VATICAN CITY, 6 FEB 2010 (VIS) - At midday today in the Vatican, the Pope received the president and staff of ACEA (Rome's municipal energy and environment firm), which has just celebrated the centenary of its foundation.
After highlighting how "the centenary celebrations are coming to a end in a period of great difficulty characterised by a serious international crisis", the Pope underlined the importance of "ensuring greater awareness of the need for broader 'social responsibility' in the firm, giving just consideration to the needs of workers, clients, suppliers and the entire community, with particular concern for the environment. In this way", he said, "the production of goods and services will not be exclusively linked to the search for economic profit, but also to the promotion of everyone's good".
Benedict XVI expressed his appreciation for what ACEA "has achieved in illuminating the monuments that make Rome unique in the world", and he thanked them for their help "during the celebrations for the eightieth anniversary of the foundation of Vatican City State".
"I was happy to learn of the firm's commitment to protecting the environment through the sustainable management of natural resources, respect for the creation and the reduction of its environmental impact", he said. "It is, however, equally important to favour a human ecology capable of ensuring that the workplace and interpersonal relations are worthy of man".
The Holy Father then went on to quote from his own Message for this year's World Day of Peace, underlining the need to adopt "a model of development based on the centrality of the human person, on the promotion and sharing of the common good, on responsibility, on a realisation of our need for a change of lifestyle".
In closing his remarks, the Pope invited those present to follow the example of Christ, "perfect man, ... so as to grow in humanity and thus create a city with an increasingly human face, one in which each individual is seen as a person, a spiritual being who interrelates with others. Thanks also to your commitment to improve interpersonal relations and the quality of work", he concluded, "Rome may continue to carry out her role as a beacon of civilisation that has made her illustrious over the centuries".
AC/.../ACEA VIS 20100208 (380)
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