The Pope VS. Corporations. Who will win
@thegreatdebater (7316)
United States
July 8, 2009 5:47pm CST
Pope Benedict XVI has called for a new world financial order guided by ethics, dignity and the search for the common good. He also said:"Profit is useful if it serves as a means toward an end," he wrote. "Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty." "The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly - not any ethics, but an ethics which is people-centered," he wrote. Do you think that the Pope calling out corporations will change how they do business? And, do you agree that they put profits above everything else?
3 responses
@irishidid (8688)
• United States
8 Jul 09
I don't pay attention to the pope. Maybe if I were Catholics, but I'm not. In fact, I need the big corporations a lot more. My friend whose parents just opened a fabric shop needs the manufacturer that produces the fabric they in turn need the supplier of the silk, cotton, polyester and other raw materials. They need the farmer and factories that grow and produce these things. I could go on and on.
None of these people need the pope to believe and trust in God. Neither do I.
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
8 Jul 09
LOL, I will agree with you on this one Irish, but I am sure I will be attacked shortly for that. Some people believe that the Pope is actually God on earth. But, I think it will be interesting to see some of the conservatives comment on the Pope.
@irishidid (8688)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I may have to print this out. We've never agreed on anything. Guess there's a first time for everything. 
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
9 Jul 09
Sometimes you find agreement in the strangest places.
@KLVentures (119)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I think that most Catholics look at the Pope as someone who should be honored but not obeyed. Since the majority of Catholics disregard so many of the churches rules, I do not see anyone really giving his message much thought in a couple of days.
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
9 Jul 09
KLV, you do have a very good point on this one. I can't remember the last time the Pope as said something that really mattered. I think the last time I really cared about anything the Pope said or did was when Pope John Paul II was Pope. Since then I don't really think that anyone has cared about the Pope.
@heathcliff (1415)
• United States
8 Jul 09
Alot of companies already have ethics and "people first" statements worked into their business plans. It is great for publicity, after all, but it is hard to enforce when their still basing bonuses and reviews primarily on the bottom line.
From the Pope's side: I wouldn't expect anything less. What else is He going to say? Of course, there are all kinds of prophecies that his is the last or next-to-last Papacy, so maybe corporations are going to bring him down for this.
Right now, with no real international governace, I would put my money on the corporations.
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
8 Jul 09
I would have to agree with you on this one. Who is more important to the world: Wal-Mart or the Pope?
