"Human greed is a form of idolatry" BXVI

Michael Sean Winters posting on America magazine's In All Things blog writes about the shape, form, and content Pope Benedict XVI's long anticipated encyclical on economic matters: Looking Ahead to Pope Benedict's Encyclical.

This post is well worth reading. I gravitated toward this quote:

"Readers familiar with the writings of Hans urs von Balthasar or with the charism of Communione e Liberazione and its founder Luigi Giussani will see their influence in the following passage: 'So what is capitalism suffering from? It is not suffering only from its excesses and from the greed and egoism of the men operating in it. It suffers from its point of departure, from its functional principle and the power that creates the system. For this reason, it is impossible to heal this illness with marginal remedies; it can be healed only by changing the point of departure.' I confess I would be surprised if this finds its way into the encyclical, but it is powerful stuff, and its gets down to the level of theological analysis that few men are capable of. Pope Benedict, however, is one of those few."

I agree, he is and I cannot wait for his judgment on what has transpired since late last summer.

A diaconal bow to Fred posting over on la nouvelle.