“The search for the common good is a matter of concern to you,” Pope Francis told a group of French business executives at a January 7 private audience.

The Pope told the group that executives should be concerned about justice and charity, as well as the financial affairs of their own firms, and should not let their ideals be overcome by “the economic and financial systems currently in place, which often make a mockery of evangelical principles of social justice and charity.”

Regarding the obligations of business leaders to their own employees, the Pope remarked that he had often called for priests to have “the smell of their sheep.” He said: “I believe this advice also applies to you,” urging them to become acquainted with the lives and concerns of their employees.