The Vatican and the International Monetary System

This paper considers the Note issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 2011 calling for reform of the international financial and monetary systems. Three main themes are identified: (a) the inequality of global economic growth over the last century, (b) the failings of economic liberalism as a guide for the conduct of policy and (c) the need for a degree of transfer of sovereignty from individual states to the global level. This paper articulates the meaning of these themes in economic terms and illustrates the nature of the changes in thought and practice that the Note considers necessary in the interests of the common good.