A New Vision for Business

Pope Francis has a way of taking eternally complex subjects and yanking them down to earth, where ideas and action conspire to improve lives. Since assuming his role three years ago, he has pressed for new conversations about love and marriage, the moral challenge of mass migration, the role of women in the church and our duty to protect God’s creation. But on no subject has he been more outspoken than our duty to help the least among us.

It is with that in mind that TIME and Fortune have invited a group of private-sector leaders to gather with the Pontiff in Rome and take up a particularly timely challenge: to forge a new social compact for the 21st century. On Dec. 2 and 3, through working sessions on technology and jobs; global health; food and water; energy and the environment; and financial inclusion, we will explore ways that business can be a driving force in ending poverty and creating a more sustainable world.

In attendance will be CEOs from the Fortune 500, past honorees from the TIME 100, scholars, foundation heads, labor leaders and social reformers. In this week’s issue, we invited some of those attending, from IBM’s Ginni Rometty and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson to Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin, to share their ideas for creating a more inclusive economic system. In an age of growing political and technological disruption, good ideas can come from anywhere and spread everywhere, and this Pope wants to engage with everyone willing to take up the challenge. “If we want security, let us give security,” he told the U.S. Congress last year. “If we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.”

Nancy Gibbs, EDITOR

VIRTUAL HISTORY

Now, 75 years after Pearl Harbor, revisit the infamous date in virtual reality as LIFE VR–in partnership with HTC and AMD–takes you inside the memories of one of the oldest living U.S. veterans. Learn more at time.com/pearl-vr

BACK IN TIME

Fidel Castro, who died Nov. 25 at 90, was on TIME’s cover nine times, including (above) in 1959 and 1995. See more at time.com/castro-covers and read about his legacy on page 40.

WORLD VIEW

TIME’s interactive map uses Google satellite images to show how Earth has changed over the past 30 years. See it at time.com/timelapse2016

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