Testo originale del articolo in inglese qui
A small compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, specifically focused on the understanding of a "just" wealth, was delivered by Pope Francis last Monday to over 5,000 Italian printers gathered in Udienza in the Paul VI Hall.
They were there in representation of more than 5 million members of the Peninsula's manufacturing and service companies, of small, medium and large size, who joined the association. Confindustria.
The discussion of the Pontefice has evidently gone beyond the Italian ambit, but it can be said that the value of the considerations it has made involve the whole of human society, especially in this period of great uncertainty and crisis. And it is not a case that the same Italian Confederation has seats of representation in various countries around the Mediterranean, from Eastern Europe to Russia.
In his speech, Pope Francis wanted to characterize the figure of a man who defines "good entrepreneur", as opposed to "merchants". The good entrepreneur is similar to the "good shepherd" - said Francesco - because he takes care of the workers' weaknesses and foresees the uncertainties and risks. A true proof of this is given by the easy time we are living after the pandemic and with the war in Ukraine in progress.
The denarii of Giuda and those of the good Samaritan
Referring to some biblical and evangelical episodes, the Pope offered a parallelism between "the Giuda's coins" and those that the Samaritan anticipates to the host so that he would take care of the homeless and wounded man on the road, showing how "the economy grows and becomes human when the Samaritan's money becomes more numerous than Giuda's", that is, when altruism surpasses personal and selfish interest.
Non a caso, il denaro "può essere usato, ieri come oggi, per tradire e vendere un amico o per salvare una vittima".
Condivisione
The Pope then wanted to clarify what is the correct key of reading for which a follower of Christ who is an imprenditor "can enter the Kingdom of Heaven", in contrast to the words of Jesus who in the Gospel of Matthew (19:23-24) maintains a mission that is almost impossible for this category to aspire to (see the camel and the cradle of death).
The key word is condivisione. Assuming this ability to extend one's own wealth for the benefit of others also allows an entrepreneur to resist the idolatrous temptation and to appreciate that responsabilità to make his benefits bear fruit and not to dissipate them. However, it is not impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, difficult but not impossible, says the Pope.
How do you live the sharing? There are so many ways "and every printer can find his own" with creativity and based on his own personality. Il Pontefice points out some of them:
- Philanthropydonare alla comunità, in vari modi".
- Payment of taxesThe "high form of sharing of goods is the heart of the social heritage". Evidently, they must be fair and therefore guarantee efficient and non-corrupt services.
- Job creationand it could not be unfortunate for an entrepreneur, but it also means that we need to give opportunities to young people.
- Favor the birth: supporting the families and allowing the woman not to be discriminated against when she wants a child, often paying with the license.
- Promoting integration of the migrant population through a strong commitment that welcomes, supports and integrates.
- Bridging the gap between manager's and employee's salariesIf the gap between the highest and the lowest students becomes too wide, the corporate community will be threatened, and soon society will be threatened".
The smell of work
Another precious advice given by Pope Francis is that the entrepreneur himself should consider himself and live as a "worker": "il buon imprenditore conosce i lavoratori perché conosce il lavoro", percepce quell'odore che gli fa mantenere il contatto con la vita della sua azienda, e in più, attraverso questo contatto e questa vicinanza imita "lo stile di Dio: essere vicino".
Overall, the value that a company creates depends not only on the creativity and talent of the printer, but "also on the cooperation of all", which is why - concludes the Pontefice - the latter must have at its heart the creativity, the heart and the soul of its workers, their "spiritual capital".
