Pope’s solidarity with the jobless ?
(Vatican) Without job there is no dignity – the dignity to bring bread home, which enables one to plan the ?future ?and decide to form a family. Pope Francis made the observation in a message to Italy’s national ?convention ?on the theme, “Hope amidst Precariousness,” organized by the Italian ?bishops’ conference ?in Salerno, Oct. 24-26. The Holy Father noted that in his ?meeting with person during his Italian visits he has come ?to touch with ?his hands the situation of many jobless youth, those on layoff scheme ?or casual workers. ??“This is not just an economic problem, but ?also the problem of dignity,” the Pope said, describing ?Italy’s economic crisis as ‘the ?passion of youth”. The culture of waste discards all that is ?unprofitable, ?and young people, he said, are discarded because they are without a job. ?However, the ?Pope said in this ‘quicksand of precariousness’, the Gospel ?prevents us from being robbed of hope, ?because this hope comes from God who ?became one of us in solidarity with all our precariousness. ?Pope Francis thus urged Italy’s ?youth to empower the Gospel in the social and cultural situation in ?order to foster a culture of encounter and solidarity. ?