Vatican
City, 11 September 2013 (VIS) – In the early afternoon of
yesterday, 10 September, Pope Francis visited the Centro Astalli in
Rome, which receives and offers support to asylum-seekers and
refugees, managed by the Jesuit Service for Refugees. The Pope
arrived at the centre at lunchtime and greeted the diners and the
volunteers working in the canteen. From there he proceeded first to
the chapel in the Centre for a moment of private prayer, then to the
Church of Jesus where he met with around five hundred people, all
members of the institution, including workers, volunteers, friends
and residents. Before addressing those present he listened to the
words of two refugees, a Sudanese man and a Syrian woman.
“Each
one of you, dear friends, carries with you the story of a life riven
by the drama of war, by conflicts often linked to international
politics”, remarked the Holy Father. “But each of you carries
above all a human and religious richness; a wealth to be welcomed,
not feared. Many of you are Muslims or of other religions; you come
from many countries and from different situations. We must not be
afraid of difference! Brotherhood allows us to discover that
diversity is wealth, a gift for all!”
The
Pope recalled that Rome, after Lampedusa and other entry points,
represents for many people the second stage of “a difficult,
exhausting and at times violent journey” the undertake “with the
aim of ensuring a future for their children and the hope of a
different life for them and for their families”. Therefore, Rome
should be “a city that allows them to rediscover the human
dimension, to begin to smile again. However how often, here, as in
other places, are many people whose stay permits bear the words
'international protection' forced to live in impoverished or at times
degrading conditions, without the chance to begin a dignified life,
to plan a new future?”
The
Pope went on to speak about the commitment of the Society of Jesus to
the cause of refugees, observing that St. Ignatius of Loyola had
wanted a space to welcome the poor at his residence in Rome, and so
in 1981 Fr. Pedro Arrupe founded the Jesuit Refugee Service, in the
hope of maintaining the service in the heart of the city. “And I
think of the spiritual farewell of Fr. Arrupe in Thailand, in a
centre for refugees”, he added.
Francis
selected three words to define the work of the Jesuits and their
collaborators: serve, accompany and defend.
“Serving
means to welcome with care a person as they arrive, to reach out to
them, without calculation and without fear … to work alongside
those most in need, and first and foremost to establish with them a
human relationship of closeness, to develop bonds of solidarity. …
It means recognising and welcoming demands for justice, for hope, and
together seeking the way, the real paths to liberation”.
But
if we are to accompany, to welcome is not enough. “It is not enough
to offer a sandwich if this is not accompanied by the possibility of
learning to stand on one's own two feet. Charity that leaves the poor
in the same situation as before is not adequate. True mercy, that
which God gives and teaches us, asks for justice, asks that the poor
find the way out of their poverty. It asks us - the Church, the city
of Rome, the institutions – it demands that no-one should be in
need of a meal, of a temporary shelter, a legal assistance service,
to enable the recognition of his or her right to live and to work, to
be recognised fully as a person”.
“To
serve and to accompany both mean to defend, they mean “to place
oneself on the side of the weakest. … How often are we unable or
unwilling to echo the voices of those … who have suffered and
suffer, to those who have seen their rights trampled, who have
experienced so much violence that it has even suffocated their desire
for justice?”
The
Holy Father emphasised that for all the Church it is important that
receiving the poor and the promotion of justice are not simply
entrusted to “specialists”, but rather take their place at the
centre of pastoral care, and called in particular on religious
Institutes to consider “seriously and with responsibility this sign
of the times”. “The Lord”, he said, “calls us to live with
more courage and generosity” the welcoming of the needy “in
communities, in houses, in empty convents. … Empty convents are not
to be sold to be transformed into hotels to make money for the
Church. The empty convents are not ours, they are for the flesh of
Christ, for the refugees. … This certainly isn't simple, and
requires criteria, responsibility, and also courage. We do much, but
we are perhaps called to do more, welcoming and sharing decisively
that which Providence has given us to serve”.
Following
his address, the Holy Father, accompanied by two refugees, placed a
floral tribute on the tomb of Fr. Arrupe, buried in the Church of
Jesus, and then returned to the Vatican.
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