Vatican City, Mar 15, 2017 / 03:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Business is obliged to protect peoples' dignity – and those who lay off employees solely for economic gain commit a serious sin, Pope Francis told employees of a TV platform in Italy.
“He who shuts factories and closes companies as a result of economic operations and unclear negotiations, depriving men and women from work, commits a very grave sin,” the Pope said in reference to Sky Italy’s recent cutbacks.
Sky Italy is a platform for digital satellite television. Partly owned by 21st Century Fox, they are also a major broadcaster for sports. Sky has recently announced plans to downsize and move 300 employees to Milan from Rome.
The Pope emphasized the dignity work gives to men and women and lamented employers who do not keep their responsibility to access to this dignity.
“Work gives dignity, and managers are obliged to do all possible so that every man and woman can work and so carry their heads high and look others in the eye with dignity.”
Pope Francis has spoken on the accountability of a business to its workers before. Addressing the Italian Christian Union of Business Executives in 2015, he encouraged the estimated 7,000 gathered at the Vatican to look at ethics as a necessity for economics and business.
“You are called to cooperate in order to grow an entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiarity, to deal with the ethical challenges of the market and, above all the challenge of creating good employment opportunities.”
The Pope ended his speech with hope for a quick resolution that “takes into account the respect for the rights of all, especially for families.”
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Cardinal George Pell’s coffin in front of some of the cardinals who concelebrated his funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023 / Alan Koppschall/CNA
Vatican City, Jan 14, 2023 / 07:50 am (CNA).
Catholics traveled from near and far to attend the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.
The Australian cardinal died in Rome Jan. 10 from a cardiac arrest following a hip surgery. He was 81.
His Jan. 14 funeral, held at the Altar of the Chair, was filled to capacity, with extra chairs added at the last minute to accommodate people standing as far back as the Vatican basilica’s main altar.
Cardinal George Pell’s funeral in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 14, 2023. Vatican Media
“A man of God and a man of the Church, he was characterized by a deep faith and great steadfastness of doctrine, which he always defended without hesitation and with courage, concerned only with being faithful to Christ,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said about Pell in his homily for the funeral.
“As he noted many times, the weakening of faith in the Western world and the moral crisis of the family grieved him,” Re said. “To God, who is good and rich in mercy, we entrust this brother of ours, praying that God will welcome him into the peace and intimacy of his love.”
Pell’s brother, David Pell, and cousin Chris Meney, together with other family members, priests, and religious, traveled from Australia to be at the funeral.
Cardinal George Pell’s funeral Mass beginning now. Pell’s brother, David, is seated near the front.
Michael Casey, Pell’s former secretary who now works at the Australian Catholic University, was also in attendance.
From Rome, Holy See diplomats, students, and priests, also came to pray for Pell’s repose. Seminarians of the Pontifical North American College attended the funeral Mass immediately following their audience with Pope Francis the same morning.
American author George Weigel, a longtime friend of Cardinal Pell, traveled from the United States for the funeral.
The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the deacon of the College of Cardinals, and concelebrated by cardinals and bishops.
Pell’s private secretary during his years in Rome, Father Joseph Hamilton, and archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, also concelebrated.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein concelebrates the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
Pope Francis arrived at the end of the Mass to perform the rite of final commendation and farewell, as is his custom for the funeral of a cardinal.
“May God unite his soul with those of all the saints and faithful departed,” the pope prayed. “May he be given a merciful judgement so that, redeemed from death, freed from punishment, reconciled to the Father, carried in the arms of the Good Shepherd, he may deserve to enter fully into everlasting happiness in the company of the eternal King together with all the saints.”
Pope Francis presided over the Final Commendation and Farewell at the end of Cardinal George Pell’s funeral on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
Francis sprinkled holy water. A priest incensed the coffin as the choir and congregation sang the Marian antiphon Sub Tuum Praesidium.
Applause broke out as Pell’s coffin was carried from St. Peter’s Basilica.
The cardinal will be buried in his former cathedral, St. Mary’s, in Sydney, Australia.
The day before his funeral, a visitation was held for Pell in the Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini inside the Vatican.
A visitation was held for Cardinal George Pell in the Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini inside the Vatican on Jan. 13, 2023.
The Gospel for Cardinal Pell’s funeral Mass was from Luke 12, about the vigilant and faithful servants: “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival,” Luke 12:37 says.
The Responsorial Psalm was from Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
In his homily, Re remarked on Pell’s unexpected death, and on his recent attendance at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.
A Swiss Guard genuflects during the consecration at Cardinal George Pell’s funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
“Despite his 81 years, he seemed to be in good health,” he said. “Hospitalized for hip surgery, heart complications ensued, causing his death.”
“Enlightened and comforted by faith in the risen Christ, we are gathered around this altar and the body of Cardinal Pell to entrust his soul to God, that he may be received into the immensity of his love in life without end.”
Re described Pell as a “strong-willed and decisive protagonist, characterized by the temper of a strong character, which at times could appear harsh.”
The cardinal’s premature death, Re said, has left us dismayed, but “there is only room in our hearts for hope.”
Cardinal George Pell’s coffin is removed from the altar after his funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
Pope Francis speaking to pilgrims on All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 2022 / Vatican Media
CNA Newsroom, Nov 1, 2022 / 05:26 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Tuesday called on Catholics to “disarm their hearts” and become peacemakers. “Peace is not achiev… […]
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