MCE Project

The functioning of a Free Market Economy depends on sound cultural and ethical foundations.

Recent economic development and the unprecedented financial and economic crisis we have witnessed require reflection. States have reacted with massive public spending. Whether we are already out of the crisis is highly speculative. In any case, many problems remain and the question of future sustainable development is open. We need new ideas.


The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome is trying to centre attention and interdisciplinary study on an in-depth view of economy and ethics. Through an educational and cultural programme involving the world of business and finance we hope to contribute to changing the way global economy works and to further developing the Catholic Church’s teaching on social and economic questions with moral implications. All major religions have made important contributions to social ethics. We can only solve the problems together. Therefore due attention shall also be paid to Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions of economic ethics.

The backdrop idea of the Conference is to discuss the encyclical Caritas in veritate in an interdisciplinary, interreligious and intercontinental forum, especially as freedom and common good are concerned.
Conference languages will be English and Italian.

The first day will be dedicated to an expert meeting for approx. 70 to 100 people, including the persons mentioned in the list below, professionals in the field of communications and politics, sponsors and members of the academic community of the Pontifical Universities in Rome. The number of participants will be limited to the persons invited.

The program includes four plenary panel discussions which deal with the four topics mentioned in the third chapter of Caritas in veritate (see the panels at the end of this page). On each panel four to five speakers will open the discussion by presenting a 15 to 20 minute paper. Each session closes with a 25 minute debate including the experts present. The work of this first day will be summed up in a press release.

Those experts invited who wish to present papers at the Conference can do so (cfr. the Call for Papers on this webpage) even though they do not speak on one of the panels. Experts who submit their papers beforehand will be given priority during the debate. If accepted by the Scientific Committee their papers will be published in the proceedings or on our webpage.