• Pope: let's open up to forgiveness to fight hatred, not everything is resolved with justice

  • The "priest of the last" stabbed to death in the square in Como

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September 16, 2020 For the third consecutive Wednesday after the lockdown, Pope Francis arrived in the courtyard of San Damaso, in the Vatican, where he holds the general audience.



In the presence of the faithful, the pontiff greets along the various sectors of the courtyard, exchanging a few words with them, giving blessings, signing books and brochures and welcoming small objects that are brought to him.



And before the catechesis, Francis once again expresses his gratitude for those who do their utmost to fight the coronavirus.

"In the face of this pandemic that is upsetting the whole world, we express gratitude to doctors, nurses, health personnel and voluntary associations committed to facing this emergency", Bergoglio said during the greetings to the Arab faithful at the general audience.



Bergoglio addressed a thought and a prayer to Don Roberto Malgesini, a priest of the last killed yesterday morning in Como by a psychically ill immigrant he was helping. 



 "I would like to recall at this moment Don Roberto Malgesini, a priest of the diocese of Como who was killed yesterday morning by a person in need whom he himself helped, a person with headache".

"I join the pain and prayers of his family and of the Como community - continued the Pontiff -, and as his bishop said, I praise God for the witness, that is, for martyrdom, of this witness of charity towards the poorer".

"Let us pray in silence for Don Roberto Malgesini - he concluded - and for all the priests, nuns, lay people who work with people in need and rejected by society".  



"To get out of a pandemic, we need to heal and treat each other. And we need to support those who take care of the weakest, the sick and the elderly", "there is the habit of leaving the elderly aside, of abandoning them. this is bad! "." These people - well defined by the Spanish term "cuidadores" - play an essential role in today's society - he stressed -, even if they often do not receive the recognition and remuneration they deserve. Taking care is a rule gold of our human being, and brings with it health and hope ".



Then he went back to talking about a topic very dear to him: the Environment.

"The relationship with created is often by enemies but Nature does not forgive - all forms of life" are interconnected, and our health depends on that of the ecosystems that God created and which he has entrusted us to take care of.

Abusing it, on the other hand, is a grave sin that harms and makes us sick ", he said.



" The best antidote against this improper use of our common home is contemplation ", the Pontiff underlined. common, 'the poor and mother earth claim a change of course' enough with the use and throw, exploit created a sin, those who exploit nature end up treating people as slaves.



"Our poorest brothers and our mother the earth groan for the damage and injustice we have caused, and demand another route ", Pope Francis continued," we become predators, forgetting our vocation as guardians of life "." Of course, we can and must work the land to live and develop.

But work is not synonymous with exploitation - he observed -, and is always accompanied by care: plowing and protecting, working and caring, this is our mission.

We cannot expect to continue to grow on a material level, without taking care of the common home that welcomes us ".