Pope advises Davos: Development needs a moral compass

Cardinal Turkson reads Pope's message

Source: AICA

In a message to the World Economic Forum in Davos 2024, Pope Francis urged businesses and world leaders to ensure that economic development benefits everyone and remains linked to solidarity.

The leaders of global business and politics are meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland, with the theme: 'Rebuilding trust.' To remind them of their duty to all humanity, Pope Francis sent a message to the World Economic Forum 2024, which was read on Tuesday by Cardinal Peter Turkson.

In his message, the pontiff stated that the greatest challenge facing humanity is to guarantee peaceful coexistence and comprehensive development for all.

"It is my hope," he said, "that the participants in this year's Forum are aware of the moral responsibility that each of us has in the fight against poverty, the achievement of comprehensive development for all our brothers and sisters, and the search for peaceful coexistence between peoples."

Pope Francis noted that the Davos Forum is taking place this year in "a very worrying climate of international instability," adding, it offers world leaders the opportunity to explore innovative ways to build a better world, and the He urged finding ways to foster "social cohesion, fraternity and reconciliation" among all people.

At the same time he lamented the protracted wars and conflicts tearing apart parts of the world, many of which are causing death and destruction among civilians.

"The peace that the people of our world long for cannot be other than the fruit of justice," he stated. "Accordingly, it demands more than simply putting aside the instruments of war; It requires addressing the injustices that are the root causes of the conflict."

Addressing the causes of the conflict, the Pope pointed to the prevalence of hunger and the exploitation of natural resources, even as some parts of the world waste food and a select few get rich from extractive industries.

It also condemned the "widespread exploitation of men, women and children forced to work for low wages and deprived of real prospects for personal development and professional growth."

"How is it possible," he asked, "that in today's world people continue to starve, be exploited, condemned to illiteracy, lack basic medical care, and be homeless?"

Globalization has a deeply moral dimension, Pope Francis said, adding that development requires a moral compass to guide discussions that shape the future of the international community.

He invited companies and states to work together to promote "forward-thinking and ethically sound models of globalization."

Development, the Pope said: "must involve subordinating the pursuit of power and individual benefit, whether political or economic, to the common good of our human family, giving priority to the poor, the needy and those in the most vulnerable situations." .

Finally, the pontiff called on business and political leaders to prioritize the equitable distribution of progress, so that economically disadvantaged people can reap the benefits of global growth.

"True development must be global, shared by all nations and in all parts of the world, or it will regress even in areas marked until now by constant progress."