Pope: commitment of "individuals and institutions" in favor of family, help for jobless
Rome (AsiaNews ) - Promoting the commitment of all , "individuals and institutions," to support the family , strengthening their efforts to alleviate the consequences of the economic crisis and the consequent unemployment, "encouraging generous responses of solidarity for a future of hope , because where there is hope there is renewed energy and commitment to building a more humane and just social and civil order, and the potential for a sustainable and healthy development emerges". These were the words expressed by Pope Francis during his official visit, marked by great cordiality, to the President of the Italian Republic , Giorgio Napolitano. The first official visit by the current Pope to a Palace that, until the downfall of the Papal States, was the papal residence.
The sixth pope to enter the palace after 1870 , on the occasion of this official Francis did not renounce his trademark style of sobriety a procession consisting of five or six cars, no sirens, with the Pope in a Ford Focus, journeying in normal traffic, alongside Romans and tourists. And an unusual greeting to the employees of the Quirinale Palace, with family members, gathered in the hall of Cuirassiers . The Pope asked them to have "a spirit of acceptance and understanding for all " those who turn to the President of the Republic. Francis transformed the encounter into a kind of private audience: drawing close to the children and asking them their names.
Speaking with the president - the third such meeting
with the current pope - Francis referred to "excellent" relations
between Italy and the Holy See and of a "peaceful development of relations
between Church and State in Italy." He
thanked him for the "many gestures of respect" towards both himself
and Benedict XVI. "Our
thoughts and affection go to him at this time, in memory of his visit to the
Quirinal, when he called it "the symbolic home of all Italians . '"
"There
are so many issues - he continued - of shared concern and to which our response
could be convergent. The present time is marked by an economic crisis that is
hard to be overcome, and which has among its most painful effects, a
shortage of labor. All efforts must be redoubled to alleviate the consequences,
and to seize on and fortify any sign of recovery. "
"The Churches primary - he said
- duty is to bear witness to God's mercy and to encourage a generous response
of solidarity for a future of hope, because where there is hope there is
renewed energy and commitment to building a
more humane and just social and civil order, and the potential for a
sustainable and healthy development emerges".
"My
first pastoral visits in Italy made a deep impression on me. Lampedusa, above
all, where I saw first hand the suffering of those who, because of war or poverty,
are forced to emigrate in often desperate conditions; there, I also saw the
commendable expression of solidarity of so many who are working in reception . Then
I remember visiting Cagliari , to pray before Our Lady of Bonaria , and Assisi
to venerate Italy's patron saint, whose name I chose. Even in these places, I
have seen first hand the wounds that afflict so many people. At the center of
the hopes and social difficulties, there is the family. With renewed conviction
, the Church continues to
deepen the commitment of all individuals and institutions , to support the
family, which is the primary place in which the human being forms and grows, in
which we learn the values and are given the examples that make us credible .
The family relies
on the stability and recognition of mutual bonds, to achieve its full
irreplaceable task and fulfill its mission. While the family provides society its
energy, it demands to be appreciated, valued and protected . "
Marked
by an evident cordiality - Francis and President Napolitano were constantly
talking as they walked through the corridors and halls - but the Pope 's visit
was official: there was the delegation of the Holy See and the highest
authorities of the State and the exchange of gifts : an etching from Napolitano
by
Giovanni Battista Piranesi dating to 1773 depicting a view of Piazza di Monte
Cavallo , as the square in front of the Palazzo del Quirinale is called in Rome,
and from Francis two bronze casts of contemporary art , by Guido Veroi , one
with the image of St. Martin who
cuts in two his cloak to give to the poor, the other is an angel in mystical
attitude who embraces and the two hemispheres of the globe overcoming the
opposition of a dragon.
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