CONSTRUCT AN ECONOMY FOUNDED ON THE HIERARCHY OF VALUES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 26, 1999 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received executives from the Bank of Italy who are celebrating thirty years service with that institution.

Making reference to the bank's initiative to promote an internal congress for those who complete thirty years service, John Paul II affirmed that this occasion constitutes "a powerful call to the ideals of ethics, of dignity and of solidarity, (ideals) that cause work to be considered not simply as a source of sustenance, but also as a means capable of ennobling the individual.

"May this initiative," he continued, "contribute to making your awareness of this fact grow, in order that your daily commitment may become a generous and meaningful contribution to the construction of an economy founded on a just hierarchy of values, the first of which must be the dignity of the individual."

The Holy Father underlined the problem of the debt of the less economically developed countries, and said: "The authoritative voice of central banks may give the appropriate indications for identifying and pursuing just solutions; solutions that give hope to peoples in need of a solidarity that is sometimes necessary for their very survival."

AC;...;...;BANK OF ITALY;VIS;19991126;Word: 210;