Vatican City, 6 November 2015 (VIS) -
“I encourage you to continue your important work in favour of life
from conception until its natural end, also taking into account the
conditions of suffering that many brothers and sisters have to face
and at times submit to”, said Pope Francis this morning as he
received, in the Sala Regia, the 510 participants in the Congress of
the Movement for Life being held in Sacrofano, Italy from 6 to 8
November.
“In existential dynamics everything
is related, and we need to nurture a personal and social sensibility
both towards the welcoming of a new life and towards those situations
of poverty and exploitation that affect the weakest and most
disadvantaged. On the one hand, 'how can be genuinely teach the
importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however
troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a
human embryo?”. On the other, 'human life itself is a gift which
must be defended from various forms of debasement'”, he affirmed,
citing his encyclical “Laudato si'” and adding that “indeed, we
must note sadly that there are many people who experience
uncomfortable conditions of life, who require our attention and our
solidarity”.
“For Christ's disciples, helping
wounded human life meant going towards people in need, putting
themselves by their sides, and taking on board their frailty and
suffering so as to relieve them. How many families are vulnerable due
to poverty, illness, unemployment and homelessness? How many elderly
people suffer the burden of suffering and loneliness? How many young
people are lost, threatened by addiction and other forms of slavery,
waiting to rediscover trust in life? These people, wounded in body
and spirit, are icons of that man of the Gospel who, travelling the
road from Jerusalem to Jericho, ran into some brigands who robbed and
beat him. He experienced first the indifference of some, and then the
closeness of the good Samaritan”.
On this path, “that crosses the
desert of life, even in our times there are still many wounded
people, caused by today's brigands, who despoil them not only of
their belongings but also of their dignity. Faced with the suffering
and need of our defenceless brothers, some turn away or move on,
whereas others stop and respond with generous dedication to their cry
for help. You, members of the Movement for Life, have sought to
imitate the good Samaritan during the forty years of your activity.
Before the various forms of threats to human life, you have
approached the frailty of others, you have taken action so that in
society there may no longer be excluded or marginalised who live in
precarious conditions”.
The Pope again thanked the members of
the Movement for their work, and invited them to continue “to
protect the most vulnerable people, who have the right to be born
into life, as well as those who ask for a healthier and more
dignified existence. In particular, there is a need to work at
different levels and with perseverance, in the promotion and defence
of the family, society's foremost resource, especially with reference
to the gift of children and the affirmation of the dignity of the
woman”.
To this end, he concluded, “I would
like to underline that in your activity, you have always welcomed
everyone regardless of religion and nationality. The relevant number
of women, especially immigrants, who attend your centres show that
when women are offered concrete support, in spite of problems and
influences, they are able to make the sense of love, life and
maternity triumph within them”.
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