Cardinal calls for model of development must serve the person not money

Madrid, Spain, Mar 9, 2009 / 23:07 pm

The Apostolic Administrator of Valencia, Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco, called on Catholic centers and people in positions of leadership to come up with a model of development that is at the service of the dignity of the person rather than money, because the crisis of ethical values was the origin of the current economic crisis.

In a recent letter, the cardinal pointed out that the economy cannot remain “on the margins of the creation of networks of authentic trust and genuine solidarity,” and that “the current situation shows us how easy it is to go from a crisis of economic values to an economic crisis.”

“Destroying the ethics of human behavior, basing it exclusively on legality—which ends up being empty legalism—brings some of the sad consequences that we are experiencing,” the cardinal explained.

Cardinal Garcia-Gasco criticized putting the interests of a few over the common good, as in the long run everyone is affected by the economy.  “When economic figures stray from the concrete reality of persons, sooner or later they will abruptly fall to the ground,” he said.

The cardinal also referred to the international Women’s Day, which was marked on Sunday, noting that in Spain many women unfairly suffer in their personal lives from having to balance work with family.