The Church engaged in economy - is it necessary?

Abstract

In the light of the statements of the Magisterium, the presence of the Catholic Church in the world of economy seems obvious and necessary. However, this article focuses on the need to define (1) the type of economy referred to in the Church documents, (2) the type of the presence of the Church in economy as defined in these documents and ( ) the kind of necessity mentioned in the abovementioned records. It is in these three dimensions that the author depicts the outline of the attitude presented by the Church with regard to the basic economic issues (interventionism, social market economics, subsidiarity and solidarity in economics, the logic of unselfishness and gift). The conclusion of the text is that the ultimate reason for the presence of Catholic Church in economy is its social mission aimed at creating a society of relations, where the fundamental principle is social friendship (amicitia socialis).