Dear friends, welcome!
I am happy to know that you have given life, with the Bishop of Assisi and the other promoters that I have named, to the “Foundation Economy of Francis”. From your ideals an institution was born. It is important because it will serve to support these ideals; and you will not only be the beneficiaries, but the protagonists, assuming the tasks entrusted to you with enthusiasm and availability.
In these five years, you have accomplished so much. I thank you for taking seriously my invitation to “relaunch” the economy and for accepting the guidelines that I gave you during your annual conferences. They are part of the social doctrine of the Church and are ultimately rooted in the Gospel. You may have met many masters during your studies or your professional experiences, you have even sincerely dialogued with them all, but turning to the Gospel guarantees you an exceptional Master, Jesus, the only one who could say: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14,6).
Now a new phase begins for you. This beautiful reality of yours must grow, strengthen, touch more and more young people and bear the typical fruits of the Gospel and goodness. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do, which has exceeded all expectations. I wanted to focus on you, because young people have their whole lives ahead of them, they are a living “path”, and from this path good things can be born, while being careful to avoid the bad ones.
The world of economics needs to change. You will not change it just by becoming ministers, Nobel Prize winners or great economists, which is a good thing. You will change it above all by loving it, in the light of God, by injecting into it the values and the force of good, with the evangelical spirit of Francis of Assisi: he was the son of a merchant, he knew the merits and the faults of this world! Love the economy, concretely love the workers, the poor, giving priority to the most painful situations.
It is not the great and mighty who change the world for the better: it is love that is the first and greatest factor of change. An economist who lived a holy life, Blessed Joseph Toniolo, wrote about this that the one who will truly save society “ will not be a diplomat, a scholar, a hero, but a saint, even a society of saints ».
This is why I wanted to base the entire “Economy of Francis” movement on Saint Francis of Assisi who, by simply stripping himself of everything for love of Jesus and the poor, also gave new impetus to development. of the economy.
Today, I would like to leave you with three words: be witnesses, do not be afraid, hope without tiring.
First of all, be witnesses. If you want other young people to approach the economy with your ideals, those that we agreed to in the Assisi Pact of September 24, 2022, it is your life testimony that will attract them. Be consistent – consistency is out of fashion today! – in your choices. Seek to be appreciated for your projects and accomplishments, not for your numbers and power. Instead, pass on to many what you have received, namely the “good news” that, inspired by the Gospel, even the economy can change for the better.
Second: don’t be afraid. I repeat what I told the young people during WYD in Lisbon: “ do not be administrators of fears, but entrepreneurs of dreams “. Pursue your dreams. There is so much to do, we must dare to use new words: Christians have always done this, they have never been afraid of new things. They know that God is the Lord of history. It hurts me to see these Christians hiding in the sacristies because they are afraid of the world. They are not Christians, they are defeated “retirees”. Christians know that God is the Lord of history and they continue to move forward.
Third word: hope without tiring. I know it is not easy to propose a new economy against a backdrop of new and old wars, while the arms industry thrives by taking resources away from the poor. Did you know that in some countries, the most profitable investments are those of arms manufacturers? They win by killing. In these cases, democracy is threatened, populism and inequality grow, and the planet is increasingly harmed. It’s not easy, it’s even very difficult. Perhaps you sometimes feel like you beat against windmills “. So let us remember what Jesus said to the disciples: “ Don’t be afraid “. He will help you, and the Church will not leave you alone.
The Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development – Sister Alessandra Smerilli is present here – continues to stand by your side, opening to you, as far as possible, the doors of cooperation with the particular Churches scattered throughout the world. This will help you establish contacts and synergies with many realities and networks of people who share your same ideals. The Dicastery will also accompany the activities of the Foundation, of which I receive today the constitution, and it will be the reality with which you can give life and substance to the dream of changing today’s economy and giving a soul to the economy of tomorrow. May a new way of being together and doing business be born among you that does not produce waste but material and spiritual well-being.
Courage, dear friends, courage! If you are faithful to your vocation, your life will flourish, you will have beautiful stories to tell your children and grandchildren. I see there are children here, which is great in a culture where we often prefer to have puppies or cats rather than children. We need to shake up Italy a little! It’s worth it, believe me: it’s worth spending your life changing the world for the better. Go forward! I am with you, I accompany you and I bless you. And I ask you to pray for me too.
