Archbishop Francis George was immediately confronted with the most difficult question of his speech Thursday at Northwestern: Is there baseball in heaven?
But the leader of the Archdiocese of Chicago talked about more than just the Angels. More than 250 people came to Tribune Auditorium at the Allen Center to hear the cardinal address Catholic social thought in the context of globalization.
The evening included dinner and a speech, both organized by Catholics@Kellogg, a club founded in 1999 to promote dialogue and awareness of the Catholic viewpoint within the Kellogg Graduate School of Management community.
The cardinal’s visit catered to Kellogg students and addressed balancing God and capitalism.
“Relationships define justice, not goods,” George said. “The emphasis should be on the distribution of these goods to those who need it rather than on their production.”
George spoke mostly from an academic perspective Thursday, because the majority of his audience was professionals. Given the audience’s business background, George focused on private ownership and universal sharing of economic resources, while interweaving Church history.
“Catholic social thought has its beginnings in the vision of creation in Genesis,” he said. “Reflecting on that book has led many — to realize that care of the Earth is in the hands of the human race.”
George also highlighted the role of new technology in radically transforming the regional view of society. He said the global 21st century community is a simultaneous expansion and compression of time and space.
But globalization on a non-cyber level, especially for Kellogg kindred, has another biting consequence, he said.
“The paradox of globalization is that despite its ability to improve the quality of life for all, it also widens the gap between rich and poor,” George said. “Globalization has thus far only linked those most privileged.”
George also injected his personal style and wit into the heavy subjects. More than once, his off-the-cuff remarks produced a laughing jolt in the room.
“(The Catholic Church) presents opportunity for people to be generous,” he said. “Rich people need the poor. Without the poor, they would go to hell.”
Nor was George quick to forget NU’s own experiences in generosity.
“The Catholic Church presents people’s needs and teaches how to be generous, where to entrust generosity,” he said. “Philanthropy itself is not always selfless. How else do you get your name on Dyche Stadium?”
Many members of the predominantly Catholic audience agreed with the cardinal’s view on the Church in the new market.
But a few undergraduates had a difficult time grasping all of George’s intellectual approach.
“He didn’t really speak about the lay person in management and what their role is,” said Erin O’Connor, a Speech sophomore. “Even though he was speaking to a mostly business audience, he could have put more emphasis on the role of normal individuals.”
