The Vatican has called for reform of the world’s financial systems, including the establishment of a “global public authority” with universal jurisdiction to manage the world economy.

A proposal by the Vatican’s Council of Justice and Peace says the new financial order should be based on ethics and the achievement of a universal common good.

It stressed the need to reform a fragile economic system it says is often ineffective and is having the most severe impact on the poor. The report says reforms should be aimed at achieving a fair distribution of the world’s wealth.

The Vatican pronouncement acknowledges the creation of such a global public authority is years away, but says it would demonstrate responsibility toward the current and future generations. The report recommends using the United Nations as a point of reference.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI issued an economic encyclical that denounced a profit-at-all-cost mentality as responsible for the global financial meltdown.