After the catastrophic global financial crisis in 2009 and as we move towards a post-COVID era, this is the ideal time for a great reset in the ways we practice, live, and teach economics, finance and enterprise (business). The Economy of Francesco (EoF) is a serious and urgent invitation by the Holy Father to transform current economic thinking which has been based on pure material aspirations. In Laudato Si, Pope Francis exposes the reality of growing economic inequalities, social and environmental degradation. The Pope demonstrates an intimate relationship between the poor and the planet’s fragility, our moral behaviour (even our inactions), and ecological degradation. The truth is that everything in the world is interconnected. In Laudato Si, Pope Francis moves our hearts to have an integral, spiritual, and ecological conversion. What is more, the EoF is a necessary spiritual and intellectual exercise and a real and practical transformation, which is meant to reshape economies and societies.
As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s graduates ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and lead lives of significance in service to God and others. Mount St. Mary’s is a Catholic institution of higher education dedicated to liberal learning in the pursuit of truth. Mount St. Mary’s, mindful of its role in the Church’s mission to the world and respectful of the religious liberty of all, affirms the values and beliefs central to the Catholic vision of the person and society, and seeks to deepen understanding of our faith and its practice in just and compassionate engagement with the world. The Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business, proudly integrated within a Catholic university, fosters the divine calling of business professionals who consider the dignity of the human person, who apply the highest standards of personal integrity, and who serve the common good. As stewards of the Mount St. Mary’s and Bolte School’s visions, we prioritize excellence in business and economic practices that foster integrity, dignity for all, and respect for the world around us in answering the call of the Holy Father to reshape our world.
In November 2021, Trans4m Communiversity Associates (TCA), jointly and in collaboration with Mount St. Mary’s University, specifically working in close collaboration with Prof Alejandro Cañadas from J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business, launched the Centre for Integral Ecology, Economics, and iMpact (CIEEM).