Pope urges Catholics to spread culture of justice and peace
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday urged Italian Catholics to spread a culture of justice and peace, support families in difficulties and show solidarity with the world’s poorest and most needy. His words came during an audience with two Catholic associations, the Community of Christian Life in Italy and the Missionary League for Italian Students.
The two associations have come together to work on a joint project calling for greater support on the part of Europe in welcoming migrants from overseas and to help Christians in Syria. They were encouraged in their efforts by the Pope who outlined three guidelines to help them in their mission. First of all, he urged those present to do their utmost to spread a culture of justice and peace to help counter a culture of illegality, corruption and conflict. He also told them it was important to strive for such ideals through the world of politics.
Pope Francis said his second guideline was to encourage them to get involved in pastoral work in support of the family unit and especially to reach out to those families who are in difficulty or who have drifted away from the Church.
Thirdly, he encouraged them to go beyond their own boundaries and provide support and welcome to the world’s poorest and most needy. Noting their twinning project with Syria, the Pope urged the associations to continue showing their love and closeness towards the suffering population in that war-torn country. He also encouraged their projects for welcoming migrants in Sicily and spoke about the importance of educating and providing a testimony to young people about these issues through Italy’s school network.
During the audience, Pope Francis was presented with an unusual gift, a drone bearing the Vatican colours and the papal emblem, which came from students at a Jesuit school in Rome.