Vatican City, 2 May 2015 (VIS) – More
than seven thousand faithful of the diocese of Isernia-Venafro, which
the Pope visited in July last year, were received in audience in the
Vatican by the Holy Father this morning. Francis thanked them for the
warmth and joy with which they welcomed him, without neglecting to
mention the serious difficulties that continue to afflict the area,
which he spoke about during his visit.
The Pontiff mentioned first of all the
chronic unemployment that especially affects the youngest
generations, who increasingly leave the area for other countries, and
he also underlined that lack of adequate services to respond to the
effective needs of the population. “Faced with this worrying
scenario, a general mobilisation is necessary, to unite the strengths
of the population, the institutions, private entities and various
civil bodies”, he affirmed. “It is not possible to defer the
concrete steps that need to be taken to favour the creation of new
jobs, thus offering the young the possibility of realising their
potential through honest work”.
The diocese is celebrating, on the
other hand, a jubilee year dedicated to Pope Celestine V, originally
from the region, which offers the opportunity for a new missionary
impulse in order to go “beyond a static religious reality” and to
“return to Christ, to the Gospel; to be reconciled with God and
neighbour. And thus there is reborn the desire to bring His love to
all, especially those who are alone, marginalised, humiliated by
suffering and by social injustice; to the many who, tired of human
words, feel a profound nostalgia for God”. The jubilee year will
also provide a preparatory stage for the extraordinary Jubilee Year
of Mercy, and the parishes, where “ecclesial communion finds its
most immediate and visible expression”, is called upon to be the
“privileged place for listening to and announcing the Gospel; a
house of prayer around the Eucharist; a true school of communion,
where the ardour of charity prevails over the temptation to a
superficial and arid religiosity”.
“When difficulties seem to obscure
the prospects for a better future, when we experience failure and
emptiness around us, it is the moment of Christian hope, based in the
Risen Lord and accompanied by charitable strength towards those most
in need. This is how your diocesan path, already admirably orientated
to this way of charity, can involve more people and more social and
institutional bodies in assisting those who are homeless or jobless,
as well as those who are affected by forms of poverty both old and
new, not only in order to take care of their urgent needs but also to
build alongside them a more welcoming society, more respectful of
diversity, more just and fraternal. … Problems can be overcome with
solidarity. I encourage you, therefore, to be witnesses of solidarity
in your cities and towns, at work, at school, in your families, and
in the places where you meet”.
Finally, Francis commended all those
present to Our Lady and the saints of Molise and Abruzzo, so they
might be “supported by these powerful intercessors”, in order to
look “without fear and with hope to your future and that of your
land”.
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