Cardinal Czerny: EoF2022 a powerful event and sign of great continuity

By Francesca Merlo & Linda Bordoni

The “Economy of Francesco” meeting in Assisi is over and participants are already on the move, having promised Pope Francis to work hard to improve the global economic system and make a difference in an world with too many inequalities.

But, as Cardinal Czerny pointed out in an interview with Vatican News' Francesca Merlo, it has not at all come to an end at all. On the contrary: “it has been launched and relaunched.”

“The way in which the young people came here, not only with questions, but with two or three years of experience in implementing their projects and working together (online during the pandemic) is a sign of great continuity,” the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said.

Covid forced the EoF underground but didn’t stop it

The Cardinal noted that the seeds of the Economy of Francesco were sown just before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

The pandemic “forced us into a kind of underground,” but in that suffering and difficulty these young people found a way of “bringing their villages to life” by working remotely but together in a very intense way, in a very dedicated and creative way.”

"That’s why," said Cardinal Czerny, "the commitment is so promising, because it’s based on experience."

Economy that works for the common good

In his address to the young economists present in Assisi on Saturday morning, Pope Francis highlighted the fact that a fairer model of economy is not a utopian idea. In fact, Cardinal Czerny noted, “it is the opposite: it’s the only realistic idea there is!”

The Prefect noted that for many of us it is “normal” to work for oneself, and “utopic” to work for the common good. “It should be the other way around,” he added, “we should all be working for the common good.”

"There is a big change needed," he said, "and Pope Francis called for it."

Opportunity to enrich local communities

The very concept at the base of the Economy of Francesco is closely linked to the mission of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Cardinal Czerny said that what the dicastery plans to do now is “to encourage each of the projects and enterprises to be in creative dialogue with their local Church, with their bishops, religious and all the people around them who are working for the same goals in very different ways.”