Secular Franciscans Exhort U.S. Officials
To Remember the Poor in Economic Crisis
| NASHVILLE, TN -- The Secular Franciscan Order in the United States, conducting a national chapter in Nashville Oct. 14-19, called on government leaders to remember the poor as they deal with the current economic crisis in the U.S.
"Secular Franciscans exhort our government leaders to remember the poor who suffer most in times of economic downturn," said a statement unanimously approved by the delegate body. Secular Franciscans also expressed support for the Catholic bishops' call to government officials to remember the values of Catholic Social Teaching in dealing with the economic crisis and echoed their call for justice. They, like the bishops, recalled the words of Pope John Paul II: "Our Catholic tradition calls for a 'society of work, enterprise and participation' which 'is not directed against the market, but demands that the market be appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the state to assure that the basic needs of the whole society are satisfied' (Centesimus Annus)." "These words of John Paul II," the statement said, "should be adopted as a standard for all those who carry this responsibility for our nation, the world and the common good of all." *** |
Faces of Franciscan leaders meeting in Nashville |
