At 12:15pm today, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Christian Union of Business Executives (UCID).
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I extend a cordial welcome to all of you, and I thank Cardinal De Giorgi and the National President for having introduced our gathering.
The Christian Union of Business Executives brings together Catholic entrepreneurs who set a goal for themselves of being architects of development for the sake of the common good. In order to do this, you give great importance to Christian formation, brought about above all through the deepening of the social teachings of the Church. This commitment to training is the basis for the action, both personal, in order to live out your profession, and that which is associated with the apostolate of the environment. I therefore urge you to enthusiastically persevere your formative activities, in order to be able to provide both fermentation and stimulation through your words and your example in the business world.
As an ecclesial association, recognized by the Bishops, you are called to live in fidelity to the call of the gospel and of the social doctrine of the Church in your families, in your work and in society. This witness is very important, and this is the reason why I encourage you to live your entrepreneurial vocation in a spirit of lay missionaries. The activity of entrepreneurs is in fact a noble work, a noble vocation, provided that those engaged in it see themselves challenged by a greater meaning in life; this will enable them truly to serve the common good by striving to increase the goods of this world and to make them more accessible to all (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 203).
Companies and the executive offices within such companies can become places of holiness, through a common commitment to building fraternal relationships between entrepreneurs, managers and staff, encouraging co-responsibility and collaboration in regard to common interests. It is crucial that you pay particular attention to the quality of the work life of your employees who are the most precious resources a company can have; especially attention that is paid to harmonizing work and family. I am particularly concerned about women: the challenge is to care both for their right for work that fully recognizes their vocation of motherhood and their presence within the family. How many times, how many times have we heard that a woman goes to her boss and says: I have to tell you that I am pregnant, and the employer replies: At the end of the month, you are no longer employed. Women must be cared for, assisted in this double work: their right to work and their right to be mothers. It is also the responsibility of enterprise to defend and to care for creation and to bring about progress that is healthier, more human, more social and more integral (Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si', 112).
This call to be missionaries of the social dimension of the gospel in the difficult and complex world of work, the economy and enterprise, also brings with it an openness and an evangelical closeness to various situations of poverty and fragility. It is also a matter of an attitude, of a style with which you carry out various plans for promotion and support, increasing the many and praiseworthy concrete works of sharing and solidarity that you support in various parts of Italy. This will also be a way for you yourselves to put into practice the grace of the Jubilee of Mercy. Someone among you might say to me: Ah, Father, I am merciful ... we do a bit of charitable work ... It is not enough to help, it is not enough to do a little bit of charity, this is not enough, maybe it is a first step. We have to direct economic activity in an evangelical sense, that is to say in service to people and to the common good. From this perspective, you are called to work together in order to increase an entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiarity, in order to face together the ethical challenges and those of the market, first among all the challenges of creating good opportunities for work. Be mindful of the young, I think that 40% of the youth in this part of the world today are unemployed. In another nearby country, the rate is 47%; in another one close by, it is more than 50%. Be mindful of the youth but be creative in finding opportunities for work which will help them to grow and give them employment, for those who have no work not only cannot earn their living but they also lose their dignity! As you trace out the way ahead, contribute also to initiatives aimed at helping them to work and to study, in order to be of assistance to them.
Business has an asset of common interest, even if it is privately owned and operated, for the mere fact that it pursues objectives of general interest and relevance, such as economic development, innovation and employment for example, and for this reason it should be protected as a good in and of itself. Institutions in the first place are called to do this work as well as entrepreneurs, economists, financial agencies and banks, and all those involved must not fail to act with competence, honesty and a sense of responsibility. The economy and business need ethics in order to function well; not any kind of ethic, but an ethic which focuses on people and communities. Today, I renew with you the mandate to be committed together to this end; and to bear fruit to the extent that the gospel is lived and present in your hearts, your minds and your actions.
I entrust you all, your work, your families and your employees to the protection of Saint Joseph the worker, the great Saint Joseph. I invoke upon each of you the blessing of the Lord, and I ask you please to pray for me: I also entrust this work to you!
Speech of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to members of the Christian Union of Business Executives
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I extend a cordial welcome to all of you, and I thank Cardinal De Giorgi and the National President for having introduced our gathering.
The Christian Union of Business Executives brings together Catholic entrepreneurs who set a goal for themselves of being architects of development for the sake of the common good. In order to do this, you give great importance to Christian formation, brought about above all through the deepening of the social teachings of the Church. This commitment to training is the basis for the action, both personal, in order to live out your profession, and that which is associated with the apostolate of the environment. I therefore urge you to enthusiastically persevere your formative activities, in order to be able to provide both fermentation and stimulation through your words and your example in the business world.
As an ecclesial association, recognized by the Bishops, you are called to live in fidelity to the call of the gospel and of the social doctrine of the Church in your families, in your work and in society. This witness is very important, and this is the reason why I encourage you to live your entrepreneurial vocation in a spirit of lay missionaries. The activity of entrepreneurs is in fact a noble work, a noble vocation, provided that those engaged in it see themselves challenged by a greater meaning in life; this will enable them truly to serve the common good by striving to increase the goods of this world and to make them more accessible to all (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 203).
Companies and the executive offices within such companies can become places of holiness, through a common commitment to building fraternal relationships between entrepreneurs, managers and staff, encouraging co-responsibility and collaboration in regard to common interests. It is crucial that you pay particular attention to the quality of the work life of your employees who are the most precious resources a company can have; especially attention that is paid to harmonizing work and family. I am particularly concerned about women: the challenge is to care both for their right for work that fully recognizes their vocation of motherhood and their presence within the family. How many times, how many times have we heard that a woman goes to her boss and says: I have to tell you that I am pregnant, and the employer replies: At the end of the month, you are no longer employed. Women must be cared for, assisted in this double work: their right to work and their right to be mothers. It is also the responsibility of enterprise to defend and to care for creation and to bring about progress that is healthier, more human, more social and more integral (Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si', 112).
This call to be missionaries of the social dimension of the gospel in the difficult and complex world of work, the economy and enterprise, also brings with it an openness and an evangelical closeness to various situations of poverty and fragility. It is also a matter of an attitude, of a style with which you carry out various plans for promotion and support, increasing the many and praiseworthy concrete works of sharing and solidarity that you support in various parts of Italy. This will also be a way for you yourselves to put into practice the grace of the Jubilee of Mercy. Someone among you might say to me: Ah, Father, I am merciful ... we do a bit of charitable work ... It is not enough to help, it is not enough to do a little bit of charity, this is not enough, maybe it is a first step. We have to direct economic activity in an evangelical sense, that is to say in service to people and to the common good. From this perspective, you are called to work together in order to increase an entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiarity, in order to face together the ethical challenges and those of the market, first among all the challenges of creating good opportunities for work. Be mindful of the young, I think that 40% of the youth in this part of the world today are unemployed. In another nearby country, the rate is 47%; in another one close by, it is more than 50%. Be mindful of the youth but be creative in finding opportunities for work which will help them to grow and give them employment, for those who have no work not only cannot earn their living but they also lose their dignity! As you trace out the way ahead, contribute also to initiatives aimed at helping them to work and to study, in order to be of assistance to them.
Business has an asset of common interest, even if it is privately owned and operated, for the mere fact that it pursues objectives of general interest and relevance, such as economic development, innovation and employment for example, and for this reason it should be protected as a good in and of itself. Institutions in the first place are called to do this work as well as entrepreneurs, economists, financial agencies and banks, and all those involved must not fail to act with competence, honesty and a sense of responsibility. The economy and business need ethics in order to function well; not any kind of ethic, but an ethic which focuses on people and communities. Today, I renew with you the mandate to be committed together to this end; and to bear fruit to the extent that the gospel is lived and present in your hearts, your minds and your actions.
I entrust you all, your work, your families and your employees to the protection of Saint Joseph the worker, the great Saint Joseph. I invoke upon each of you the blessing of the Lord, and I ask you please to pray for me: I also entrust this work to you!
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