Opus Magnum

This post comes from UST’s John A. Ryan Institute, which explores the relationship between the Catholic social tradition and business theory and practice by fostering a deeper integration of faith and work.

Friday, Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, presented Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection, at the XXIV UNIAPAC World Congress in Lyon, France.

Speaking to 2000 Christian businesspeople, Cardinal Turkson noted the common malady that afflicts many, particularly businesspeople: a tendency to separate one’s faith from one’s work. This leads to the modern affliction of a divided life. Citing the desire of the Church to help businesspeople live out their professional lives fruitfully for the common good, the Cardinal evoked the Church’s social doctrine, with its desire to implement its principles in the concrete.

The 30-page reflection had its beginning at an international seminar of business leaders and scholars in Rome, 24-26 February 2011, entitled, “Caritas in Veritate: The Logic of Gift and the Meaning of Business”. In the light of the lively exchanges, participants resolved to write a handbook or guide for business men and women and business educators, to address the important role of vocation for the business leader in today’s global economy and the contribution of the Church’s social principles for the modern corporation. (more…)