For some time there has been talk of the Church declaring another Marian dogma: Mary as Co-Redemptrix. This has ruffled some feathers inside and outside the Church, although the teaching has been part of Catholic theology for some time.

Many Protestants are alarmed by this title of Our Lady and think that it means we’re making Mary equal to Christ. Some Catholics even wonder whether it makes too much of a humble handmaid of the Lord.

As Scripture shows, this is not the case. In 1 Cor. 3:9, St. Paul says that he is a co-laborer with Christ. He means that he’s an instrument by which the Corinthians have come to believe in Christ. It does NOT mean that St. Paul is equal to Jesus. He cooperated with the Lord in bringing salvation to the people, such that they could say, “Without Paul, I would never have known Jesus.”

There’s a lot of talk about capitalism and socialism today. As we discussed in a recent blog, capitalism can be compatible with Catholicism in certain ways, although extreme capitalism leads to violations of human dignity.

What about socialism? Here we repeat the words of Pope Pius XI: “No one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist.”

Here’s what socialism is and the problem with it.

What is socialism?
The socialist system is characterized by the state owning the means of production and allocating goods and services to people based on their needs. This differs from capitalism since private entities, instead of the state, hold control in the capitalist system.

Some people say the difference between socialism and communism is that socialism is peaceful and communism relies on violence. But, there have been peaceful communists and authoritarian socialists. Violence or peace could be found in either system.

Why Catholics can’t be socialists.
Socialism contradicts important social teachings of the faith. Pope Leo XIII, Pius XI, and many other pontiffs have condemned the system.

Many Catholics are aware of the Church’s condemnation of socialism. But are there also issues with capitalism? While popes have praised many values often associated with capitalism, they have also warned against extreme forms of the system that undermine human rights.

Here are some problems with capitalism that we see in our world today.

Capitalism, like socialism, can lead to a concentration of power.
G.K. Chesterton famously remarked that, historically, the problem with capitalism is there are “too few capitalists.” As a result, power is taken from families and put in the hands of a small number in charge.

We see these problems when a few big businesses dominate certain industries. Not only is competition weakened, but these corporations end up having more political power and money and can more easily exploit their workforce.

Extreme forms of capitalism may ultimately lead to socialism.
When capitalism gets out of hand, the government has to enact regulations. That’s fine as long as these genuinely protect the legitimate rights of businesses, their workers, and their customers.

When big business continually undermines the rights of workers and the public at large, people more readily embrace extreme government intervention, as socialist and communist societies demonstrate.