Vatican City, May 1, 2017 / 12:52 pm
Reflecting on the dignity of work, Pope Francis said that a society of fraternity promotes the dignity of the person and provides a solution to the "global economic dictatorship."
"Do not be trapped in the vortex of pessimism, please! If each one does his or her part, if everyone always places the human person – not money – with his dignity at the center, if an attitude of solidarity and fraternal sharing inspired by the Gospel is strengthened, you will be able to leave behind the morass of a hard and difficult economic season of work."
This was the Pope's message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, corresponding to the feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker traditionally celebrated by the Church on May 1. The research institute is meeting for a Plenary Assembly at the Vatican April 28 to May 2, 2017.
The Pope warned against the two extremes of viewing everything solely as a "trade commodity" on one hand, and overemphasizing a "duty" to the state on the other.