Pope urges Christian businessmen to solidarity, brotherhood

May 10, 2014: In a world where the economic crisis has rendered the word ‘solidarity’, uncomfortable, troublesome and even abusive, the Gospel calls Christian businessmen to put the human person and the common good in the forefront. Pope Francis made the observation on Saturday while receiving some 400 participants in an international conference in Rome, organized by the Foundation, Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice’. The May 8-10 conference discussed the theme, “The Good Society And The Future Of Jobs - Can solidarity and fraternity be part of business decisions?” The crisis of these years, that has profound ethical causes, has increased the ‘allergy’ to words such as solidarity, equal distribution of goods, priority of job etc… And the tendency is that one cannot, rather one does not want to really study in what way these ethical values can become concrete economic values, that is create virtuous dynamics in production, jobs, businesses and even finance. Hence the Pope said the Christian businessman is called always to compare the reality of this world in which he is working with the yardstick of the Gospel. He said, the Gospel asks him to put the human person and the common good in the first place, and play his part so that there are job opportunities and dignified work. However, the Pope admitted this this venture is ‎not accomplished in isolation but in collaboration with others who share an ethical base and who search ‎to expand the network as much as possible. Pope Francis said the Christian community, including the parish, the diocese, associations…, is the place where the ‎entrepreneur, as well as the politician, the professional, the union worker, draws the strength to nourish ‎their commitments and encounters with their brothers. This is indispensable, because the work situation ‎becomes dry, at times, hostile and inhuman.