A committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released in January a single-spaced seven-page paper called “Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis,” which says nothing new about ethics but is quite original in its economics. Since the economic record of Catholic countries from Argentina to Guatemala and Spain to Ireland is not the most impressive, one might have expected a touch of humility; not so.
The bishops begin with two derivative Gospel principles: that we should “follow Jesus … by actively supporting the poor and the oppressed in their struggles to transform society,” and that we should recognize “the special value and dignity of human work in God’s plan for creation.” In the past, Catholic thinkers have tended to stress contemplation, play, the liberal arts even, rather than work (this they left to their Protestant counterparts). The bishops’ new emphasis on work is no doubt welcome, both theologically and in terms of political economy. Laborare et orare, the Benedictines used to say.
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