Pope Benedict reminds young Italian businessmen of the centrality of man in economic activity

(May 26, 2007) Pope Benedict on Saturday told young Italian businessmen that the centre of any economic enterprise should be the human person and his inalienable dignity. Some 350 young members of Confindustria, Italy’s largest association of businessmen comprising over 123 thousand business enterprises, big and small, met the Pope in the Vatican. Pope Benedict reminded them that “Every enterprise is to considered, in the first place, as a unit of persons, whose rights and dignity are to be respected.” In this regard he expressed satisfaction that in the course of the past years their association has been underscoring the centrality of the human person in the economic sector. Hence in any economic activity, he said, the point of reference should be the common good and the satisfaction of the legitimate aspirations of the human being – in other words, human life and its values should always be the principle and goal of economics. The Pope said that the social teaching of the Catholic Church acknowledges the importance of profit as an indicator of a healthy business, but at the same time it stresses the need for safeguarding the dignity of persons. Even in times of great crisis, the criterion for decisions cannot be merely for greater profit and economic efficiency. The Pope urged the young businessmen to have a special concern for young people to help them build their future with confidence. In particular he urged them to work in favour of the family based on marriage, in order to help renew the fabric of society and thus insure also the foundation of authentic economic development.