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Vatican City, Vatican, 17th
September 2004 (CNA) -
This morning at
Castelgandolfo Pope John Paul II spoke about the role of
bankers to 25 members of the Italian baking group
Capitalia, telling them that "your presence in society
can become an instrument of true progress, offering
support for valid initiatives of individuals and groups
who come to you for their legitimate financial and
economic needs."
"The complex world of
credit," said the Holy Father, "calls for reflection by
the Church because of the many ethical implications that
regard it. It would in fact be decidedly inadequate to
limit oneself to pursuing only maximum profit; it is
necessary, rather, to always refer to the higher values
of human living if one wants to help the true growth and
full development of the community.”
“In this regard,” noted the
Pope, “the great Catholic economist Giuseppe Toniolo
observed that Christian morality must be considered 'as
the most powerful factor in awakening economic energy in
peoples and in guaranteeing its most regular and
efficacious relations'."
"I hope," John Paul II
concluded, "that your work will always be sustained by
this higher vision, so that you contribute to the
well-being of all who avail themselves of your activity
and, in general, of those of the entire community in
which you work."
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