By material and economic standards the ten poorest countries are in Africa. Conversely, the ten richest countries are mostly in Europe. But this isn’t the whole story.
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What is Poverty?
Poverty is not just material. It is also moral and spiritual. Poverty is an affront to human dignity, and so the Church has always taught a preferential option for the poor.
The Top Marriage Quotes from the Church
“Marriage…transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple…it is not born ‘of loving sentiment, but from the depth of the obligation'” (Pope Francis)
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The sole reason for the existence of governments is to promote the Common Good.
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“Authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension”. (Pope Benedict XVI)
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While there are individuals and organizations devoted to the care of our physical environment and others devoted to the more important human environment, the Church has made clear: “Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person”.
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Capitalism has proven to be the greatest poverty relief program the world has ever known, but Pope Francis echoes that there this is no reason for free market triumphalism as “It is a well-known fact that…millions of people are still suffering and dying of starvation” while our culture deadens us to the problem.
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“Concretely, in economic activity” this means that business women and men “engage in economic activity for the sake of the common good and they experience this commitment as something transcending their self-interest, for the benefit of present and future generations.”
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Simply, but elegantly put: consumerism is a style of life directed towards “having” rather than “being”. It is a “web of false and superficial gratifications.” (Pope St. John Paul II)
