The Holy Father, Pope Francis has sent a video message to the Astalli Centre and to the refugees who have been helped there on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the Centre, which is the principal activity of the international Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). The message was published this morning, on the occasion of the presentation of the Annual Report of that same Centre which took place at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
Beloved refugees, dear volunteers, workers and friends of the Astalli Centre,
In this year of Mercy, the 35th anniversary of the Jesuit Service for refugees in Italy is being celebrated. Yours is an activity that has been first and foremost a journey of walking together as one people. This is good and just!
We must continue courageously, for I was a stranger and you welcomed me (cf Mt 25:35).
I was a stranger ... Each of you, refugees who knocked at our door, bears the face of God, and the flesh of Christ. Your experience of suffering and of hope reminds us that we are all strangers and pilgrims on this Earth, welcomed by someone with generosity and without any merit. All those who, like you, have fled from their lands because of oppression, war, destruction of nature due to pollution or desertification, or because of unjust distribution of the planet's resources, are brothers with whom we share bread, a home, our life.
Too often, you have not been welcomed! Forgive the closed attitude and the indifference of our society that is afraid of the changes in life and in mentalities that your presence requires. Treated like a burden, a problem, a cost, rather you are a gift. You bear witness to the grace and mercy of our God who transforms the evil and injustice you have suffered into blessings for all of us. Each of you can be a bridge that unites distant people, and make it possible for encounters to take place between various cultures and religions, a path that leads to the discovery of our common humanity.
... and you welcomed me. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Yes, the Astalli Centre is a concrete and daily example of this welcome born of the prophetic vision of Father Pedro Arrupe. It was his swan song, begun in a centre for refugees in Asia. Thank you to all of you, women and men, lay people and religious, employees and volunteers, for demonstrating in your work that if we walk together along the road, we won't be so afraid.
I encourage you to continue. Thirty-five years are only the beginning of a path that is becoming more and more necessary, the only way toward being reconciled with one another. You are witnesses of the beauty of encounter. Help our society to listen to the voices of refugees.
Continue courageously walking, side by side, accompanying them and also at times allowing yourselves to be guided by them: refugees know the paths that lead to peace, because they have known the acrid odor of war.
Video Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the 35th anniversary of the JRS
Beloved refugees, dear volunteers, workers and friends of the Astalli Centre,
In this year of Mercy, the 35th anniversary of the Jesuit Service for refugees in Italy is being celebrated. Yours is an activity that has been first and foremost a journey of walking together as one people. This is good and just!
We must continue courageously, for I was a stranger and you welcomed me (cf Mt 25:35).
I was a stranger ... Each of you, refugees who knocked at our door, bears the face of God, and the flesh of Christ. Your experience of suffering and of hope reminds us that we are all strangers and pilgrims on this Earth, welcomed by someone with generosity and without any merit. All those who, like you, have fled from their lands because of oppression, war, destruction of nature due to pollution or desertification, or because of unjust distribution of the planet's resources, are brothers with whom we share bread, a home, our life.
Too often, you have not been welcomed! Forgive the closed attitude and the indifference of our society that is afraid of the changes in life and in mentalities that your presence requires. Treated like a burden, a problem, a cost, rather you are a gift. You bear witness to the grace and mercy of our God who transforms the evil and injustice you have suffered into blessings for all of us. Each of you can be a bridge that unites distant people, and make it possible for encounters to take place between various cultures and religions, a path that leads to the discovery of our common humanity.
... and you welcomed me. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Yes, the Astalli Centre is a concrete and daily example of this welcome born of the prophetic vision of Father Pedro Arrupe. It was his swan song, begun in a centre for refugees in Asia. Thank you to all of you, women and men, lay people and religious, employees and volunteers, for demonstrating in your work that if we walk together along the road, we won't be so afraid.
I encourage you to continue. Thirty-five years are only the beginning of a path that is becoming more and more necessary, the only way toward being reconciled with one another. You are witnesses of the beauty of encounter. Help our society to listen to the voices of refugees.
Continue courageously walking, side by side, accompanying them and also at times allowing yourselves to be guided by them: refugees know the paths that lead to peace, because they have known the acrid odor of war.
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