The Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE
VOCATION OF THE
BUSINESS LEADER
A REFLECTION
FOREWORD
From the 24th to 26th of February 2011 a seminar entitled “Caritas in Veritate: The Logic of Gift and the Meaning of Business” was held at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP), in collaboration with the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas and the Ecophilos Foundation. The meeting followed the October 2010 conference “Caritas in Veritate and the USA”, which the PCJP held in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies of Los Angeles, and continued its study of business organizations in light of Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate. Underlying both meetings is the Church’s firm conviction that every Christian is called to practice charity in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the polis (CIV 7). ,
Business men and women, university professors, and experts on the subject contributed to “Caritas in Veritate: The Logic of Gift and the Meaning of Business” in an innovative way. Their discussions centered on a volume of texts, previously prepared and published, which facilitated the debate that took place during the three-day seminar at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The working days were intense and profitable. Indeed, the meeting resulted in the resolution to write out a kind of vade-mecum for business men and women, a handbook to be utilized by professors in formative moments and for instruction in schools and universities. This is the way in which the reflections contained in this volume, “The Vocation of the Business Leader”, came to light. The volume is intended to be an educational aid that speaks of the “vocation” of the business men and women who act in broad and diverse business institutions: cooperatives, multinational corporations, family businesses,
VOCATION OF THE
BUSINESS LEADER
A REFLECTION
FOREWORD
From the 24th to 26th of February 2011 a seminar entitled “Caritas in Veritate: The Logic of Gift and the Meaning of Business” was held at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP), in collaboration with the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas and the Ecophilos Foundation. The meeting followed the October 2010 conference “Caritas in Veritate and the USA”, which the PCJP held in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies of Los Angeles, and continued its study of business organizations in light of Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate. Underlying both meetings is the Church’s firm conviction that every Christian is called to practice charity in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the polis (CIV 7). ,
Business men and women, university professors, and experts on the subject contributed to “Caritas in Veritate: The Logic of Gift and the Meaning of Business” in an innovative way. Their discussions centered on a volume of texts, previously prepared and published, which facilitated the debate that took place during the three-day seminar at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The working days were intense and profitable. Indeed, the meeting resulted in the resolution to write out a kind of vade-mecum for business men and women, a handbook to be utilized by professors in formative moments and for instruction in schools and universities. This is the way in which the reflections contained in this volume, “The Vocation of the Business Leader”, came to light. The volume is intended to be an educational aid that speaks of the “vocation” of the business men and women who act in broad and diverse business institutions: cooperatives, multinational corporations, family businesses,