Vatican City, 22 January 2015 (VIS) –
This morning Pope Francis received in audience a group of agents from
the General Inspectorate for Public Security in the Vatican,
accompanied by their families. This institution will celebrate the
seventieth anniversary of the presence of the Italian forces of order
in the Vatican. The Pope thanked them for the work they carry out on
a daily basis “with professionalism and dedication”. He
continued, “We began a new year a short while ago, and we have many
hopes and expectations. We also see on the horizon the shadows and
dangers that trouble humanity. As Christians we are called upon not
to lose heart or to be discouraged. Our hope rests upon an immovable
rock: God's love, revealed and given in Christ Jesus, our Lord”.
In his address, the Holy Father
recalled the comforting words of the apostle Paul: “'Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Yet
in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved
us'. … In the light of this firm hope, your work assumes a
different meaning, that brings human and Christian values into play.
Indeed, you have the task of protecting and supervising places of the
utmost importance for the faith, and of guaranteeing the security of
millions of pilgrims. Many people who come to visit the heart of
Christian Rome frequently turn to you”.
He added, “May every person feel
helped and protected by your presence and your care. … We are all
called to be our neighbour's guardians. The Lord will call us to
account for the responsibilities entrusted to us, for the good and
the bad we have brought upon our neighbours”.
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