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Pope Benedict XVI- Addresses |
 "Man
Does Not Only Need to be Fed Materially"
Papal Address at Caritas
Shelter
H.H. Benedict XVI
February 14, 2010
Dear Friends,
I welcomed with joy the invitation to visit this hostel called
"Don Luigi Di Liegro," who was the first director of the
diocesan "Caritas" of Rome, which was launched over 30 years
ago. From my heart I thank the Vicar Cardinal Agostino Vallini
and the administrator delegate of the State Railways, Engineer
Mauro Moretti, for the words that they kindly addressed to me.
With particular affection I express my gratitude to all of you
who frequent this hostel and who through the voice of Mrs.
Giovanna Cataldo wanted to offer me a warm greeting, accompanied
by the precious gift of the Crucifix of Onna, a luminous sign of
hope. I greet Monsignor Giuseppe Merisi, presidente of Italian
"Caritas," Auxiliary Bishop Monsignor Guerino Di Tora, and the
director of "Caritas" of Rome, Monsignor Enrico Feroci. I am
happy to greet the government officials present, especially the
Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, Honorable Altero
Matteoli, whom I thank for his words, the mayor of Rome,
Honorable Gianni Alemanno, whom I thank for the active and
constant help offered by the Municipality of Rome to the
undertakings of the hostel. I greet the volunteers and all those
present. Thanks for your welcome!
Some 23 years have already passed since this structure -- made
possible with the cooperation of the State Railways, that
generously made the location available, and the economic support
of the Municipality of Rome -- began to welcome its first
guests. Over the course of the years, along with a place of rest
for those who had nowhere to sleep, further services were
offered such as the health care clinic and meals, and other
donors joined the first ones: ENEL, The Rome Foundation, Eng.
Agostini Maggini, The Telecom Foundation and the Ministry for
Cultural Goods, who have testified to the power of love to build
up. In this way the hostel has become a place where, thanks to
the service of many workers and volunteers, Jesus' words are
actualized: "I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty
and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me"
(Matthew 25:35-36).
Dear brothers and friends who have found welcome here, know that
the Church loves you deeply and will not abandon you, because it
recognizes in the countenance of each of you that of Christ. He
wanted to identify himself in a very special way with those who
find themselves in poverty and indigence. The witness of
charity, which in this place finds particular realization,
belongs to the mission of the Church together with the
proclamation of the Gospel. Man does not only need to be fed
materially or helped to overcome moments of difficulty, but also
has the necessity of knowing who he is and knowing the truth
about himself, about his dignity. As I recalled in the
encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," "without truth, charity
becomes sentimentalism. Love becomes an empty shell, to be
arbitrarily refilled" (no. 3).
The Church, with its service on behalf of the poor, is therefore
charged to proclaim to all the truth about man, who is loved by
God, created in his image, redeemed by Christ and called to
eternal communion with him. Many people have thus wanted to
rediscover, and are rediscovering, their dignity, sometimes lost
in tragic events, and recover confidence in themselves and hope
in the future. Through deeds, examples and words of those who
lend their service here, numerous men and women are able to feel
in a tangible way that their lives are protected by the Love
that is God, and because of this they have a meaning and an
importance (cf. "Spe Salvi," no. 35). This profound certainty
generates in man's heart a powerful, solid, luminous hope, a
hope that gives one the courage to continue on the journey of
life despite the failures, difficulties and trials that
accompany it. Dear brothers and sisters who work in this place,
have before your eyes and your heart Jesus' example, who for
love became our servant and loved us "to the end" (cf. John
13:1), to the cross. So, be joyous witnesses of the infinite
charity of God and, imitating the example of the deacon St.
Lawrence, consider these friends of yours a treasure more
precious than your life.
My visit is taking place during the "European Year for Combating
Poverty and Social Exclusion," established by the European
Parliament and the European Commission. Coming to this place as
Bishop of Rome, the Church, who from the beginning of
Christianity presides in charity (cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch,
"Letter to the Romans," 1, 1), I would like to encourage not
only Catholics, but every man of good will, especially those who
have responsibility in public administration and the different
institutions, to commit themselves to the building of a future
worthy of man, rediscovering in charity the propulsive force for
an authentic development and for the realization of a more just
and fraternal society (cf. "Caritas in Veritate," no. 1).
Charity, in fact "is not only the principle of micro-relations:
relationships of friendship, family, small groups, but also
macro-relations: social, economic and political relations"
(ibid., no. 2). To promote a peaceful coexistence that helps men
to recognize themselves as members of a single human family it
is important that the dimensions of gift and gratuity be
rediscovered as constitutive elements of daily living and
interpersonal relations. All of that becomes day after day ever
more urgent in a world in which the logic of profit and pursuit
of one's own interests seem to prevail instead.
The hostel of "Caritas" constitutes, for the Church of Rome, a
precious occasion for education in the values of the Gospel. The
experience of volunteering that many are sharing in here is,
especially for young people, an authentic school in which one
learns to be a builder of the civilization of love, capable of
welcoming the other in his uniqueness and difference. In this
way the hostel concretely manifests that the Christian
community, through its own organizations and without the truth
that it proclaims being diminished, usefully collaborates with
civil institutions to promote the common good. I trust that the
fruitful synergy realized here extends also to other realities
of our city, especially in the areas where the consequences of
the economic crisis are most felt and the dangers of social
exclusion are greatest. In its service to persons in difficulty
the Church is wholly moved by the desire to express her faith in
that God who is the defender of the poor and who loves every man
for what he is and not for that which he possesses or does. The
Church lives in history with the awareness that the anxieties
and needs of men, of the poor above all and all those who
suffer, are also among the disciples of Christ (cf. Vatican II,
"Gaudium et Spes," no. 1) and for this reason, in respect to the
responsibilities of the state, it takes care that every human
being be guaranteed what he is owed.
Dear brothers and sisters, for Rome the hostel of the diocesan
"Caritas" is a place where love is not only a word or a
sentiment, but a concrete reality, which allows God's light to
enter into the life of men and the whole civil community. This
light helps us to look to tomorrow with hope, certain that in
the future too our city will remain faithful to the value of
welcome that is so deeply rooted in the history and in the heart
of its citizens. May the Virgin Mary, "Salus popoli romani,"
accompany you always with her maternal intercession and help
each of you to make this place a house where there flourish the
same virtues present in the holy house of Nazareth. With these
sentiments, I offer from my heart the apostolic blessing,
extending it to those who are dear to you and all those who live
in this place and give themselves here with generosity.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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