Africa and the Economy of Exclusion-Perspective and New Horizons from The Joy of the Gospel of Pope Francis

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai (AMDG)

As Africans respond to the teaching ministry of Pope Francis in seeking out new economic models for the continent, it might be helpful to situate the teaching of Francis in a wider and broad perspective, in what is now referred to as Catholic Social Teaching (CST). The implication is that the Joy of the Gospel did not fall from the skies! Francis is building on a solid tradition that appears to be the best kept secrets of Roman Catholicism – that is, our Catholic Social Teaching. This approach has the added advantage of preventing what someone recently referred to as “Francis, Filtered,” which has been the attempt by some to give the impression that Francis might not be Catholic enough, or that Francis does not care about the rich tradition of Roman Catholicism! It was the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard that once said that life must be lived forward, but understood backward! So it is with the present magisterium of Francis: building on the Church’s reflection on the question of the economy and yet, making a genuine contribution from is own pastoral and academic formation, and above all, from the assistance giving him by the Holy Spirit as successor of Peter.

The modern phase of CST is traceable to Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 social encyclical, Rerum Novarum. The new social conditions centered on the working conditions of the proletariat in Europe. Leo’s great social encyclical took the form of a critical response to the propositions of the Socialists, divided into three areas: the action of the Church; the action of the state; and the relationship of employers and employees. He defended the right to strike by workers, owing to unjust wages, and the formation of workers unions. He established the idea that the Church has a social doctrine, that there is a body of social principles rooted in Christian tradition and developed through reflection upon the person and society. Subsequent popes and bishop' conferences have built on this tradition begun by Leo XIII, especially on the historical and pastoral tone set forth by Leo.

In 1931, Pope Pius XI wrote Quadragesimo Anno that is, forty years after Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. The social context was that of the Great Depression that had left millions in Europe and America unemployed. Fascism and Communism were becoming growingly attractive. The principle of Subsidiarity is the enduring contribution of Pius’ encyclical: that the state and all other associations exist for the individual. Societies should therefore not assume what individuals can do, nor should larger societies undertake what smaller ones can do. The principle of Subsidiarity was adopted by the European Economic Community. Pope John XXIII Mater et Magistra - May 1961, was written at a time of great social upheaval: the advent of the atomic weapons. It introduced two new ideasinto Catholic Social Teaching: the non-industrialized nations of the world; and the role of the laity in carrying forth the practical applications of the gospel. It reaffirmed the right to private property and offered a measured critique of liberal capitalism. John XXIII’s 1963 Holy Thursday encyclical, Pacem in Terris, was set in the context was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Addressed to “all men and women of good will,” Pacem in Terris inserted Catholicism into the modern quest for justice, peace and freedom, trusting that all would hear its appeal for deterrence and disarmament.

Gaudium et Spes, the 1965 Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is a work of the Second Vatican Council. The context of Gaudium et Spes is modernity: how do humans understand themselves when faced by a plethora of recent discoveries urbanization, immigration, mass media and secularism? Gaudium et Spes proposes an anthropology that sees the human being as whole and entire, with body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will. It is this human being with a non-material dimension that must rethink the whole question of war and the arms race. Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Freedom – DignitatisHumanae (1965), constituted another milestone in the evolution of Catholic Social Teaching. The historical setting is on church-state relations that followed the revolutionary currents that had been unleashed by the French Revolution. It argued against the privatization of religion, putting forth a theory of freedom for religion that, while not sanctioning state religion, invites the state to make room for religious freedom, lived according to human conscience. Paul VI’s 1967 social encyclical, Populorum Progresso, addressed the question of modern international development. He affirmed the Church’s support for those peoples seeking to overcome hunger, poverty, ignorance, et cetera. Another name for peace became development, with Paul’s encyclical. He asserted that the economy was at the service of human beings.

To mark the eightieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum in 1971, Paul VI issued the apostolic letter, Octogesima Adveniens, in which he argued that ultimate economic decisions are shaped by political power. Paul called for a responsible use of political power. Paul VI challenged communities to analyze, reflect, judge and act on their particular situations. He called on such economic constructive efforts to be founded on the principles of equality and participation. On September 14, 1981, John Paul II, released LaboremExercens. This worker-Pope from Poland wanted to help the Church in forming a spirituality of work that will help people to come closer through work to God, the creator and redeemer. Work is to be considered a subjective dimension of human existence, intrinsic to the human being. By focusing on the spiritual dimension of work and its role in God’s plan LaboremExercens taught the world that the social and economic question of work is likewise a moral and ethical one. John Paul therefore moved Catholic Social Teaching from the relationship of capital and labour to work as a character-forming and spiritual experience.

The 1987 encyclical SollicitudoReiSocialis by John Paul II sought to respond to the thorny reality of failed developmental and economic policies, especially in the developing world. What economic theory can best lift the developing world out of poverty? Outstanding in Sollicitudois its empirical approach to world economy: the value on entrepreneurship; the concern over increasing world protectionism, and the havoc of floating exchange rates. That said, Sollicitudo has been criticized for not taking adequate account of the efficiency of capitalist production of goods and services, reducing the great engine of capitalism simply to the all-consuming desire for profit, a materialist conception of capitalism. Wealth should not be seen as a crime. On the occasion of the centenary of the publication of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, John Paul II wrote CentesimusAnnus, which focused on human freedom and the right ordering of culture, economics, and politics. To the delight of many in the free world, John Paul affirmed the place of the free market, democracy and faith: faith in freedom; faith in the human capacity to order human life properly; and above all, faith in God who created man and woman with intelligence and free will. 

Benedict XVI’s 2009 encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, focused on integral human development. The genuine novelty in Caritas in Veritate is the encyclical’s strong emphasis on the life issues (abortion, euthanasia, embryo-destructive stem-cell research) as well as social-justice issues – which Benedict cleverly extends to the discussion of environmental questions, suggesting as he does that people who don’t care much about unborn children are unlikely to make serious contributions to a human ecology that takes care of the natural world. It is within this fabric that we can understand the Joy of the Gospel of Francis, as an added value to the Church’s response to the mores and challenges of the world. The above analysis shows us this process as an accompanying thinking-through process of faith that does justice in the different contexts of the world. What is unique about the Joy of the Gospel?

 To be continued!