MOSCOW - The time has come to reconsider the foundations of global development, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said.
"In my opinion, it would be a great achievement, including within our joint efforts, if serious dialogue were launched to address values of socioeconomic development and ethical values linked to mankind’s economic activity," the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said at a meeting with attendees of a Russian-Italian banking symposium in Moscow on Monday.
Russia and Italy could become "important instruments in this process," he said.
"International organizations, states, business corporations and the public should act alongside religious institutions to help determine the rules of the game and moral criteria that should govern worldwide economic development," Patriarch Kirill said.
Mankind has a right to "at least dream about the observance of accepted moral norms becoming a rule for commercial organizations’ work," he said.
"Tensions and difficulties are growing on a global scale, primarily between rich and poor countries, but even inside the most prosperous countries we also see an escalation of social tensions, which have led to open conflicts and violence on some occasions," Patriarch Kirill said.
International organizations and national governments do not always function effectively, and "the traditional system of settling international conflicts and disputes exposes its inefficiency" amid a crisis, he said.
