 1967 document on the development of peoples, and address the great global problems of hunger and gross poverty, climate change, human rights, nuclear weapons and disarmament, violence, fundamentalism and peace.
The encyclical has been delayed two years because of the need for Benedict to respond to the global financial crisis and the 'Great Recession'. He is likely to reiterate themes from Pope Pius XI's 1931 encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno, in response to the Great Depression. Many aspects of Pius' encyclical are relevant to the current crisis.
The Wall Street collapse of 1929 triggered the Great Depression which left a third of workers unemployed in many countries, and resulted in the rise of dictatorships in Europe, notably the Nazis in Germany.
The current economic crisis has different origins, beginning with the collapse of often fraudulent financial markets, with the collusion or blindness of business leaders and bankers, regulators, sections of the media and some politicians.
In addition, proponents of the neo-liberal economic ideology, with its inflated belief in free markets and minimal regulation, proclaimed that the rules of economics had changed. This belief helped undermine moral judgment in business circles and among investors, who were drawn into this giant bubble economy.
Various commentators warned against this corrosion of ethical standards, and forecast the inevitable collapse of this financial bubble (see Peter Hartcher's 2005 Bubble Man: Alan Greenspan & the Missing 7 Trillion Dollars), but regulators did not listen.
What will Benedict say about the current 'Great Recession' which is causing such growing distress?
First, he does not have to reinvent the wheel. Modern Catholic social writings have long insisted that economics must be directed to serve the good of everyone, not just the rich. Pius XI was particularly strong on this, though Benedict will also draw from later reflection, especially by Popes Paul VI and John-Paul II.
Second, Benedict will insist that the principles of equity, participation and social justice, as well as freedom and enterprise, are essential for a just economic system. He will attack the collapse of ethical standards, but is also likely to criticise the concentration of economic power in the hands of a relatively small number of people, institutions and companies.
Third, he will strongly critique the contemporary free-market ideology of neo-liberalism which encouraged a 'greed