Il contributo della Chiesa cattolica nelle istituzioni internazionali: indicazioni per lo sviluppo umano integrale

The Catholic Church, with her presence in international institutions, has contributed to deepening the concrete meaning of human dignity and development in a perspective that integrates the 'micro' dimension of human development and the 'macro' dimension of the common good. This contribution considers, in parallel, the social teaching of the Church and the evolution of the main themes of debate on economic and human development. It documents the activity of the Holy See both through the messages of the pontiffs to the United Nations, and through its diplomatic action at international institutions. It is argued that the Church's presence "in the field" in the most problematic situations allows her to offer realistic indications on how to deal with the serious issues of the lack of development and marginalization of a large part of the world's population. The Church’s indications can be summarized as follows: i) it is necessary to resist technocratic drifts, giving the necessary weight to the non-material dimensions of development; ii) to giving substance to "integral" development starting from the perspective of care; iii) to make human dignity the pivot of every practice and every policy, so that the poor can be dignified agents of their own development.