Catholic businessmen to focus on the Church's social doctrine
Bangkok, 21 December 2013: The Church's social doctrine applied to the world of business
and commerce, together with the "vocational" role and commitment of businessmen in
the challenges of the New Evangelization. These are the issues at the center of a
conference scheduled for March next year in Thailand. It will bring together top international
Catholic businessmen. "With the launch in 2014 of the Asian Economic Community - Msgr.
Vissanu Andrew Thanya Anan, deputy secretary general of the Thai Bishops' Conference
told CNA - the Church must prepare for future pastoral challenges that affect every
area of human life."
The Asian Conference on the Vocation of the Business
Leader in the New Evangelization seeks to strengthen Catholics' faith and to examine
the dilemmas facing Catholic business leaders in an uncertain world economy. The conference
will take place March 20-22, at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace,
will deliver a key reflection on the topic.
The event is organized by the International
Catholic Union of Business Executives (UNIAPAC), in collaboration with the Thailand-based
Catholic Business Executives Group and the Thailand-based Catholic Young Executives
Society. For more details and information, or to register for the event please visit
the website at www.cureourworld.com
Joseph Prachub Trinikorn, the chairman
and coordinator of the business executives' group, said that Catholic social teaching
has not flourished in Catholic businesses, and as a result, many businesses have faced
"crisis, insolvency, and bankruptcy through bad practices of greed and corruption."
He
stressed that the core teachings of "Gospel values and principles" could be applied
in business networks that uphold the "esteemed" virtues of love, service, and charity.
Trinikorn added that businesses have a "social responsibility" and have many "resources"
at hand to serve the community and the world. "If you pay the employees well, you
help their livelihood, and if your products help people for a better life, that is
true love and that is Christian teaching". This, he said, means that "doing business
is evangelizing". For this reason , he concludes, it will be increasingly important
to create networks and share information.
In the past, Thai Catholic entrepreneurs
said they had to "find inspiration" in their work and daily choices by following the
thought of Benedict XVI , especially present in his social encyclical "Caritas in
Veritate" . During the three-day conference Masses will be celebrated, lunches and
shared opportunities for social development. There will be prominent speakers from
America, Europe and Asia , who will speak on diverse subjects. Source: AsiaNews