It is interesting that, shortly after the publication of Magnifica Humanitas, a large group of academics from all over the world, calling themselves The World Inequality Lab, published a document entitled The Global Justice Report. They seek to recommend approaches which will make our world more equitable in the face of the economic and climate-change crises facing our world today.

They point to the following facts:

1      The share of global wealth held by billionaires, who make up only 0.001% of the world population is 6%, while the share of the bottom 50% is 2%.

2      The average national personal income in sub-Saharan Africa today is £250 a month, whereas in North America/Oceania it is £3965 a month.

3      Globally, education and healthcare spending today is 13%.  7% of all government expenditures  goes on arms.

They criticise the short-term approach of mainstream political parties to the problems facing the world, including:

1     Traditional left-wing parties tend to base their politics on materialistic principles.

2     Traditional right-wing parties advocate more and more exploitation of the worlds resources.

3     Many ecologists propose questionable policies of scaling back the growth that is necessary for improved living conditions.

4.    The United nations Panel on Climate Change does not take into account the social impact of their policies on populations.

5.     Nationalists and billionaires accept widespread use of fossil fuels, climate disruption and inequality.

They emphasise the need for international cooperation, serious research and thinking, which is the secular form of synodality. Their Report is just one example of the many voices increasingly rising today calling for cooperation between people of good will. The Church is finding more and more agreement  from people outside it with her Social Teaching, which has always focused on the God-given wonder of humanity. People are beginning to take her seriously and look for guidance. 

Only the Church’s form of solidarity contributes the enormously essential spiritual ingredient in this cooperation. She brings the wisdom proceeding from 2000 years of listening to the Holy Spirit in prayer. The Church (Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant) is the massive spiritual beating heart by which God is developing this world which he has created and found to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

The writers of the report stress that one important aspect of this cooperation/synodality is the need for national states to coordinate the regulation needed to counteract the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few. For example: the power of AI to shape peoples thinking is in the hands of a few tech barons who have told governments to back off. Their aims are not for the good of humanity.