SPREAD JOY THROUGH YOUR WORK IN CIRCUSES AND FAIRS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 16, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received participants in the Seventh International Congress of the Pastoral Care for Circus and Fair Workers. The meeting, which is taking place in Rome from December 12 to 16, was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.

  After recalling the theme of the congress, "Welcoming Circus and Fair Workers: from diversity to the coexistence of differences," the Pope said that their work, "which is difficult and very special, can be a privileged occasion to proclaim the authentically human values in the world's fora. In a time when it seems as if the frenzy of producing and getting rich is the only thing that matters, spreading joy and cheer is true testimony to those non-material values that are necessary to live fraternity and gratitude."

  "Your world, that of the circus and amusement parks," concluded the Pope, "can be turned into a new field of the great themes of pastoral care, ecumenism and the encounter of members of other religions, and the common commitment to building a universal brotherhood."
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