Pope Francis has explained that today we have to reject an “an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”

Fortune acknowledged that this Pope’s exhortations carry “a moral authority that virtually no other leader can wield.” As Catholics, we are obligated to strive for an economy that serves people, that allows each of us to reach our full potential in serving God. Among other things, we must inform ourselves and vote responsibly, in accordance with the Gospel. We must become the voice of those who are unable to speak for themselves.

The call for a fair, unexclusive economy will mean different things to different people – even people of deep Catholic faith will differ on the meaning of the Gospel in any specific circumstances. Let us pray with Pope Francis that, together, we might find a way forward that is just, and good for all:

Mary, Star of the New Evangelization,
help us to bear radiant witness to communion,
service, ardent and generous faith,
justice and love of the poor,
that the joy of the Gospel
may reach to the ends of the earth,
illuminating even the fringes of our world.

Amen.