By Philip PullellaVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged political, economic and business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to look beyond profit and try to heal an "increasingly lacerated" world with moral and ethical decisions.
In his message to the world's movers and shakers meeting at the Swiss resort, Francis urged them to tackle the "injustices that are at the root causes of conflict", primarily hunger and the exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of the few.
"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?"
The Argentine-born pope, the first from the Global South, said the world situation required that "businesses themselves be increasingly guided not simply by the pursuit of fair profit, but also by high ethical standards".
The "widespread exploitation" of male, female and child labourers with low wages and no real prospects for personal and professional development must stop, he said.
Persons:
Philip Pullella, Pope Francis, Francis, –, Mark Potter
Organizations:
CITY, Wednesday, Economic
Locations:
Davos, Swiss, States, Argentine