Pope: ‘Money must serve, not rule’

By Joseph Tulloch

The Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation was established by Pope John Paul II in 1993, in collaboration with Catholic laypeople from business and academia. It aims to promote Catholic social teaching and apply it across different sectors of society.

Over the past two years, the foundation has been conducting dialogue between finance, culture, and religion in the Italian financial hub of Milan.

A vital dialogue

This endeavor is "not easy," but manageable, said Pope Francis on Monday during an audience in the Vatican with representatives of Foundation.

The Pope said he sees the dialogue initiated by Centesimus Annus with financial representatives as having great potential.

"The work you have done in Milan is encouraging,” he said, “and it might be beneficial to extend it to other financial centres, promoting a model of dialogue that spreads and fosters a paradigm shift.”

“The technocratic paradigm still dominates,” he stressed: “we need a new culture that can create space for robust ethics, culture, and spirituality.”

The Pope addresses participants

Efficiency and ethics

Pope Francis urged the Foundation to "continue and disseminate this method and style." Dialogue is "always the best way”, he said.

The Pope said was impressed by the Foundation's approach of integrating economic goals with ethical ones in discussions with top financial executives.

“You have set yourselves a noble task," he told his guests: "combining effectiveness and efficiency with holistic sustainability, integration, and ethics."

Necessary expertise

For the Church's social teaching to serve as a "compass" in this area, it is "necessary not just to admonish but to understand the workings of finance, identify weaknesses, and propose concrete corrective measures," the Pope stressed.

Historical examples show, he continued, that religious leaders can only credibly advise the economy when they know what they were talking about.

The Pope cited the example of theologians from the 16th century who, in response to the booming wool trade in Spain and its financial benefits, demanded economic justice for sheep breeders and wool producers and proposed concrete reforms.

“The Spanish theologians were able to intervene," he said, "because they knew that process, and therefore they did not just say: "we must seek the common good"; they explained what was wrong and called for specific action.”

A mission

"You understand financial processes, and that is your great advantage, but also a significant responsibility," Pope Francis told his visitors.

"It's up to you to find ways to reduce injustice … Money must serve, not rule.”

This is a vital task, the Pope stressed: “The fate of the poorest, of people who struggle to find the means for a dignified life, is at stake.”