Vatican City, 27 February 2016 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon the Pope paid a surprise visit to the San Carlo
rehabilitation centre, near Castel Gandolfo, which belongs to the
Italian Solidarity Centre, founded by Fr. Mario Picchi to prevent and
combat exclusion, especially of those affected by drug abuse. The
visit forms part of the Holy Father's "Friday of mercy"
programme, in which he performs one of the corporal or spiritual
works of mercy every Friday throughout the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
The San Carlo Community houses 55
people, mostly young, following a rehabilitation programme to free
themselves from drug dependency. Francis' visit was unannounced and
was a great surprise to all present. He spoke to the guests and
staff, listened to their stories and expressed his closeness, urging
them not to let themselves be devoured by the "metastasis"
of drugs. He embraced them and explained that the path they have
undertaken in the centre will offer them a real possibility of
starting a new life worthy of a human being. Francis emphasised the
need always to trust in the strength of mercy that continues to
sustain our pilgrimage and, accompanying us even in our darkest
hours, lets us feel the warmth of His presence and clothes man in
dignity.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president
of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, linked
this "Friday of Mercy" to the Pope's recent trip to Mexico,
characterised by his strong and unequivocal condemnation of drug
trafficking. "It worries me greatly that, seduced by the empty
power of the world, they exalt chimeras and don their macabre symbols
to trade in death. … I implore you not to underestimate the ethical
and anti-civic challenge that drug trafficking represents for young
people and for society as a whole, including the Church", said
Francis during the trip.
Just a few days after his return to
Rome, added Archbishop Fisichella, the Pope has given a visible and
concrete sign of the affirmation he made in the Cathedral of Mexico
City regarding the need for pastors of the Church not to seek refuge
in generic condemnations, but rather to reach out to the human and
existential peripheries of the cities and to involve families,
schools, institutions, the political community and the forces of
order in a serious pastoral project aiming at the prevention of a
phenomenon that destroys many lives.
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