From The Vatican:
Udienza ai partecipanti all’Incontro promosso dalla Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze Sociali, 20.10.2017
Alle ore 12.30 di oggi, nella Sala Clementina del Palazzo Apostolico, il Santo Padre Francesco ha ricevuto in Udienza i partecipanti all’Incontro promosso dalla Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze Sociali.
Pubblichiamo di seguito il discorso che il Papa ha rivolto ai presenti all’Udienza:
Discorso del Santo PadreOops, wrong language. Let's try English:
Illustri Signore e Signori,
At 12.30 today, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the participants in the meeting organised by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.HT: Catholic News Agency and Vatican Radio
The following is the Pope’s address to those present:
Address of the Holy Father
Illustrious Ladies and Gentlemen,
I cordially greet the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and those who are participating in these study days, as well as the institutions that support the initiative. This draws attention to a need of great current relevance, such as that of developing new models of cooperation between the market, the State and civil society, in relation to the challenges of our time. In this occasion, I would like to focus briefly on two specific causes that increase exclusion and the existence of existential peripheries.....
....A similar issue is the rethinking of the figure and role of the nation-State in a new context such as that of globalisation, which has profoundly altered the previous international order. The State cannot be conceived of as the only and exclusive holder of the common good, without permitting intermediary bodies in civil society to freely express all their potential. This would be a violation of the principle of subsidiarity which, combined with that of solidarity, constitutes a fundamental pillar of the social doctrine of the Church. Here the challenge is how to reconcile individual rights with the common good.
In this sense, the specific role of civil society may be compared to that which Charles Péguy attributed to the virtue of hope: like a younger sister in the middle of another two virtues – faith and charity – holding them by the hand and pulling them ahead. This is how the position of civil society seems to me: “pulling” ahead the State and the market so that they rethink their reason for being and their way of working....MORE
*Return of the City-State, Or: The End of the Nation State May Be Upon Us
Because, as mentioned in the introduction to "Trends to Watch: "Can mayors actually rule the world?":Trends to Watch: "Can mayors actually rule the world?"
In low-key but very persistent ways technocrats* have been aiming at this target for years and now it seems to be gathering some momentum. Here's a good introduction by Harvard's Diane Davis....And because there is serious money pushing this idea, it is sometimes challenging to discern whether a piece of writing is reporting or advocacy.
As always, it's your call....
Local authorities are pushing to fundamentally move away from the longstanding dominance of the nation-state. How can we ensure that this is for the best?....
"Why nation-states are good"