As a Pontiff, Pope Francis, who died on Monday (21) sought to build bridges with global corporate leaders, who sought audiences with him-but also remind them of the need to take care of the poor.
Its loss, of course, is a loss to the world. If you allow me for a moment, you would like to relate your life and your views to what is happening now in the business and politics world.
At the end of 2019, I went to the Vatican to interview him. You might wonder why a business journalist would have done this? At the time, CEOs and corporate leaders of all religions came regularly to inform him of their plans in relation to ESG. Exceptionally, they sought their approval.
Many people suggest that ESG is a demonstration of virtue, or marketing. But having personally witnessing these interactions, I can say that many business leaders saw it as much more than that. Efforts in the US to completely eliminate ESG and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives – the idea of inclusive capitalism – is something that would undoubtedly have bothered it deeply.
Francisco and the Business
While the world is recovering from Pope Francis’ death, a clear part of his legacy is his approach to the global business community – and his criticisms of it.
Since the beginning of his priesthood, immersed in Jesuit theology, former Judge Mario Bergoglio has always emphasized the concerns of the poor. But as a traveling ambassador to Roman Catholicism, Francis often met with global business leaders, building bridges and at the same time warning what he considered the excesses of modern capitalism.
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(This adds to their meetings with national political leaders, more recently with Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, after the Pontiff criticizes anti-immigration policies in what was seen as a rebuke to the Trump administration.)
Technology
Francisco often met with corporate leaders, including technology magnates such as Tim Cook, from Apple, and Eric Schmidt, former Alphabet employee; Financial directors such as Bran of Bank of America and Blackstone Steve Schwarzman; and leaders of Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP.
He has also signed alliances with large companies, including the blessing of a group focused on environmental causes, the council for inclusive capitalism with the Vatican, who worked with companies valued at trillions of dollars in market value.
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The Pope praised elements of modern business. He described the internet as a “gift from God” in 2014, analyzed the promises of artificial intelligence and described the business broadly as a “noble vocation.”
His willingness to approach worried some critics, who feared that his theological roots would make him antagonistic to capitalism. But Francis constantly remembered corporate leaders who did not forget the poor.
“We should never allow the culture of prosperity numb us, make us unable to” feel compassion for the cry of the poor, cry for the pain of others and feel the need to help them, as if all this were someone else’s responsibility, “he wrote in a letter to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2016.
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Last year, he told a group of entrepreneurs that “a little philanthropy” was not enough to compensate for companies’ obligations with the needy.
Francisco’s focus on climate issues included pressing CEOs from the energy sector and their investments to work for a future carbon emission. “We can’t afford to wait for others to present themselves or prioritize short -term economic benefits,” he said in 2019.
He also warned how AI could broaden global inequality and contribute to a “growing crisis of truth in the public forum.”
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In a speech at this year’s Davos meeting, Francis said: “Human dignity should never be violated for efficiency.”
Continuity?
Will the next Pope follow this approach? Francis promoted many of the cardinals who will choose their successor, although some have been skeptical about their efforts to get involved with the secular world.
Favorites to the St. Peter’s throne, according to the Polymarket online betting site, include Cardinal Pietro Parolin, seen as a candidate for continuity; and Luis Antonio Tagle, considered one of Francisco’s theological models.
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It is also noteworthy: Francisco reformulated the finances of the Vatican. This included the stripping of a powerful significant financial asset office after years of doubtful investments motivated a corruption investigation.
