VIDEO MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER ON THE OCCASION OF THE 57th INTERVIEW OF THE IDEA FOUNDATION ON THE THEME “LOGREMOS UNA SUSTAINABLE ARGENTINA” (LET US BUILD A SUSTAINABLE ARGENTINA )

Please note that this document is an unofficial translation and is provided for reference only.

I would like to applaud the space for dialogue proposed by the Idea Foundation
and the Union of workers of the popular economy. I sincerely want it to be a
moment of authentic exchange that can collect the innovative contribution of
entrepreneurs and workers who fight for their dignity and for their families.
Several times I have referred to the noble vocation of the entrepreneur who
creatively seeks to produce wealth and diversify production, while at the same
time making it possible to create jobs.
Because I will never tire of talking about the dignity of work. What gives dignity
is work. Those who do not have a job feel that something is missing, they lack
that dignity that work itself gives, which anoints with dignity.
Some have made me say things that I do not support: that I propose a life
without fatigue, or that I despise the culture of work. Imagine if this can be said
of a descendant of Piedmontese, who did not come to our country with the
desire to be maintained, but with a huge desire to roll up their sleeves to build a
future for their families. Curiously, the migrants didn’t put their money in the
bank, but in bricks and land. The house first of all. They looked forward to the
family. Family investment.
Work expresses and nourishes the dignity of the human being, allows him to
develop the skills that God has given him, helps him to weave relationships of
exchange and mutual help, allows him to feel like God’s collaborator in taking
care of this world and developing it, makes him feel useful to society and in
solidarity with the people he cares about. For this reason, work, beyond the
hardships and difficulties, is the path of maturation, of realization of the person,
which gives wings to the best dreams.
For this reason, it is clear that grants can only be provisional aid. You cannot live
on subsidies, because the great goal is to offer diversified sources of work that
allow everyone to build the future with effort and ingenuity. Precisely because
they are diversified, they open the way for different people to find the most
appropriate context to develop their gifts, since not everyone has the same skills
and inclinations.
On this path, I believe that dialogue between entrepreneurs and workers is not
only indispensable but also fruitful and promising. Thank you for this interview
which you have planned with such a noble purpose.
May God bless you and please don’t forget to pray for me. Thank you.