Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Benedict XVI and the Economy of Communion (Part 2)

Interview with Business Owner John Mundell

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, SEPT. 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Running a company according to Christian principles pays dividends that provide sustenance during the economic recession, says a business owner and member of the Economy of Communion.

John Mundell is the president and founder of Mundell and Associates, an environmental consulting company based in Indianapolis.

In this interview with ZENIT, he shared details about the Economy of Communion, a worldwide business network mentioned by Benedict XVI in "Caritas in Veritate."

The business owner spoke about the highlights of an Aug. 21-23 meeting in New York, a new international internship program, and how the network is surviving the economic recession.

Part 1 was published Tuesday.

ZENIT: Have you found other people or business owners looking into the Economy of Communion after the encyclical came out?

Mundell: Yes we have. We had our North American Economy of Communion meeting recently near Hyde Park, in the Focolare Movement's little city called Mariapolis Luminosa. In that meeting we had about 65 people, and one fourth of those had never heard of the Economy of Communion nor the Focolare Movement until they heard about it in the encyclical.

They came simply because of what was said in "Caritas in Veritate," and the desire to hear more about it.

In the last two months, there has been an increase in awareness that this is something to look into, even though it is a small project in terms of the full world economy.

What are 750 businesses in the world we live in? But there's no other idea that has this many organizations globally operating with this kind of attitude and these principles.

I think people are understanding that when the idea of the Economy of Communion has become incorporated into Catholic social teaching by the Pope, it is something that needs to be looked at.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 6:46 PM