Primary Source link to The Popes comments on Economics and "Free" Markets. See what he says before and after the now famous passage...

Here is the link to the document that contains the Popes commentary on contemporary economics and, in his view, the what "Free Markets" have wrought on the world, for better or worse. (I put quotation marks around "Free Markets" as a qualifier---There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Market (TANSTAAFM) )

The document is VERY long and has some interesting tidbits other than the one that relates to economics. If you go to the document it starts on Page 45 and goes to 51.

I thought it interesting that he believes the Church needs to decentralize and become less bureaucratic so that it can serve communities and people better---sort of like what "Free" Markets (absent Cronyism)  do.  But I digress...

I excerpted the relevant parts before and after the specific quote that is making the rounds in blogs and the talking heads on TV.  The one that refers to the "Trickle-Down Theories" is in Passage 54.

Passage 54 is the one that is being referred to: