The Pope and the CEO > Theology & Business
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The Catholic Church Wants More African Businesses
It only seems right that the person in need of development (and we all are) should be at the forefront of that development – not just economic, but spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, etc. A symposium held in Rome recently, organized by the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance and the Acton Institute, proposed just that: more businesses in Africa, created by African businesspeople. This is no doubt something that we are in favor of here at Faith and Prosperity. Hopefully men and women in Africa will answer the call from the symposium.
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What Importance Do You Place On Relationships?
We often look at any of our relationships that have visible problems and look at how to fix them. How often do we look at those that do not have visible problems and see how we can make them better? Seth Godin reminds us that we always need to be evaluating our friendships and working relationships to make sure that they are in good order. From a Christian perspective, this should not be seen as a way to keep networks open and increase opportunities, but part of the virtue of friendship, which feeds into the theological virtue of love or charity. We should always be searching to grow in our love for others – not a simple investment in relationships, but actually giving of ourselves to others.
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Solution for Economic and Financial Crises? The Eucharist
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re recently addressed the topic of the economic crisis at the Eucharistic Congress. His proposed solution? Recurring to the Eucharist. The Eucharist is “the great engine of Christian life: it is encouragement to remake the Christian fabric of society and to educate to the ‘good life of the Gospel’; it is the point of departure for the hoped for New Evangelization, capable of infusing behavior, culture and the whole of life with evangelical contents,” he said. The Eucharist is the source of life for all Catholics. It is our participation in this divine mystery – the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ being made present and available to us – that gives us the strength that we need in carrying out his will, and the grace for our continued sanctification. It is also a sign of unity within the Church. And in times of crisis, there can be no real solution that does not also include Christ. Clearly, the solution must be practical as well, but Cardinal Re is inviting us to look toward the root causes and have us all embrace Christ and embrace the Other in Christ. What do you think?
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Faith OR Prosperity?
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the closing mass at this year’s World Youth Day, held in Madrid, Spain. His main message was one of great importance: to “swim against the tide.” It’s a particularly appropriate message considering all of the controversy that the media reported at the beginning of the week. While hundreds of thousands of young people turned out to see the pope and join together in living their Catholic faith, some people also arrived at the event to protest: such an event during a time of economic hardship was not proper, was their argument. That is, they felt that at a time when people were struggling financially, the last thing they needed was Jesus. Some Spanish priests also had issues with the event, but mostly because of its corporate sponsorship. Some companies partnered with the WYD organizers to promote the event, and to these Spanish priests, the Church partnering with business was akin to partnering with “Mammon.” Both sides highlight an interesting issue – nobody thought that faith and prosperity could go together, that business and faith could coexist. It’s very sad to see this happen at such an event, and that is why the pope’s words to… Read more