Madam, - It is always a surprise to see the social mission of the church feature in your business pages. Marc Coleman (Business This Week, January 6th) warns the church to keep its hands off economics; yet he asserts that religion is essential to economic life.
The values of faith, trust, belief in the goodness of others, reciprocity and equality are indeed important moderating influences on capitalism. Faith communities do encourage the development of these values and can challenge economic policies to be more just, especially to those on the margins of our society.
However, Mr Coleman would consign the church to the role of "hurler on the ditch" when he allows it only to offer critique and not to take part in policy-making.
In engaging in public policy debate, the church can no longer do from its authority (for that is long gone) nor in secret phone calls from All Hallows or elsewhere, but simply from the perspective of thoughtful proposals based on values such as those outlined above and in the interest of the common good.
It seems to me that Fr Sean Healy and Sr Brigid Reynolds of Cori do an excellent job in this regard.
Engaging with the marketplace is a two-way process. The church could learn from good business practice: the need for visionary leadership, human resource management, strategic planning, risk-taking and innovation. - Yours, etc,
DAVID ROSE,
Presentation Centre,
Terenure Road West,
Dublin 6w.