--- title: How CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God' description: Cardinal Peter Turkson spoke at the opening day of the Fortune+Time Global Forum in Rome in an interview with Charlie Rose. canonical: https://time.com/collections/vatican-global-forum/4588648/time-fortune-global-peter-turkson-ghana/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-02T12:18:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:19:15.554Z article:section: Business og:title: How CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God' og:description: Cardinal Peter Turkson spoke at the opening day of the Fortune+Time Global Forum in Rome in an interview with Charlie Rose. og:url: https://time.com/collections/vatican-global-forum/4588648/time-fortune-global-peter-turkson-ghana/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt891663bbf4895797/6988b0600b72e37ec96ebede/gettyimages-479219721.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: How CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God' og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God' twitter:description: Cardinal Peter Turkson spoke at the opening day of the Fortune+Time Global Forum in Rome in an interview with Charlie Rose. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt891663bbf4895797/6988b0600b72e37ec96ebede/gettyimages-479219721.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Dec 02, 2016 # Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson Says CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God' by Nina Easton / Fortune  Ghanaian cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson attends the signature of the "Global Freedom Network" agreement on March 17, 2014 at the Vatican. Turkson spoke about "dignified work" at the Fortune TIME Global Forum in Rome on Dec. 2. Ghanaian cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson attends the signature of the "Global Freedom Network" agreement on March 17, 2014 at the Vatican. Turkson spoke about "dignified work" at the Fortune TIME Global Forum in Rome on Dec. 2.ANDREAS SOLARO—AFP/Getty Images CEOs as “partners with God”? That’s how the Vatican, for all of its criticism of free markets, views corporate leaders. But it’s a lofty description that comes with a high bar. Cardinal Peter Turkson, a Ghanaian who regularly appears on short-lists of future papal candidates, described the [private sector](http://time.com/4338654/un-world-humanitarian-summit-private-sector/?iid=sr-link2) as a “partner with God in bringing \[the earth’s\] resources” to humanity. Turkson spoke at the opening day of the [Fortune+Time Global Forum](http://fortune.com/2016/09/06/fortune-global-forum-vatican/) in Rome, a historic event at which global business leaders are crafting a social compact with Pope Francis on creating a more inclusive global economy. Turkson offered “an invitation to business to recognize themselves in this transformative role…as co-creators with God \[producing\] good for humanity.” At the same time, however, Turkson urged corporate leaders to take a more “holistic view of business and its activities” — and put the “well-being of the human person,” not profits, at the center of their strategies. In his interview with veteran talk show host Charlie Rose, Turkson also exhorted business leaders to ensure that “work itself is [dignified](http://time.com/4587778/damon-silvers-dignity-of-work/?iid=sr-link1).” “Work expresses creativity” and enables people to deploy their “God-endowed riches,” said Turkson, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and was recently named the Pope’s point-person on poverty issues. Turkson specifically raised concerns about the impact of fast-changing technology, such as artificial intelligence, on good jobs. While crediting markets with lifting billions out of poverty, Turkson argued that the spread of capitalism has also “widened the gap between [rich and poor.](http://time.com/4570329/how-to-solve-the-worlds-most-pressing-problem/?iid=sr-link6)” He urged global companies to deploy reforms in their supply chains to battle extreme poverty in places like sub-Saharan Africa. [_This article originally appeared on Fortune.com._](http://fortune.com/2016/12/02/ceo-partner-god-global-forum/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/vatican-global-forum/4588648/time-fortune-global-peter-turkson-ghana/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/vatican-global-forum/4588648/time-fortune-global-peter-turkson-ghana/"},"headline":"Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson Says CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God'","datePublished":"2016-12-02T12:18:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:19:15.554Z","description":"Cardinal Peter Turkson spoke at the opening day of the Fortune+Time Global Forum in Rome in an interview with Charlie Rose.","url":"https://time.com/collections/vatican-global-forum/4588648/time-fortune-global-peter-turkson-ghana/","keywords":["Global Forum","Pope Francis topic","Business topic","Fortune"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt891663bbf4895797/6988b0600b72e37ec96ebede/gettyimages-479219721.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nina Easton / Fortune"}],"creator":"Nina Easton / Fortune","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt891663bbf4895797/6988b0600b72e37ec96ebede/gettyimages-479219721.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/global-forum/","name":"Global Forum"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/vatican-global-forum/4588648/time-fortune-global-peter-turkson-ghana/","name":"Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson Says CEOs Can Be 'Partners With God'"}}]}] ```