Catholic politicians have an obligation to have regard to the social doctrine of the Church when they make policy, Pope Francis has said.  

Speaking to representatives of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a group which works with politicians to promote human dignity, the Pope said that politicians needed encouragement “ to think according to the Gospel and the social Doctrine of the Church”.

He said: “We need to increase awareness among lay faithful – no matter what their position, but especially those working in politics – and encourage them to think according to the Gospel and the social Doctrine of the Church and act coherently, discussing and working together with those with whom they sincerely share, if not a common faith, then a common vision of mankind, society and its ethical consequences, in a spirit of intellectual honesty.”  

The social Doctrine of the Church contains a “compass”, the Pope said..  

“It contains a fruit that is of particular significance on the long journey of the People of God through modern and contemporary history: this is the defence of religious freedom and of life in all its phases, the right to work and to decent work, to the family and to education.”  

Pope Francis recalled the Institute’s hard work to promote the “original, insuppressible dignity of every man and woman, a dignity which is not subject to any power or ideology”.  

“This false model of man and of society effects a practical atheism (by) denying, de facto, the Word of God that says, ‘let us make man in our image, according to our likeness,’” Pope Francis.

And he warned against a “culture of waste”.

Pope Francis said: “Unfortunately in our day and age which is so rich in achievements and hopes, there is no shortage of powers and forces that create a culture of waste; and this tends to turn into a common mentality.  

“The victims of said culture are the weaker and more fragile sections of society: the unborn, the poor, the sick and elderly and those with serious disabilities. They risk being left out of a system that strives for efficiency no matter what.”