Sharing wealth, creating jobs help rich get into heaven, pope says

In the Gospel, money is used to pay Judas to betray the Lord, but money also is used to help pay for the care of the man rescued by the good Samaritan, the pope said Sept. 12 during a meeting with members of Confindustria, the General Confederation of Italian Industry. Members of the confederation represent more than 150,000 companies -- from major industries to small, family-operated enterprises -- and together employ more than 5.3 million people, the organization said. "In the marketplace there are 'mercenary' entrepreneurs," who take advantage of workers and cut and run the minute danger appears, the pope said, but there also are "entrepreneurs similar to the good shepherd, who suffer the same as their workers, who do not flee before the many wolves circling around." The market flourishes and helps build up individuals and society when there are more good shepherds sharing their resources than there are mercenaries using their money to spread death, the pope said. In Matthew 19:24, Jesus tells a rich young man, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."