The Pontiff asks billionaires , political leaders and businessmen to safeguard human dignity and the common good, to support the hungry and refugees. This demands a horizon that goes beyond the market economy and growth to take in the transcendent value of man. The Pope hopes that these concerns and challenges are not just “little more than an afterthought".

Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - Having at heart those people who are dying of hunger, while the world wastes " substantial quantities of food" ; overcoming indifference to " the many refugees seeking minimally dignified living conditions, who not only fail to find hospitality, but often, tragically, perish in moving from place to place": these are the challenges that Pope Francis has set for participants of the World Economic Forum ( WEF ), which opened last night in Davos (Switzerland). In a message requested by the president and founder of the WEF, Klaus Schwab, and delivered by Card. Peter Turkson , President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pope recognizes that there  has been "significant progress" in the fields of health, education and communication, led by contemporary business activity and which has saved many from poverty. But at the same time, it should be noted that "men and women of our time still continue to experience daily insecurity, often with dramatic consequences." For this reason, professionals and innovators should promote  "an inclusive approach" to economics "which takes into consideration the dignity of every human person and the common good".

At the WEF, now in its 44th edition, there are at least 80 billionaires, with more than 2,500 business and political leaders . In a series of interviews and comments requested by Bloomberg, economic actors emphasize that the crisis is at the halfway point and that in 2014 growth is expected to accelerate, with an hick in the stock markets and lower interest rates.

In his message, the Pope confesses that his emphasis on the dignity and the common good are likely to be cited in the margins of the final messages. Instead, these concerns "ought to shape every political and economic decision, but which at times seems to be little more than an afterthought."

It is also true that Davos has become increasingly concerned about the growing inequality between rich and poor , which is likely to fuel social tensions and undermine economic growth itself . But so far no one has dared to propose solutions, beyond a commitment to greater wealth.

For this very reason, citing the Evangelii gaudium and Caritas in Veritate, Francis recalls that " something more than economic growth, even though it presupposes it. It demands first of all "a transcendent vision of the person" (Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 11), because "without the perspective of eternal life, human progress in this world is denied breathing-space" (ibid.). It also calls for decisions, mechanisms and processes directed to a better distribution of wealth, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality".

"I am convinced - he adds - that from such an openness to the transcendent a new political and business mentality can take shape, one capable of guiding all economic and financial activity within the horizon of an ethical approach which is truly humane."

"I ask you - he concludes - to ensure that humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it".

 

• VATICAN
• Pope
• Francis
• Davos
• WEF
• human
• dignity
• poverty
• growth
• wealth