Pope Francis addressed a number of different topics in an exclusive interview with the Italian national business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. He said real growth can occur in a community when we “make room to welcome everyone’s collaboration”. He added that we need a “person-friendly ethics,” which he said can become a “strong stimulus for conversion”. This kind of “person-friendly ethics” can help bridge the gap between profit-driven and non-profit enterprises.

Pope Francis emphasised that behind every economic activity lies a human person, and insisted that the human person must be at the centre of how we think of the economy. “It is work that gives dignity to man, not money,” he stressed. He identified a focus on money and profit as a consequence of an economic system “that is no longer capable of creating jobs”.

‘Eradicate corruption and poverty’

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said in a statement that the Malaysian government must commit itself to formulating laws and implementing policies to eradicate corruption and poverty from society.

The federation solicited prayers “for government officials and leaders of State governments”, inviting the faithful to pray “so that the Opposition carries out a credible role of control and balancing of government action”. They ex­pressed their wish that Malaysia becomes “a nation of harmony, peace, equal opportunity, equality and prosperity for all”.

The CFM is an ecumenical body that includes many Christian groups in the country where Christianity is a minority.

New beginning between Church, Irish government 

Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick made an appeal to rebuild a Church at the service of Irish society and to initiate fresh collaboration between the Church and the government.

The Bishop described the child abuse scandals as “a blindness in the Church” which is now being viewed with open eyes. He said that despite the discouraging events in the Church, the faith has been constant in the country, which was greatly expressed during the World Meeting of Families. He said it would be unfair to present and future possibilities to see the Church only in light of these scandals.

He said the Church has made great progress in its structures and strategies to protect  children and repeated the Church’s decision to cooperate with the authorities. If any secrets of abuse remain hidden, he encouraged those members of the Church to bring it into the light.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.