Vatican City, 6 November 2015 (VIS) –
The right to rest, a retirement pension and maternity leave, among
other workers' rights, “based on the very nature of the person and
his or her transcendent dignity”, were the key themes of Pope
Francis' address in St. Peter's Square this morning to 23,000 member
of the Italian National Social Security Institute (INPS).
The Pope emphasised the meaning of
safeguarding the right to rest. “I do not refer only to that rest
that is supported by an legitimised by social policy (such as the
weekly day of rest and annual leave, to which every worker is
entitled), but also and above all to a dimension of the human being
that does not lack spiritual roots”.
God, Who instructs man to rest, also
chose to rest on the seventh day. “Rest, in the language of faith,
is therefore a human and divine dimension at the same time”,
commented Francis. “With a single prerogative, though: that of not
being a simple abstention from ordinary labour and effort, but rather
an opportunity to fully live one's condition as creatures elevated to
filial dignity by God Himself. The need to 'sanctify' rest is
therefore linked to that – offered each week on Sunday – of a
time that enabled family, cultural, social and religious life to be
taken care of, making a space and time for God and for many in all
these aspects”.
The Pope then referred to the complex
situations in the world of work nowadays, from unemployment to
precarious guarantees for employees. “If you live like this, how
can you ever rest? Rest is a right we all have when we work, but if
the situation of unemployment, social injustice, illegal work and
precariousness is so serious, how can I rest? What can we say? We can
say – it is shameful – 'But do you want to work?'. 'Yes!'. 'Very
well, let's make a deal. You can start work in September, but until
July, and then July, August, and part of September you will neither
eat nor rest...”. This happens these days! And it happens all over
the world; it happens here in Rome, too! Rest, when there is work;
otherwise there is no rest”.
The Holy Father went on to note that
until just a short while ago it was normal to associate retirement
and pensions with reaching old age in which it was possible to enjoy
a well-earned rest and offer wisdom and advice to the new
generations. However, “the contemporary age has significantly
altered these rhythms. On the one hand, the possibility of rest has
been brought forward, at times diluted, and at times renegotiated to
aberrant extremes, to the point of distorting the very idea of
ceasing to work. On the other hand, existential needs have not
diminished for those who have lost or never had a job, or for those
who are obliged to stop working for the most varied reasons. If you
stop working, you can find yourself without healthcare”.
In this regard, the task of
institutions such as INPS is to contribute to ensuring that the funds
are not lacking for the subsistence of unemployed workers and their
families. “Special attention for female work should not be missing
from your priorities; nor should maternity assistance, which should
always allow for the protection of a new life and those who serve
this on a daily basis. There should be no lack of insurance for old
age, sickness, and work-related accidents. The right to a pension
must not be neglected, and I underline, the right, as this is what it
is”.
“In the final analysis, working means
prolonging God's work in history, contributing in a personal, useful
and creative way. Supporting employment, you support this work too.
Furthermore, by guaranteeing dignified income to those who have to
leave work, you affirm the most profound reality: work must not be
another cog in the perverse mechanisms that grinds resources to
obtain ever greater profits; it cannot therefore be prolonged or
reduced in relation to the earnings of the few or of forms of
production that sacrifice values, relationships and principles. This
applies to the economy in general … and also to all the social
institution whose subject and aim is and must be the human person”.
“Do not forget the person: this is
imperative”, he concluded. “Love and serve the person with
awareness, responsibility and willingness. Work for those who work,
and not least for those would like to but cannot. Do this not as a
work of solidarity but as a duty of justice and subsidiarity. Support
the weakest, so that no-one lacks the dignity and freedom to live an
authentically human life”.
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