At 11:45am today, in the Sala Clementina at the Vatican Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a group of people participating in the World Meeting of Episcopal Promotors and National Directors of the Pastoral Care of Gypsies, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, focusing on the theme: The Church and Gypsies: proclaiming the gospel on the peripheries. This meeting is taking place today and tomorrow at the Vatican.
Dear brothers and sisters,
On the occasion of the World Meeting of Episcopal Promotors and National Directors of the Pastoral Care of Gypsies, I welcome you and cordially greet you. I wish to thank Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò for his words of introduction. Your convention focuses on The Church and the gypsies: proclaiming the gospel on the peripheries. In this theme, there is above all the memory of a relationship between the community of the Church and the gypsy people, the history of a journey of growth in mutual knowledge and of encounter; and there is also the modern-day challenge, a challenge that touches on ordinary pastoral efforts to promote the new evangelization.
Gypsies are often found at the margins of society; they are sometimes viewed with hostility and suspicion, yet they are scarcely involved in the political, economic or social dynamics of a given territory. We know that this is a complex reality, but surely the gypsy population too is called to contribute to the common good; this is possible through appropriate understandings of co-responsibility, respectful of the rights and obligations of all those involved.
Among the causes that lead to poverty and situations of misery in modern society among a certain segment of the population, we can identify the lack of educational opportunities for cultural and professional formation, difficulties accessing healthcare, discrimination in the labour market and the lack of decent housing. If these wounds in the social fabric affect everyone without distinction, the most vulnerable groups are those who are most easily victimized by newer forms of slavery. In fact, it is those who are less protected who fall into the trap of exploitation, forced begging and various forms of abuse. Gypsies are among the most vulnerable, above all when they cannot find assistance to integrate into society, or advocates to help them promote personal advancement in various dimensions of civic life.
This is the reason why the solicitude of the Church and your specific contribution in this matter is so important. In fact, the gospel is announced with joy for all and especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized. These are called upon to ensure our closeness and our solidarity, following the example of Jesus Christ who has testified to them about the Father's love.
Along with this solicitous commitment in favour of the gypsy people, we must also have the commitment of local and national institutions and the support of the international community in order to identify projects and actions aimed at improving their quality of life. Faced with the difficulties and hardships of our brothers, we should all feel challenged to place at the centre of our attention, the dignity of every human person. With regard to the situation facing gypsies in the world today, it is more necessary than ever that we find new civic, cultural and social approaches as well as pastoral strategies within the Church to cope with the challenges that arise from modern forms of persecution or oppression, and sometimes even of slavery.
I encourage you to generously continue your important work, and not to become discouraged, but to continue your work in favour of those who are most in need, even marginalized on the peripheries of humanity. The gypsies can find in you brothers and sisters who love them with the same love with which Jesus loved those who were cast aside by society. Be for them the welcoming and joyous face of the Church.
On each of you and on your work, I invoke the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary. Thank you very much, and please pray for me.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with
Episcopal Promotors and National Directors
responsible for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies
Dear brothers and sisters,
On the occasion of the World Meeting of Episcopal Promotors and National Directors of the Pastoral Care of Gypsies, I welcome you and cordially greet you. I wish to thank Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò for his words of introduction. Your convention focuses on The Church and the gypsies: proclaiming the gospel on the peripheries. In this theme, there is above all the memory of a relationship between the community of the Church and the gypsy people, the history of a journey of growth in mutual knowledge and of encounter; and there is also the modern-day challenge, a challenge that touches on ordinary pastoral efforts to promote the new evangelization.
Gypsies are often found at the margins of society; they are sometimes viewed with hostility and suspicion, yet they are scarcely involved in the political, economic or social dynamics of a given territory. We know that this is a complex reality, but surely the gypsy population too is called to contribute to the common good; this is possible through appropriate understandings of co-responsibility, respectful of the rights and obligations of all those involved.
Among the causes that lead to poverty and situations of misery in modern society among a certain segment of the population, we can identify the lack of educational opportunities for cultural and professional formation, difficulties accessing healthcare, discrimination in the labour market and the lack of decent housing. If these wounds in the social fabric affect everyone without distinction, the most vulnerable groups are those who are most easily victimized by newer forms of slavery. In fact, it is those who are less protected who fall into the trap of exploitation, forced begging and various forms of abuse. Gypsies are among the most vulnerable, above all when they cannot find assistance to integrate into society, or advocates to help them promote personal advancement in various dimensions of civic life.
This is the reason why the solicitude of the Church and your specific contribution in this matter is so important. In fact, the gospel is announced with joy for all and especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized. These are called upon to ensure our closeness and our solidarity, following the example of Jesus Christ who has testified to them about the Father's love.
Along with this solicitous commitment in favour of the gypsy people, we must also have the commitment of local and national institutions and the support of the international community in order to identify projects and actions aimed at improving their quality of life. Faced with the difficulties and hardships of our brothers, we should all feel challenged to place at the centre of our attention, the dignity of every human person. With regard to the situation facing gypsies in the world today, it is more necessary than ever that we find new civic, cultural and social approaches as well as pastoral strategies within the Church to cope with the challenges that arise from modern forms of persecution or oppression, and sometimes even of slavery.
I encourage you to generously continue your important work, and not to become discouraged, but to continue your work in favour of those who are most in need, even marginalized on the peripheries of humanity. The gypsies can find in you brothers and sisters who love them with the same love with which Jesus loved those who were cast aside by society. Be for them the welcoming and joyous face of the Church.
On each of you and on your work, I invoke the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary. Thank you very much, and please pray for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment