UNDERLINE THE SUBJECTIVE DIMENSION OF WORK

VATICAN CITY, SEP 15, 2001 (VIS) - John Paul II sent a Message late yesterday to the participants of the international meeting on "Work, the Key to the Social Question," promoted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in collaboration with other scientific and cultural institutions.

In the Message, the Pope asks that these days of reflection "be a propitious occasion to show the subjective dimension of work, in the face of the profound economic and social transformations that today's age is experiencing."

"The rapid and accelerated phase of change that the world is experiencing urges the overcoming of the current vision of the economic and social system, in which above all human needs receive a limited and inadequate consideration. Different from every other living being, man has infinite needs, because it is the reference to the transcendent which determines his being and vocation."

The Pope writes that in the face of unemployment, which especially concern youth, "the exploitation of the work of minors, the lack of recognition for the value of work, especially of women, within the family and without, ... new forms of solidarity must be conceived and built."

"The responsibility of governments is great, but no less important is that of the organizations which safeguard the collective interests of workers and of employers. ... To the solution of such vast and complex problems, which in some areas take on dramatic dimensions, you, scientists and men of culture, are also called to give a specific and decisive contribution. ... That means ... in particular, suggesting lines of action to guide change in the way which is most favorable to the development of the entire human family. ... It can indeed be said that your contribution, precisely because it is 'abstract', is essential for the concrete action of political economics." The Holy Father concludes the Message writing, "In the social doctrine of the Church you can find a constant reference and guide."

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