A Gospel of Freedom
ROME -- How felicitous it sounds in Italian: globalizzazione.</br></br>And why not? For much of history, this was globalization. The outlines remain visible still, in the marble of Bernini and Michelangelo, in the Latin ringing the nave of St. Peter's, in the broken imperial columns that have not held a roof for 2,000 years. Respectively they evoke what was once the world order: a common faith, a common language, a common law. The pilgrims who have filled the Eternal City this jubilee year remind us that it is also an order whose better angels retain a power to inspire.</br></br>Clearly Pope John Paul II believes so. For when he looks out at the Third Millennium that begins this Christmas, he sees opportunity: the chance to restore man to his proper footing, in solidarity with his neighbor and obedience to the truth.</br></br>Understandably this has been read as (at best) an exercise in sentimentality or (at worst) a call for some Roman restoration. In fact, this "civilization of solidarity" emanates from the human heart out rather than some central authority down. And a recent Vatican conference suggests that a truly free and truly global economy may be one of its crucial ingredients.</br></br>"Granted, there are significant differences between love of neighbor and business," says the Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute. "But perhaps not as many as one might imagine at first."