This weekend instead of picking a quote for the week I have a taken part of the message Pope Francis sent to the Executive President of the World Economic Forum on the occasion of the annual meeting held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, between the 15th and 19th January:
“This year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum takes place in a very troubling climate of international instability. Your Forum, which aims to guide and strengthen political will and mutual cooperation, provides an important opportunity for multi-stakeholder engagement to explore innovative and effective ways to build a better world.
The peace for which the peoples of our world yearn cannot be other than the fruit of justice (cf. Isaiah 32:17). Consequently, it calls for more than simply setting aside the instruments of war; it demands addressing the injustices that are the root causes of conflict. Among the most significant of these is hunger, which continues to plague entire regions of the world, even as others are marked by excessive food waste. The exploitation of natural resources continues to enrich a few while leaving entire populations, who are the natural beneficiaries of these resources, in a state of destitution and poverty. Nor can we disregard the widespread exploitation of men, women and children forced to work for low wages and deprived of real prospects for personal development and professional growth. How is it possible that in today’s world people are still dying of hunger, being exploited, condemned to illiteracy, lacking basic medical care, and left without shelter?”