Vatican City, 8 November 2014 (VIS) –
“Make way in the family, in creation, and in the city”, exhorted
the Pope this morning as he received in audience seven thousand
members of the adult Italian scouts, gathered in the Vatican's Paul
VI Hall to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the foundation of
this branch of the movement.
With regard to the first path to take,
within the family, Francis remarked that this community of life and
love is where every person learns how to relate to others and to the
world and, “thanks to the foundations acquired in the family, is
able to project him- or herself in society, and to frequent other
formative environments, such as school, the parish or associations,
in a positive way. Thus, in this integration of the bases assimilated
in the family and 'external' experiences, we learn to find our way in
the world. … For a movement such as yours, based on continuing
education and on the choice to educate, it is important to reaffirm
that education in the family constitutes a priority decision. …
Dialogue between spouses, along with mutual listening and comparison,
are elements essential for a family to be serene and fruitful”.
Turning to the second point, opening up
a path in creation, the Holy Father reiterated that in our time “we
cannot ignore the ecological question, which is vital for the
survival of mankind, nor can we reduce it to a merely political
issue: indeed, it has a moral dimension that affects all of us, and
so no-one may choose to ignore it. As Christ's disciples, we have a
further reason to unite with people of good will for the protection
and defence of nature and the environment. Indeed, creation is a gift
entrusted to us from the hands of the Creator. … This doctrine of
our faith offers us an even stronger impetus towards a responsible
and respectful relationship with creation: in inanimate nature, in
plants and in animals we recognise the imprint of the Creator, and in
our peers we see His likeness. Living in close contact with nature …
does not only imply respect for it, but also commitment to
contributing in a concrete way towards eliminating the wastefulness
of a society that tends increasingly to discard goods that are still
usable and could be donated to those in need”.
Finally, to lead the way in cities, it
is important to bring the joy of Gospel values to the streets and
quarters and to make a contribution to the common good, in a just and
open dialogue on different social and cultural themes. “In a
complex and multicultural society, we are able to offer witness, with
simplicity and humility, to Jesus' love for every person, also
experimenting with new paths of evangelisation, faithful to Christ
and faithful to humanity. People often live in wearisome situations
in cities, and at times risk becoming disorientated and losing the
capacity to see the horizon, to feel God's presence. The true compass
to offer to these brothers and sisters is a heart close by, a heart
that is 'oriented', as it were, towards God”.
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