Pope Francis emphasizes: man must be at center of economy

July 14, 2014

Warning against “anthropological reductionism,” Pope Francis told participants at a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace that man must be at the center of the economy.

When man is not at the center of the economy, he becomes “a tool of the system” and “loses his humanity,” the Pope said. “Man is at the service of this other thing.”

Pope Francis added that children, the youth, and the elderly are being discarded, as manifested by the low birth rate and massive youth unemployment in Europe.

The conference, entitled “The Global Common Good: Towards a More Inclusive Economy,” took place on July 11-12. The Daily Star, a leading Bangladeshi newspaper, reported that among those in attendance were Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus; José Ángel Gurría, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and chairman of the G20's Financial Stability Board; Michel Camdessus, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s finance minister; and American economist Jeffrey Sachs.

 

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Further information:

• Parole del Santo Padre al termine del pranzo con i partecipanti al Seminario internazionale sulla proposta di Papa Francesco nella Esortazione apostolica Evangelii gaudium "per un’economia sempre più inclusiva" (Holy See Press Office)
• Pope Francis, an outspoken critic of the current global economic system, has sought advice from Bangladeshi economist Prof Muhammad Yunus (Daily Star)
• Vatican Seminar on the Global Common Good (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace)