CSDC 366

As globalization spreads it must be accompanied by an ever more mature awareness on the part of different organizations of civil society of the new tasks to which they are called on a worldwide level. Thanks also to resolute action taken by these organizations, it will be possible to place the present process of economic and financial growth taking place on a global scale within a framework that guarantees an effective respect of human rights and of the rights of peoples, as well as an equitable distribution of resources within every country and between different countries: “freedom of trade is fair only when it is in accord with the demands of justice”.⁷⁵⁶ Paul VI, Populorum Progressio, 59: AAS 59AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 59 (1967) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1967), 286. Special attention must be given to specific local features and the cultural differences that are threatened by the economic and financial process currently underway: “Globalization must not be a new version of colonialism. It must respect the diversity of cultures which, within the universal harmony of peoples, are life's interpretive keys. In particular, it must not deprive the poor of what remains most precious to them, including their religious beliefs and practices, since genuine religious convictions are the clearest manifestation of human freedom”.⁷⁵⁷ John Paul II, Address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (27 April 2001), 4: AAS 93AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 93 (2001) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (2001), 600.