Morals and economics. (News in Brief: Canada).

Calgary -- The same Bishop Henry also expressed his views on ethical questions related to economics under the title "The kingdom of God has come to change the world-and us with it."

The long list of scandals in the business world, he wrote, has made people doubt the integrity of the business system: "The phony earnings, inflated revenues, insider trading, and unscrupulous executives, testify that personal and Original Sin are still very much alive today." The central problem of morality, he asserted, is the sin of pride in rebellion against God, which takes the form of a claim of autonomy, of complete self-determination. The clearest symbol of being free from all authority or control is money and what it can buy. The love of money continues when all passion is spent and anything else that might have resembled love is dead. Sin is a failure not just to observe a rule or a law but the refusal to meet the practical demands of love. As we develop our package of reforms to the system, we need to hear again the call to conversion, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

In 1996, Bishop Henry said, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops compiled a 10-point ethical framework for economic life. Some of its points are as follows:

The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy; workers, owners, consumers, etc., are moral agents in economical life. By their choices, they encourage or inhibit it. A fundamental moral measure of any economy is how the poor and the vulnerable are doing. Decisions on investment, trade, aid, and development, should protect human life and human rights, especially for those in need anywhere in the world.

In summary, Bishop Henry defended the free market but demanded that it meet the needs of the whole society: "We need a society of work, enterprise, and participation which is not directed against the market, but demands that the market be appropriately controlled by the forces of society and the government to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied." (Reprinted in WCR and C. Reg., Sept. 29).