Cardinal Peter Turkson

Business is a vocation from God, Cardinal Peter Turkson said June 18 at the University of Dayton, calling on Catholic business schools to help students develop a moral compass along with excellence in business education.

"Let me insist, business is a noble pursuit," said Turkson.

"At its best, and most true to its nature, business serves the common good.

Business and entrepreneurship is a calling from God to be a co-creator in a responsible way."

The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said the business world requires mature leaders who steer these enterprises to benefit human life.

Turkson said profit is essential for a company to be sustainable but should not be its purpose.

"Profit is a bit like oxygen for a person – it is not the purpose of your life, but you would quickly die without it," he said.

"Yet life is more than oxygen and business is more than profit."