Vatican City, 21 November, 2020 / 2:30 pm (ACI Africa).
In a video message Saturday, Pope Francis encouraged young economists and entrepreneurs from around the world to bring Jesus to their cities, and to work not only for the poor, but with the poor.
Addressing participants of the Economy of Francesco online event, the pope said Nov. 21 that changing the world is about much more than “social assistance” or “welfare:” “we are speaking of a conversion and transformation of our priorities and of the place of others in our policies and in the social order.”
“Let us, then, not think for [the poor], but with them. Let us learn from them how to propose economic models that will benefit everyone…” he said.
He told young adults it is not enough to meet the essential needs of their brothers and sisters. “We need to accept structurally that the poor have sufficient dignity to sit at our meetings, participate in our discussions and bring bread to their own tables,” he said.
The Economy of Francesco, sponsored by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Development, was a Nov. 19-21 virtual event that aimed to form 2,000 young economists and entrepreneurs from around the world to “build a more just, fraternal, inclusive and sustainable economy today and in the future.”