161
a greater meaning in life; this will enable them
truly to serve the common good by striving to in-
crease the goods of this world and to make them
more accessible to all.
204.âWe can no longer trust in the unseen forc-
es and the invisible hand of the market. Growth
in justice requires more than economic growth,
while presupposing such growth: it requires de-
cisions, programmes, mechanisms and process-
es specifically geared to a better distribution of
income, the creation of sources of employment
and an integral promotion of the poor which
goes beyond a simple welfare mentality. I am far
from proposing an irresponsible populism, but
the economy can no longer turn to remedies that
are a new poison, such as attempting to increase
profits by reducing the work force and thereby
adding to the ranks of the excluded.
205.âI ask God to give us more politicians ca-
pable of sincere and effective dialogue aimed at
healing the deepest roots â and not simply the
appearances â of the evils in our world! Poli-
tics, though often denigrated, remains a lofty vo-
cation and one of the highest forms of charity,
inasmuch as it seeks the common good.
174
We
need to be convinced that charity âis the princi-
ple not only of micro-relationships (with friends,
174
âCf. C
ommission
S
ociale
de
Lâ
épiscopat
F
rançais
,
Réhabiliter la politique
(17 February 1999); cf. PIUS XI, Message
of 18 December 1927.
