Kishore Jayabalan, director of Istituto Acton (the Acton Institute’s Rome office), was interviewed by Vatican Radio concerning the authentic human development concerns of the whole person, which is a topic discussed in Caritas in Veritate. Jayabalan discussed how development schemes throughout the world should look at the aspirations of each individual person. Furthermore, in Caritas in Veritate there is a mention of a “breathing space” used a few times in the encyclical. This breathing space aspect means developing a vibrant and diverse society and not allowing central planning to decide every aspect of a person’s life; it is also important to place the individual at the center of the development.
[audio:http://bonhoeffer.acton.org/acton_media/mp3/2009-07-09_Jayabalan.mp3]Samuel Gregg, Director of Research at the Acton Institute, was interviewed on Ave Maria Radio. Gregg discusses Caritas in Veritate while addressing many issues that have risen from the encyclical. Gregg explains that the encyclical is not a conservative or liberal document, but rather it is simply Catholic. People should not read it through the eyes of secular political categories; importantly, when reading Caritas in Veritate, we must not think in secular terms on issues such as the free market and redistribution of wealth. Gregg also makes a point to mention Caritas in Veritate does not say markets are evil. Markets are good, but we must make sure they are grounded in morals — this is what makes a market good and successful.
[audio:http://bonhoeffer.acton.org/acton_media/mp3/2009-07-08_Gregg.mp3]