At 10:00am local time this morning (4:00am EST), inside the Sala Regia at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis presided over the inauguration of the 91st Judicial Year of the Tribunal for the State of Vatican City, in the presence of the President of the Tribunal, the Promotor of Justice, the Prelate Auditors, Officials, Advocates and collaborators who work with the Tribunal.
Following a few words of homage which were presented by the Promotor of Justice, Professor Gian Piero Milano, the Pope shared his speech with those who were in attendance.
Illustrious gentlemen,
I am pleased to meet with all of you - there are so many of you - during the opening ceremony of the Judicial Year.
I know that many of you are engaged in institutions responsible for the administration of justice and the protection of public order. Precisely for this reason your work takes on a precious value, because it is a guarantee not only of order, but above all of responsibility in the quality of interpersonal relationships being lived in our territory.
I ask you to continue, with increasing conviction, along the path of justice, a path that makes it possible for us to experience an authentic fraternity in which everyone is protected, especially the weak and most fragile.
The first point that I would like to emphasize in this meeting is the Gospel. It teaches us a deeper look than the worldly mentality, and shows us that the justice proposed by Jesus is not a simple set of technically applied rules, but an arrangement of the heart that guides those who have responsibilities.
The great exhortation of the Gospel is to establish justice first of all within us, struggling forcefully to marginalize the weeds that live within us. It is naive for Jesus to think that he can remove any root of evil within us without also damaging the good wheat (cf Mt 13:24-30). But vigilance over ourselves, with the consequent inner struggle, helps us not to let evil take over the good.
Faced with this situation, no amount of legal order could save us. In this sense, I invite everyone to feel involved not only in an external commitment that concerns others, but also in a personal effort within each of us: our personal conversion. This is the only justice that generates justice!
However, it must be said that justice alone is not enough, it also needs to be accompanied by other virtues, especially the cardinal ones, those that act as the cornerstones: prudence, fortitude and temperance.
In fact, prudence gives us the ability to distinguish the true from the false and allows us to attribute to each, that which is his own.
Temperance as an element of moderation and balance in the evaluation of facts and situations makes us free to decide based on our conscience.
Fortitude allows us to overcome the difficulties we encounter, resisting pressures and passions. In particular, it can help you in the solitude that you often experience in making complex and delicate decisions.
Please do not forget that in your daily commitment you are often faced with people who are hungry and thirsty for justice, suffering people who are sometimes in the grip of existential angst and desperation.
When judging, you must be the one who, digging into the complexity of human affairs, gives the right answers, combining the correctness of the laws with the added presence of the mercy that Jesus taught us. In fact, mercy is not the suspension of justice, but its fulfillment (cf Rom 13:8-10), because it brings everything back into a higher order, where even those condemned to the harshest penalties find the redemption of hope.
It is a task - that of judging - which requires not only preparation and balance, but also a passion for justice and an awareness of the great and necessary responsibilities related to judgment.
A second point of our reflection on justice is constituted by the laws that regulate interpersonal relationships and therefore their legality, but also by the ethical values that form the background.
In this regard, Vatican legislation has undergone significant reforms compared to the past, especially in the last decade, and particularly in the criminal sector.
At the basis of these important changes there was not only a natural need for modernization, but also and above all the need to respect international commitments that the Holy See has also assumed on behalf of the Vatican State. Commitments concerning above all the protection of the human person, who is threatened in his own dignity, and the protection of social groups, who are often victims of new, hateful forms of illegality.
The main purpose of these reforms should therefore be included within the mission of the Church, indeed it is an integral and essential part of its ministerial activity. This explains the fact that the Holy See works to share the efforts of the international community to build a just and honest coexistence, and above all attentive to the conditions of the most disadvantaged and excluded, those deprived of essential goods, often trampled on in their human dignity and deemed invisible and discarded.
To give substance to this commitment, the Holy See has initiated a process of conforming its legislation to the norms of international law and, at an operational level, has made a particular effort to combat illegality in the international finance sector.
To this end, it has fostered relations of cooperation and sharing of contrasting policies and initiatives, creating internal surveillance and intervention systems capable of carrying out strict and effective controls.
These actions have recently brought to light suspicious financial situations which, beyond any possible illegality, are difficult to reconcile with the nature and purposes of the Church, and which have generated disorientation and uneasiness in the community of the faithful.
These are events worthy of the attention of the judiciary, and have yet to be clarified in the criminal profiles. Therefore, we cannot pronounce on them at this stage.
In any case, given the full trust in the work of the judicial and investigative bodies, and without prejudice to the principle of the presumption of innocence of the persons investigated, a positive fact is that in this case, the first reports came from internal Vatican authorities, who are active, albeit with different skills, in the sectors of economics and finance. This demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement actions, as required by international standards.
The Holy See is firmly willing to continue on the path undertaken, not only in terms of legislative reforms, which have contributed to a substantial consolidation of the system, but also by initiating new forms of judicial cooperation both at the level of judicial and investigative bodies, in the forms envisaged by international standards and practices.
The Gendarmerie also distinguished itself in this field for its investigative activity in support of the Office of the Promotor of Justice.
It should be noted that although appreciable reforms have been introduced over time and are giving concrete results, they remain anchored and dependent on the work of man.
And, in fact, beyond the specificities of the regulatory materials available, those called to the function of judging must still operate according to human criteria, even above legal criteria, because justice, as I remembered before, does not stem so much from formal perfection of the system and rules, as well as the quality and righteousness of people, above all, the judges.
Therefore, a particular attitude is needed for all of you, not only on the intellectual, but also moral and deontological level. In this sense, the promotion of justice requires the contribution of righteous people.
Here, the demanding and strong words of Jesus can help us: By the measure with which you judge, you yourself will be judged (cf. Mt 7,2). The Gospel reminds us that our attempts at earthly justice should always have an encounter with divine justice as the ultimate horizon, that of the Lord who awaits us. These words must not frighten us, but only spur us to do our duty with seriousness and humility.
I would like to conclude by urging you to continue in the realization of your essential vocation and mission in your daily efforts to establish justice.
Engage in awareness of your important responsibilities.
Open spaces and new paths to implement justice for the benefit of promoting human dignity, freedom, ultimately, peace.
I am sure that you will honour this commitment, and I pray that the Lord will accompany you on your journey. And I ask you to pray for me too. Thank you.
And before I give you my blessing, let us together ask for the protection of Our Lady, who, as a Mother, helps us in our commitment to justice.
Hail Mary ...
(Blessing)
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Following a few words of homage which were presented by the Promotor of Justice, Professor Gian Piero Milano, the Pope shared his speech with those who were in attendance.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
at the beginning of the new Judicial Year
Illustrious gentlemen,
I am pleased to meet with all of you - there are so many of you - during the opening ceremony of the Judicial Year.
I know that many of you are engaged in institutions responsible for the administration of justice and the protection of public order. Precisely for this reason your work takes on a precious value, because it is a guarantee not only of order, but above all of responsibility in the quality of interpersonal relationships being lived in our territory.
I ask you to continue, with increasing conviction, along the path of justice, a path that makes it possible for us to experience an authentic fraternity in which everyone is protected, especially the weak and most fragile.
The first point that I would like to emphasize in this meeting is the Gospel. It teaches us a deeper look than the worldly mentality, and shows us that the justice proposed by Jesus is not a simple set of technically applied rules, but an arrangement of the heart that guides those who have responsibilities.
The great exhortation of the Gospel is to establish justice first of all within us, struggling forcefully to marginalize the weeds that live within us. It is naive for Jesus to think that he can remove any root of evil within us without also damaging the good wheat (cf Mt 13:24-30). But vigilance over ourselves, with the consequent inner struggle, helps us not to let evil take over the good.
Faced with this situation, no amount of legal order could save us. In this sense, I invite everyone to feel involved not only in an external commitment that concerns others, but also in a personal effort within each of us: our personal conversion. This is the only justice that generates justice!
However, it must be said that justice alone is not enough, it also needs to be accompanied by other virtues, especially the cardinal ones, those that act as the cornerstones: prudence, fortitude and temperance.
In fact, prudence gives us the ability to distinguish the true from the false and allows us to attribute to each, that which is his own.
Temperance as an element of moderation and balance in the evaluation of facts and situations makes us free to decide based on our conscience.
Fortitude allows us to overcome the difficulties we encounter, resisting pressures and passions. In particular, it can help you in the solitude that you often experience in making complex and delicate decisions.
Please do not forget that in your daily commitment you are often faced with people who are hungry and thirsty for justice, suffering people who are sometimes in the grip of existential angst and desperation.
When judging, you must be the one who, digging into the complexity of human affairs, gives the right answers, combining the correctness of the laws with the added presence of the mercy that Jesus taught us. In fact, mercy is not the suspension of justice, but its fulfillment (cf Rom 13:8-10), because it brings everything back into a higher order, where even those condemned to the harshest penalties find the redemption of hope.
It is a task - that of judging - which requires not only preparation and balance, but also a passion for justice and an awareness of the great and necessary responsibilities related to judgment.
A second point of our reflection on justice is constituted by the laws that regulate interpersonal relationships and therefore their legality, but also by the ethical values that form the background.
In this regard, Vatican legislation has undergone significant reforms compared to the past, especially in the last decade, and particularly in the criminal sector.
At the basis of these important changes there was not only a natural need for modernization, but also and above all the need to respect international commitments that the Holy See has also assumed on behalf of the Vatican State. Commitments concerning above all the protection of the human person, who is threatened in his own dignity, and the protection of social groups, who are often victims of new, hateful forms of illegality.
The main purpose of these reforms should therefore be included within the mission of the Church, indeed it is an integral and essential part of its ministerial activity. This explains the fact that the Holy See works to share the efforts of the international community to build a just and honest coexistence, and above all attentive to the conditions of the most disadvantaged and excluded, those deprived of essential goods, often trampled on in their human dignity and deemed invisible and discarded.
To give substance to this commitment, the Holy See has initiated a process of conforming its legislation to the norms of international law and, at an operational level, has made a particular effort to combat illegality in the international finance sector.
To this end, it has fostered relations of cooperation and sharing of contrasting policies and initiatives, creating internal surveillance and intervention systems capable of carrying out strict and effective controls.
These actions have recently brought to light suspicious financial situations which, beyond any possible illegality, are difficult to reconcile with the nature and purposes of the Church, and which have generated disorientation and uneasiness in the community of the faithful.
These are events worthy of the attention of the judiciary, and have yet to be clarified in the criminal profiles. Therefore, we cannot pronounce on them at this stage.
In any case, given the full trust in the work of the judicial and investigative bodies, and without prejudice to the principle of the presumption of innocence of the persons investigated, a positive fact is that in this case, the first reports came from internal Vatican authorities, who are active, albeit with different skills, in the sectors of economics and finance. This demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement actions, as required by international standards.
The Holy See is firmly willing to continue on the path undertaken, not only in terms of legislative reforms, which have contributed to a substantial consolidation of the system, but also by initiating new forms of judicial cooperation both at the level of judicial and investigative bodies, in the forms envisaged by international standards and practices.
The Gendarmerie also distinguished itself in this field for its investigative activity in support of the Office of the Promotor of Justice.
It should be noted that although appreciable reforms have been introduced over time and are giving concrete results, they remain anchored and dependent on the work of man.
And, in fact, beyond the specificities of the regulatory materials available, those called to the function of judging must still operate according to human criteria, even above legal criteria, because justice, as I remembered before, does not stem so much from formal perfection of the system and rules, as well as the quality and righteousness of people, above all, the judges.
Therefore, a particular attitude is needed for all of you, not only on the intellectual, but also moral and deontological level. In this sense, the promotion of justice requires the contribution of righteous people.
Here, the demanding and strong words of Jesus can help us: By the measure with which you judge, you yourself will be judged (cf. Mt 7,2). The Gospel reminds us that our attempts at earthly justice should always have an encounter with divine justice as the ultimate horizon, that of the Lord who awaits us. These words must not frighten us, but only spur us to do our duty with seriousness and humility.
I would like to conclude by urging you to continue in the realization of your essential vocation and mission in your daily efforts to establish justice.
Engage in awareness of your important responsibilities.
Open spaces and new paths to implement justice for the benefit of promoting human dignity, freedom, ultimately, peace.
I am sure that you will honour this commitment, and I pray that the Lord will accompany you on your journey. And I ask you to pray for me too. Thank you.
And before I give you my blessing, let us together ask for the protection of Our Lady, who, as a Mother, helps us in our commitment to justice.
Hail Mary ...
(Blessing)
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
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