The Holy See Press Office announced the recognition of a miracle attributed to Argentine layman Henry Ernest Shaw, paving the way for his beatification. Henry Ernest Shaw, born in France, was an Argentine businessman, father of nine, and president of Catholic Action who faced anti-Catholic pressure from Peronists. The recognized miracle involves the inexplicable recovery of a 5-year-old boy, Matías, from severe skull and brain injuries in 2021 after his father prayed to Shaw. Martyrdom was also recognized for eleven Spaniards, including seminarian Ignacio Aláez Vaquero, leading to their beatification. Three other Catholics—an Indian priest, an Italian Franciscan, and an Italian nun—have been declared 'venerable'.
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Pope Leo XIV met with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on December 18, 2025, authorizing five decrees advancing multiple causes.1 2 3
These include miracles, martyrdoms, and heroic virtues, paving the way for beatifications and further progress toward canonization.1 3
Enrique Ernesto Shaw (1921-1962), born in Paris and raised in Argentina, was a navy officer, businessman, father of nine, and president of Catholic Action.1 2
He applied Church social teaching in business, faced Peronist persecution, and died of cancer after opposing layoffs.1 3
A miracle— the 2021 healing of young Matías from severe head injuries after a horse kick near Buenos Aires—was attributed to his intercession, enabling beatification.1 2
Cardinal Bergoglio (later Pope Francis) opened his cause in 2001.1
Pope Leo XIV approved martyrdom for 11 Spaniards killed in hatred of the faith during the 1936-1937 Spanish Civil War in Madrid-area dioceses.1 2 3
Victims include seminarian Ignacio (Ignazio) Aláez Vaquero and his father; seminarian Pablo Chomón Pardo and uncle-priest Julio Pardo Pernía; seminarian Antonio Moralejo Fernández-Shaw and father Liberato; seminarians Jesús Sánchez Fernández-Yáñez, Miguel Talavera Sevilla, Ángel Trapero Sánchez-Real, and Cástor Zarco García; plus laymen Mariano Arrizabalaga Español and Ramón Ruiz Pérez.2
Their cause opened in 2009; beatification follows.1 2
Three figures received "heroic virtues" status: Indian Syro-Malabar priest Joseph (C.) Panjikaran (1888-1949), who built a hospital for the poor and founded the Medical Sisters of St. Joseph in Kerala.1 2 3
Italian Franciscan Fr. Berardo (Giuseppe) Atonna (1843-1917), a preacher, spiritual director, and aid to the poor in Naples.1 2 3
Italian Sister Domenica Caterina dello Spirito Santo (Teresa Solari, 1822-1908), who overcame hardship to found the Dominican Sisters of the Little House of Divine Providence in Liguria.1 2 3
A miracle is needed for their beatification.1
How does Catholic social teaching guide business leaders' moral responsibilities?
Catholic social teaching provides a robust framework for business leaders, grounding their moral responsibilities in the principles of human dignity and the common good. These foundations orient business activity toward producing truly good goods and services, organizing productive work that honors workers, and creating sustainable wealth distributed justly. Drawing from key Church documents, this guidance emphasizes that profit is legitimate but must harmonize with social justice, solidarity, and stewardship, transforming business into a vocation for integral human development.
At the heart of Catholic social teaching on business lies the recognition that every enterprise must serve the common good while upholding the inherent dignity of the human person. Businesses are not mere profit engines but communities of persons called to coordinate talents and energies for others' benefit. Profit serves as "the first indicator that a business is functioning well," indicating proper use of productive factors, yet it cannot override ethical imperatives. A firm may be financially sound yet fail morally if it humiliates workers or exploits people, ignoring obligations to social justice and rights. Thus, leaders must pursue profit in harmony with protecting dignity at all levels, fostering a "community of solidarity" that contributes to a "social ecology" of work and environmental care.
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development outlines six practical ethical principles derived from these foundations, applied to three objectives: good goods, good work, and good wealth. These principles offer concrete guidance, ensuring business practices promote personal responsibility, innovation, fair pricing, just wages, humane job design, and ethical investment.
Business leaders bear a moral duty to produce goods and services that truly serve, meeting real human needs rather than speculative gains. The Church distinguishes the true business leader— an innovator who builds infrastructure like roads, hospitals, and schools for communal benefit—from the speculator focused solely on profit maximization. Examples span lifesaving devices, fair trade products, renewable energy, affordable housing, and even basic items like bolts or fabrics, provided they contribute to human fulfillment and care for our common home.
Moreover, leaders must exercise solidarity with the poor, alert to opportunities for underserved populations and removing barriers to economic participation. Pope Francis urges embracing the Beatitudes to show mercy, refusing to discard people or harm the environment, and tackling exclusion through innovative solutions in supply chains—ensuring safe workplaces, living wages, and environmental responsibility even among suppliers. Justice in outsourcing matches the criteria of product quality and price.
Organizing good and productive work is central, as businesses contribute to society by fostering work's special dignity. Leaders embracing subsidiarity empower employees to exercise gifts in alignment with the organization's mission, promoting integral development. This counters exploitation in systems where financial order masks human degradation.
Business owners and management must structure work to support families, especially mothers, while prioritizing quality in goods, services, environment, and life. Investments should favor sectors offering meaningful labor opportunities, particularly under stable conditions. Such practices enhance productivity through worker development, aligning efficiency with ethics.
Creating sustainable wealth demands stewardship of capital, human resources, and the environment—our "common social and natural home." Leaders model this by justly allocating benefits to stakeholders (employees, customers, investors, suppliers, communities) and equitably bearing operational costs.
This witness of actions translates aspirations into reality through policies on hiring, firing, governance, training, and supplier relations, all oriented toward integral human growth. Profit remains essential for viability and future production of useful goods, but divorced from justice, it undermines the firm's true purpose.
In summary, Catholic social teaching calls business leaders to a vocation of service, where moral responsibilities integrate profit with dignity, solidarity, and the common good. By adhering to these principles, leaders build enterprises that are not only economically viable but agents of human flourishing and social renewal.