Pope Francis urged them not to forget the poor, saying that this concern is "the primary challenge before you as leaders in the business world."
"We must never allow the culture of prosperity to deaden us, to make us incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and sensing the need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own," he said.
To weep for other people's pain doesn't just mean sharing in their sufferings, he said, but primarily requires that we realize our own actions are frequently a cause of injustice and inequality.
Once we realize this, "we become more fully human, since responsibility for our brothers and sisters is an essential part of our common humanity."
Francis told attendees that in opening their hearts and minds to the poor, "you will give free rein to your economic and technical talents, and discover the happiness of a full life, which consumerism of itself cannot provide."
He encouraged them to take present opportunities when it comes to governing the processes currently underway, building "inclusive societies" founded on respect for the human person, tolerance, compassion and mercy.
"I urge you, then, to take up anew your conversation on how to build the future of the planet, our common home, and I ask you to make a united effort to pursue a sustainable and integral development."
The Pope said that business is "a noble vocation," especially when it promotes the creation of jobs as "an essential part of its service to the common good."
Business therefore has a great responsibility in helping to overcome the "complex crisis of society and the environment," as well as the scourge of poverty.
Doing this, he said, will make it possible to improve the poor living conditions that millions of people are subjected to, and will bridge "the social gap which gives rise to numerous injustices and erodes fundamental values of society, including equality, justice and solidarity."
Francis closed his message by expressing his hope that the meeting would become a platform from which to advocate for the defense and protection of creation, as well as the achievement of a progress that is "healthier, more human, more social, more integral."
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He also voiced his hope that participants would give special attention to the environmental goals and efforts to eradicate poverty outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the recent Paris Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.