Vatican joins calls for crackdown on financial markets

[CHIMO]

If Vatican cardinals have yet to join the Occupy Wall Street protesters, a document released by the Holy See calling for a "world authority" to crack down on capitalism suggests some are considering it. Written by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and released on Monday, Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority, suggests a beefed-up United Nations could police the financial markets and inject a dose of ethics to replace rampant profiteering and reduce inequality.

The pamphlet claims that in combination with a "central world bank", such an authority would help restore "the primacy of the spiritual and of ethics", as well as "the primacy of politics – which is responsible for the common good – over the economy and finance". Financial transactions would be taxed to promote global development and sustainability, while "virtuous" banks helping out the "real economy" would qualify for state subsidy should they need it.

The council's secretary, Bishop Mario Toso, said the 1944 Bretton Woods accord had failed, while the G20 was unable to rein in markets.

The document also says the International Monetary Fund is no longer up to the job of stabilising the global financial system.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/24/vatican-calls-crackdown-financial-market

[JustAnotherGen]

1. The Revelationists

End of times believers are going to lose their minds.

[Turbineguy]

2. Some

irony there.

[Historic NY]

3. I want to see them chastise and castigate the "money changers"..

where is the threat to x-communicate them...Where is the looney Donahue and his Neo-Catholism group the Catholic League that normally excoriate those that og against dogma?

[Angry Dragon]

4. Gog and Magog coming to a country near you

[tropicanarose]

5. Excellent!

[rpannier]

6. I'll take their support

Anything that gets the attention of the media and puts the financial pirates on their heels
I'd like to see them take a more aggressive approach

[saras]

7. The thieves are getting bold enough to threaten the Vatican's wealth?

[Donnachaidh]

8. nah -- the Vatican's seeing the winds of change

I'll bet they double-checked their profiteering thoroughly before they issued this statement. Made damned sure they'd squeezed the last dime, then covered their tracks, before donning the halo of *Official Vatican Statement*.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Vatican usually stays out of this stuff -- but the world situation must be getting grim for this to happen.

[bulloney]

9. Will our priests lecture on this instead of abortion in the days leading to elections?

Typically, the last couple of Sundays before election day are reserved for our pastor to rail against abortion and telling us that Catholics must vote pro-life. During mass, Right-to-Life nazis stick their political brochures in our windshields, telling us to vote a straight Republican ticket because they're all "pro life."