Father Drew J. Christiansen, editor-in-chief, America magazine: After your G8 meeting, what will you report to the pope on progress toward helping the world's poor?
In addition to trying to get other wealthy countries to match the U.S. commitment to food security around the world, Obama said, "I think what I'll also want to talk to the Holy Father about is the need to initiate some core reforms not just oversees, but here in this country, that assure basic security for individuals in this country not only poor, but also middle class, who are extremely vulnerable to bankruptcy if they get sick, to flat wages and incomes so that -- are making it more and more difficult for them to live lives of dignity and security. So everything from our health care reform agenda to our approach to education I think is geared towards providing greater opportunity.
"I continue to believe that capitalism is the most effective means of generating wealth, but I think one of the things -- areas where the Catholic Church has always been a powerful moral compass is on questions of distribution and how do we make sure that opportunities are extended to everybody. And the invisible hand of the market does not always assure that everybody is able to have enough to eat and have a roof over their heads, send their kids to college. And we want to make sure that we continue to build a society that is not only wealthy in the aggregate, but is also just."
DISQUS for OSV Daily Take
