At 7:45am today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis departed from the heliport in the Vatican and began his pastoral visit to the Dioceses of Campobasso-Boiano and Isernia-Venafro.
Upon his arrival at Campobasso, at the University of Molise, at 8:45am, the Pope was welcomed by His Excellency, Giancarlo Maria Bregantini, CSS, Archbishop of Campobasso-Boiano; by Doctor Paolo Di Laura Frattura, President of the Molise Region; by Doctor Francescopaolo Di Menna, Prefect of Campobasso; by Doctor Antonio Battista, Mayor of Campobasso; and by Doctor Rosario De Matteis, President of the Province of Campobasso.
The Holy Father then went to the Aula Magna at the University of Molise where at 9:00am, he met with representatives from the world of work and industry. At the entrance to the University, the Pope was welcomed by Professor Gianmaria Palmieri, the University's Rector. Then, in the Aula Magna, after a word of welcome from the Rector, and some words of greeting offered by one of the farmers and a factory worker from FIAT, the Holy Father spoke the following discourse:
Professor Palmieri,
Various authorities, students, personnel of the University, Professors,
Brothers and sisters from the world of work,
I thank you for your welcome. Above all, I wish to thank you for sharing with me the realities that you are living, the struggles and the hopes. The Rector used an expression that I myself once used: that our God is a God of surprises. It's true, every day he surprises us. That's what he's like, our Father. But I also said another thing about God, that I want to remind you of: God breaks moulds, and if we don't have the courage to break moulds, we will never be able to advance because our God compels us always to be creative in the future.
My visit to Molise begins with this encounter with the world of work, but this place where we are gathered is the University. This is significant: it expresses the importance of research and of formation in order to respond to the new complex demands that the current economic crisis imposes, on local, national and international levels. You saw this just a little while ago when the young farmer spoke of his choice to study for a degree in agriculture and to work the land as a vocation. The farmer's time on earth is not meant to remain fixed, it should be spent in dialogue, a richly fertile dialogue, a creative dialogue. The dialogue between a man and his land that makes it flourish, makes it fertile for all of us. This is very important. A good training programme does not offer easy solutions, but it helps us to develop a more open, creative regard in order to better appreciate and use resources of a particular territory.
I fully agree with what was said about taking care of the earth, so that it may bear fruit without being exhausted. This is one of the greatest challenges of our time: conversion to a development that is respectful of creation. I think also of America - my homeland: there are so many forests which have been stripped and become land incapable of being cultivated, that can no longer give life. This is our sin: that we destroy the earth and don't allow it to bear what it holds within itself, what it can furnish through our cultivation.
Another challenge has also emerged in the voice of this brave mother who spoke on behalf of her family: her husband, her little child and the child in her lap. Hers is a call for work and at the same time for the family. Thank you for your witness! In effect, it is about seeking to find time for both work and family. But I'll tell you something: when I go to the confessional and I confess - now I don't do it as often as I used to in other dioceses - when a young mother or a father comes, I ask: How many children do you have? - they tell me. And I always ask something else too: Tell me, do you play with your children? The majority of them usually respond: What do you mean, Father? - Yes, yes, do you play? Do you waste time with your children? We are currently losing this ability, this wisdom of playing with our children. The economic situation is driving us in that direction, toward losing this ability. Please, waste time with your children! On Sunday - she (turns toward the labourer who had spoken) made reference to this Sunday for the family, and to wasting time ... This is a critical point, a point that allows us to discern, to assess the quality of the human economic system in which we find ourselves. In this context, we should also entertain the question of working on Sunday, which is not only a concern for believers, but also for all people, as an ethical choice, as well as the attitude of gratitude that we are losing. The question is: where do we want to place our priorities? A Sunday that is free from work - with the exception of necessary services - demonstrates to the world that our priority is not based on economics, but on humanity, on gratitude, not on relationships based on work but on families, friends, for believers on relations with God and with the community. Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves whether the choice to work on Sunday or not is truly a freedom. Because the God of surprises is the God who breaks the moulds. He breaks our moulds and surprises us so that we can be more free: He is the God of freedom.
Dear friends, today, I want to unite my voice with those of many workers and employers in this territory who are asking for a work pact to be established. I have seen that in Molise you are trying to respond to the tragedy of unemployment by joining forces in a constructive manner. Many jobs can be recovered through a plan coordinated with the national authorities, a work pact which is capable of capitalizing on opportunities offered by national and European regulations. I encourage you to continue on this path, which can bear good fruit both here and in other regions.
I want to turn now to a word, that you (he looks toward the labourer) used. To not have work is not only a matter of not having the necessities of life, no. We can eat every day: all we need to do is go to Caritas, or to a certain association, or to a club, here or there and they will give us something to eat. But this is not the problem. The problem is not being able to furnish a meal in our own homes: this is serious, it is a matter of dignity! This problem robs us of dignity. The most serious problem is not hunger - even though hunger is indeed a challenge. The most serious problem is dignity. This is why we must work so hard at defending our dignity, the dignity that we derive from having work.
Finally, I want to tell you that i was struck by the fact that I received a painting that truly represents maternity. Motherhood involves labour, but the labour of childbirth is focused on life, it is filled with hope. So I wish not only to thank you for this gift, but to thank you even more for your witness that is contained within it: the witness of work that is filled with hope. Thank you! And I want to add a historical fact - something that happened to me. When I was Provincial of the Jesuits, we needed to send someone to Antarctica, to live there for ten months of the year, a chaplain. I thought about it, and someone went, Father Bonaventura De Filippis. Do you know something? He was born here, in Campobasso, he was from here! Thank you!
At the conclusion of his encounter at the University, the Holy Father travelled by car to the former Roman Stadium of Campobasso for the celebration of the Mass.
Upon his arrival at Campobasso, at the University of Molise, at 8:45am, the Pope was welcomed by His Excellency, Giancarlo Maria Bregantini, CSS, Archbishop of Campobasso-Boiano; by Doctor Paolo Di Laura Frattura, President of the Molise Region; by Doctor Francescopaolo Di Menna, Prefect of Campobasso; by Doctor Antonio Battista, Mayor of Campobasso; and by Doctor Rosario De Matteis, President of the Province of Campobasso.
The Holy Father then went to the Aula Magna at the University of Molise where at 9:00am, he met with representatives from the world of work and industry. At the entrance to the University, the Pope was welcomed by Professor Gianmaria Palmieri, the University's Rector. Then, in the Aula Magna, after a word of welcome from the Rector, and some words of greeting offered by one of the farmers and a factory worker from FIAT, the Holy Father spoke the following discourse:
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the gathering at the University of Molise
Professor Palmieri,
Various authorities, students, personnel of the University, Professors,
Brothers and sisters from the world of work,
I thank you for your welcome. Above all, I wish to thank you for sharing with me the realities that you are living, the struggles and the hopes. The Rector used an expression that I myself once used: that our God is a God of surprises. It's true, every day he surprises us. That's what he's like, our Father. But I also said another thing about God, that I want to remind you of: God breaks moulds, and if we don't have the courage to break moulds, we will never be able to advance because our God compels us always to be creative in the future.
My visit to Molise begins with this encounter with the world of work, but this place where we are gathered is the University. This is significant: it expresses the importance of research and of formation in order to respond to the new complex demands that the current economic crisis imposes, on local, national and international levels. You saw this just a little while ago when the young farmer spoke of his choice to study for a degree in agriculture and to work the land as a vocation. The farmer's time on earth is not meant to remain fixed, it should be spent in dialogue, a richly fertile dialogue, a creative dialogue. The dialogue between a man and his land that makes it flourish, makes it fertile for all of us. This is very important. A good training programme does not offer easy solutions, but it helps us to develop a more open, creative regard in order to better appreciate and use resources of a particular territory.
I fully agree with what was said about taking care of the earth, so that it may bear fruit without being exhausted. This is one of the greatest challenges of our time: conversion to a development that is respectful of creation. I think also of America - my homeland: there are so many forests which have been stripped and become land incapable of being cultivated, that can no longer give life. This is our sin: that we destroy the earth and don't allow it to bear what it holds within itself, what it can furnish through our cultivation.
Another challenge has also emerged in the voice of this brave mother who spoke on behalf of her family: her husband, her little child and the child in her lap. Hers is a call for work and at the same time for the family. Thank you for your witness! In effect, it is about seeking to find time for both work and family. But I'll tell you something: when I go to the confessional and I confess - now I don't do it as often as I used to in other dioceses - when a young mother or a father comes, I ask: How many children do you have? - they tell me. And I always ask something else too: Tell me, do you play with your children? The majority of them usually respond: What do you mean, Father? - Yes, yes, do you play? Do you waste time with your children? We are currently losing this ability, this wisdom of playing with our children. The economic situation is driving us in that direction, toward losing this ability. Please, waste time with your children! On Sunday - she (turns toward the labourer who had spoken) made reference to this Sunday for the family, and to wasting time ... This is a critical point, a point that allows us to discern, to assess the quality of the human economic system in which we find ourselves. In this context, we should also entertain the question of working on Sunday, which is not only a concern for believers, but also for all people, as an ethical choice, as well as the attitude of gratitude that we are losing. The question is: where do we want to place our priorities? A Sunday that is free from work - with the exception of necessary services - demonstrates to the world that our priority is not based on economics, but on humanity, on gratitude, not on relationships based on work but on families, friends, for believers on relations with God and with the community. Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves whether the choice to work on Sunday or not is truly a freedom. Because the God of surprises is the God who breaks the moulds. He breaks our moulds and surprises us so that we can be more free: He is the God of freedom.
Dear friends, today, I want to unite my voice with those of many workers and employers in this territory who are asking for a work pact to be established. I have seen that in Molise you are trying to respond to the tragedy of unemployment by joining forces in a constructive manner. Many jobs can be recovered through a plan coordinated with the national authorities, a work pact which is capable of capitalizing on opportunities offered by national and European regulations. I encourage you to continue on this path, which can bear good fruit both here and in other regions.
I want to turn now to a word, that you (he looks toward the labourer) used. To not have work is not only a matter of not having the necessities of life, no. We can eat every day: all we need to do is go to Caritas, or to a certain association, or to a club, here or there and they will give us something to eat. But this is not the problem. The problem is not being able to furnish a meal in our own homes: this is serious, it is a matter of dignity! This problem robs us of dignity. The most serious problem is not hunger - even though hunger is indeed a challenge. The most serious problem is dignity. This is why we must work so hard at defending our dignity, the dignity that we derive from having work.
Finally, I want to tell you that i was struck by the fact that I received a painting that truly represents maternity. Motherhood involves labour, but the labour of childbirth is focused on life, it is filled with hope. So I wish not only to thank you for this gift, but to thank you even more for your witness that is contained within it: the witness of work that is filled with hope. Thank you! And I want to add a historical fact - something that happened to me. When I was Provincial of the Jesuits, we needed to send someone to Antarctica, to live there for ten months of the year, a chaplain. I thought about it, and someone went, Father Bonaventura De Filippis. Do you know something? He was born here, in Campobasso, he was from here! Thank you!
At the conclusion of his encounter at the University, the Holy Father travelled by car to the former Roman Stadium of Campobasso for the celebration of the Mass.
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