The First Edition of the Ambassadors to the Holy See Literary Award was concluded yesterday with the award ceremony for the book “Il capitalism e il sacro” by Prof. Luigino Bruni, Full Professor in Economics at the LUMSA University in Rome, published in the series “Pagine prime” edited by Avvenire and Vita e Pensiero.
At the invitation of the Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See Pietro Sebastiani and the Ambassador of the European Union to the Holy See Jan Tombiński, respectively Vice-President and President of the Jury of the Literary Prize, the award ceremony was held yesterday in the cloister and garden of the Borromeo Palace, seat of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, in a very limited format in compliance with the prevention measures from Covid-19.
The pandemic and its socio-economic consequences have made “Il capitalismo e il sacro” even more relevant today than when the jury made its decision. The values of human life, interpersonal relationships, volunteering and family ties have been further amplified during the confinement period.
Prof. Bruni counters the values of an “economy of the Bible” with the cult of capitalism and illustrates, relying on extracts from the Bible itself, economic behaviour consistent with Christian values. The gratuitousness of commitment, the voluntary gestures, the gift and the interpersonal dimension were central to the protagonists of the Bible.
The award ceremony was attended by, among others, the Undersecretary of State for Labour and Social Policies, Sen. Stanislao di Piazza, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, Councillor of the Vatican City State, Dr. Marco Tarquinio, Director of Avvenire, Dr. Alessandro Gisotti, Deputy Director of the Editorial Directorate of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, Msgr. Massimiliano Boiardi, Desk Officer for Europe at the Vatican Secretariat of State, Rev. Father Bernard Ardura, President of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, Fr. Antonio Appella of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Dr. Paolo Ambrosini, President of the Associazione Librai Italiani (ALI).
Any indications of interest for participation in the second edition of the Literary Award may be sent to amb.scv@esteri.it.
