Vatican City, 21 February 2015 (VIS) –
This morning in the Paul VI Hall the Pope received in audience more
than seven thousand people from the Italian diocese of Cassano
all'Jonio, in the region of Calabria, which Francis visited last
June, and whose church welcomes different rites and traditions that
express “the variety of gifts that enrich Christ's Church”.
The Holy Father greeted the
representatives of the various associations from the area that are
occupied in “welcoming the suffering Christ”, especially those
who have problems of substance abuse through support centres and
homes, and recalled last year's meeting with the detainees in the
Castrovillari prison, with the sick, and the extraordinary presence
of the people on the Sibaris plain. “May the Lord help you to be
welcoming communities, to accompany toward Christ those who find it
difficult to discern his presence that saves”.
“I would like to reaffirm a thought
that I suggested to you during my visit: he who loves Jesus, he who
listens to Him and welcomes His Word, and he who lives in a sincere
way the response to the Lord's call cannot in any way lend himself to
the works of evil. Either Jesus, or evil! Jesus did not invite us to
dine with demons: he cast them out, because they were evil. It is not
possible to declare oneself Christian and then violate the dignity of
people; those who belong to the Christian community cannot plan and
implement violent acts against others and against the environment.
The outward gestures of religiosity, unaccompanied by true and public
conversion, are not sufficient to believe oneself in communion with
Jesus and with His Church. The external gestures of religiosity are
not enough to credit as believers those who, with the wickedness and
arrogance typical of miscreants, make illegality their way of living.
To those who have chosen the way of evil and who are affiliated to
delinquent organisations, I renew my invitation to conversion. Open
your heart to the Lord! The Lord awaits you and the Church will
welcome you if, just as your decision to serve evil is public, your
wish to serve good is clear and public”.
“The beauty of your land is a gift
from God and an asset to conserve and to hand down in all its
splendour to future generations”, remarked Francis. “Therefore,
there is a need for courageous efforts by all, starting with the
institutions, to ensure that it is not defaced irreparably by sordid
interests”. He went on to list the Emmanuel Community among the
places of beauty in the area: an place of “welcome and sharing”
where young people whose lives have been devastated by drug abuse can
find a “good Samaritan who tends to their wounds and knows how to
anoint them with the balsam of closeness and affection”, and noted
that it has restored hope to many families. “The Church thanks you
for this service”, he said. “Placing yourself by the side of
young people and adults who suffer as a result of addiction, you have
embraced the suffering Christ and sowed hope”.
“Our time has a great need for
hope!”, exclaimed the Holy Father. “The young can no longer be
robbed of hope. … The young need hope. It is necessary to offer
concrete signs of hope to those who experience pain and suffering.
Social organisations and associations, as well as individuals who
strive towards acceptance and sharing, are generators of hope.
Therefore, I exhort your Christian communities to be agents of
solidarity, never to stop before those who, for mere personal
interest, sow self-centredness, violence and injustice. Oppose
yourselves to the culture of death and be witnesses to the Gospel of
life! May the light of God's Word and the support of the Holy Spirit
help you to look with new and willing eyes upon the new forms of
poverty that drive so many young people and families to desperation”.
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