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Media: The parable of the talents, depicted in a 1712 woodcut.
The lazy servant searches for his buried talent,
while the two other servants present their earnings to their master.
Pope Francis’ address to the delegation of the “Italian Family Business” Association
Saturday, 5 October 2024
“Let us remember the parable of the talents – none of it should be buried”
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you, who represent the “Italian Family Business” Association.
The Church is the family of God and she looks favorably on all that is family.
First the individuals and then the family: no!
First the family and then. within the family, the persons.
Isolated people are in the orbit of humanity and in the orbit of the Christian community.
First the community.
The Church is the family of God.
In your case, you are characterized by the delicate balance between family and work, which is expressed in entrepreneurial courage and responsibility.
It is good, it is constructive when courage and responsibility go together.
Action that comes from the heart is bold, it does not retreat into itself but knows how to look far ahead; and responsibility, then, is the secret of business, a word that means “housekeeping” – “oikos nomos” = economy – and is therefore an expression of care.
Care for your business, care for the family, care for our common home, care for future generations.
Like the mission of the Church, your activity is generally rooted in a territory, which you are called upon to enrich, both by the witness of your family ties and by the seriousness of your professional commitment. May the gift of faith increasingly guide your presence in local realities and strengthen your participation in the destiny of humanity.
Let us not forget that everything is connected, nothing is isolated.
Only the neurotic is isolated. Everything else is connected.
Even if the fraternity between people and peoples is very wounded and the common home bears the marks of unjust human greed, everything is connected.
Even bad things have a connection with all of us.
May you inhabit the local dimension with a universal heart!
And when you work in and for different parts of the world, spread the value of being “family”.
Family first, not people. The family.
I encourage you to go on, to feel that in the Church you are part of a greater family and of a greater project, which is the service of the Kingdom of God and to its justice.
I therefore invite you to enlarge your hearts and to widen your horizons, to foster listening, at home and in the workplace, between different generations – this is important, listening between different generations; grandparents with grandchildren, this is very important.
Believe in the vocation of your children – whatever it may be – and open doors and windows to those who wish to walk a part of the way with you.
Let us remember the parable of the talents: none of what has been entrusted to you should be “buried”! Do not be afraid and keep going with confidence.
