(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 03.08.2022).- Every month the Pope entrusts a special intention to the Church. The intention for this August is that “small and medium businesses, harshly affected by the economic and social crisis, may find the necessary means to continue their activity at the service of the communities in which they live.”
This intention was also stressed in the Pope’s video, which is published at the beginning of every month, on his Worldwide Prayer Network.
The Crisis We Are Experiencing
“As a consequence of the pandemic and wars, the world is facing a serious socio-economic crisis,” says the Pope, who points out that small and medium businesses are among the most affected. According to data of the Word Bank for 2021, one out of every four businesses lost half of their sales volume due to the worldwide pandemic. Moreover, public aid is weak where it’s most needed: in poor countries and for small businesses.
In this connection, Pope Francis praised those who “with courage, effort and sacrifice, invest in life, generating wellbeing, opportunities and work.” Included among the small and medium businesses are traders, restaurant owners and shopkeepers. But also those who are cleaners and transport workers and craftsmen, among many others. They are the ones who don’t appear “on the lists of the richest and most powerful and who, despite the difficulties, create jobs upholding their social responsibility.”
Commenting on this intention, Father Frédéric Fornos, International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network said: “The crises we are living though are, –as the Pope says– a ‘Noah moment,’ an opportunity to build something different. Of great importance, in this connection, are small and medium businessmen with their creative strength and their ability to contribute solutions from below. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible to go through the COVID crisis; they continue to be necessary now. Therefore, it’s important to pray for them.”
This month’s video can be seen at this link: https://youtu.be/FqtvRPToHMs
