The Rev. Robert Sirico, C.S.P. asked his audience to consider the good of the individual and society, instead of focusing on personal gain and profit.

“Resist selfish temptations,” he said.

Sirico, who has degrees in business from the University of London and the University of Southern California, added “you cannot think of yourself as your own creator. The way people rise out of poverty is through ‘entrepreneuring’ God must be found in our work.”

The speech on Tuesday was the first part of a two-part lecture about business ethics co-sponsored by the College of Business Administration, the Institute for Ministry, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

Student reaction to the speech was mixed.

“He [Sirico] was able to connect to Christianity and economics in a spiritual aspect,” said Robert De Paula, MBA graduate student. “But he didn’t give solutions to problems that he discussed [like poverty.]”

“He seemed a bit uncomfortable when confronted with the Catholic calling to help the poor unconditionally,” Cat Walker, business sophomore, said. “He is more of an economist than a follower of literal scripture.”

Sirico drew upon his New York roots and ethnically diverse childhood neighborhood to illustrate the point of humanity.

Many of his neighbors were “refugees looking for a place to be safe,” he said. “Those early impressions left a seed in me to value human rights.”

Sirico encouraged future entrepreneurs to keep in mind other’s individual rights and the sacredness of human life.

“A human person that has the right to private property is different from all other creatures,” he said. “Humans are able to transcend, become more than they were.”

Sirico explained the value of human labor. He gave the example of Christ using bread and wine instead of grapes and grain.

“Bread and wine have undergone human alteration,” he said. “Human labor is sacred.”