Wednesday audiences again 'in attendance'. Francis announces the day for Lebanon

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02 September 2020After 6 months of hiatus due to the pandemic, Wednesday hearings in the Vatican return 'in attendance'.

From the courtyard of San Damaso this morning - after 189 days of streaming from the library of the apostolic palace - Francis returns to hold the general audience with the participation of the faithful, the last one was on February 26.

As soon as he got out of the car, greeted by a "long live the Pope!", Francis went to the front rows of the faithful, to greet them and converse with them, while remaining prudently at a short distance.

Then he went around the various sectors of the square to continue to greet those present.

Initially the faithful, all (or almost) with masks, were all seated well spaced from each other, due to anti-covid rules, but as the Pope passed by they inevitably crowded onto the balustrades, and the distances jumped.

With a priest who brought it to him, Francesco also briefly exchanged the white skullcap.

"After so many months we are resuming our meetings face to face, not screen to screen, face to face. This is beautiful", the Pope said, addressing the faithful at the beginning of the catechesis.

Solidarity, the watchword in your speech today, a word that becomes a beginning "The current pandemic has highlighted our interdependence: we are all linked, to each other, both in bad than in good. Therefore, to get out of this crisis better, we must do it together, together not alone, together, not alone because it cannot be done, either it is done together or it is not done. We must all do it, in solidarity . Today I would like to emphasize this word ", Bergoglio said in his first words.

"As a human family we have a common origin in God - explained Francis - we live in a common home, the planet-garden in which God has placed us; and we have a common destination in Christ. But when we forget all this, our interdependence some become dependent on others, increasing inequality and marginalization; the social fabric is weakened and the environment deteriorates ".

Therefore, "the principle of solidarity is now more necessary than ever".

In an interconnected world, Francis stressed, "we experience what it means to live

in the same 'global village', this expression is beautiful, the big world is nothing more than a 'global village', because everything is interconnected; however, we do not always transform this interdependence in solidarity. There is a long way between interdependence and solidarity ".

According to the Pope, "selfishness - individual, national and of power groups - and ideological rigidities, on the contrary, feed 'structures of sin'" and "the word 'solidarity' 'is a little worn out and is sometimes misinterpreted, but it indicates much more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. More: it requires the creation of a new mentality that thinks in terms of community, of the priority of everyone's life over the appropriation of goods by some ".

"This means solidarity - he insisted - it is not just a question of helping others, this is good to do, it is more: it is about justice".

He goes back to talking about the Environment and respect for Nature and as a negative example he brings the biblical story of the Tower of Babel: "we build towers and skyscrapers, he said, but we destroy the community. We unify buildings and languages, but we mortify cultural wealth. We want to be masters of the earth, but we ruin 

".

"I told you in some other audience - he went on - about those fishermen from San Benedetto del Tronto who came this year and told me: 'we have removed 24 tons of waste from the sea, half of which was plastic' . This is ruining the earth. "

Francis also recalled a medieval tale according to which, "during the construction of the tower, when a man fell, they were slaves, and no one said anything. Instead, if a brick fell, everyone complained. And if someone was guilty, he was punished. Why? Because a brick was expensive. It took time and work. A brick was worth more than human life. "

"Each of us thinks about what is happening today - he observed: unfortunately something similar can happen today. Some share of the financial market is falling and the news is in all agencies. Thousands of people are falling due to hunger and nobody talks about it. ".

For the Pope, "solidarity today is the way to go towards a post-pandemic world, towards the healing

of our interpersonal and social diseases.

"There is no other: either we go ahead with the path of solidarity or things will be worse. I repeat: we come out of crises either better or worse, we have to choose, and solidarity is a better way out of the crisis , not with superficial changes, a varnished one and everything is in place, no, better ".

"A solidarity guided by faith - he added - allows us to translate the love of God into our globalized culture, not by building towers or dividing walls, how many walls are being built today! But then they collapse, but by weaving communities and supporting processes of truly human and solid growth

I ask a question: everyone asks 'do I think about the needs of others?'

and give yourself an answer ".

"In the midst of crises and storms - concluded the pontiff - the lord questions us and invites us to awaken and activate this solidarity capable of giving solidity, support and meaning to these hours in which everything seems to be wrecked. May the creativity of the holy spirit to encourage us to generate new forms of family hospitality, fruitful fraternity and universal solidarity ".

Today the novelty of Francis is a tribute to Lebanon, a country put to the test by the terrible explosion in Beirut a month ago.

"I would like to invite everyone to experience a universal day of prayer and fasting for Lebanon, next Friday, September 4".

"I intend to send my representative to Lebanon that day to accompany the population - he continued - on that day the secretary of state will go, in my name, will go to express my closeness and solidarity".

"We offer our prayers for all of Lebanon and Beirut - he added. We are also close with the concrete commitment of charity, as on other similar occasions".

Bergoglio then invited "brothers and sisters of other confessions and religious traditions to join in this initiative in the ways they deem most appropriate. But all together".

"One month after the tragedy that hit the city of Beirut - said Bergoglio - my thoughts still go to dear Lebanon and its particularly tried population - and this priest who this is where he brought the flag of Lebanon to this audience ", also taking the Lebanese flag.

"As

said thirty years ago at a crucial moment in the history of the country - he continued - I also repeat today: in the face of the repeated tragedies that each of the inhabitants of this land knows, we become aware of the extreme danger that threatens the very existence of the country ".

"Lebanon cannot be abandoned in its solitude - Francis warned - for over a hundred years Lebanon has been a country of hope. Even during the

darkest

periods

of its history, the Lebanese have kept their faith in God and demonstrated the ability to make their land a place of tolerance, respect, coexistence, unique in the region ".

"The affirmation that Lebanon represents something more than a state is profoundly true - he continued - Lebanon is a message of freedom, it is an example of pluralism, both for the East and for the West. For the good. of the country itself, but also of the world, we cannot allow this heritage to be lost ".

"I encourage all Lebanese - said Bergoglio - to continue to hope and to find the strength and energy necessary to start again.

I ask politicians

leaders to commit themselves with sincerity and transparency to work of reconstruction, dropping partisan interests and looking at the common good and the future of the

nation ".

"I also renew my invitation to the international community - was his appeal - to support the country to help it emerge from the serious crisis without being involved in regional tensions".

"In particular - continued the pontiff -, I address the inhabitants of Beirut severely tried by the explosion: take back courage, brothers, faith and prayer be your strength. Do not abandon your homes and your heritage. Do not let them fall the dream of those who believed in the future of a beautiful and prosperous country ".

The Pope then addressed "dear pastors, bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, lay people": "continue to accompany your faithful - he said -. And of you bishops and priests I ask you for apostolic zeal, I ask you for poverty, no luxury , poverty, with your poor people who are suffering, you set the example of poverty and humility. Help your faithful and your people to stand up and be protagonists of a new rebirth. Be all operators of harmony and renewal in the name of common interest, of a true culture of encounter, of living together in peace, of brotherhood, that word so dear to St. Francis, brotherhood ".

"that this harmony - he stressed - is a renewal in the common interest, on this foundation it will be possible to ensure the continuity of the Christian presence and your invaluable contribution to the country, the Arab world and the whole region, in a spirit of brotherhood to all the religious traditions that exist in Lebanon ".

"And now I ask you to entrust to Mary, our lady of Harissa, our anxieties and hopes - added the pontiff - let her support those who mourn their loved ones and give courage to all those who have lost their homes and with them. part of their life. and may the Lord Jesus intercede so that

flourish again and spread the perfume of living together throughout the region of the Middle East ".

"and now I invite everyone, where possible, to stand up in silence and pray in silence for Lebanon", he concluded. 

"Thank you, Your Holiness, we very much need your support and the support of the universal church. To say: we cannot continue living like this in Lebanon", he said at the end of the general audience and the appeal of Pope Francis, the Lebanese priest who was close to him all the time carrying the flag of the 'land of cedars'.

"Up to now - he added - more than 300,000 Christians have presented their documents for emigration. We need their prayers, your support and your brotherly love, and we are waiting for you to bless our beloved land. Thank you Holiness. , thank you so much!". 

In conclusion, Francis recalled an important event for Poland "In recent days, Poland celebrated the 40th anniversary of the agreements that - starting with the solidarity of the oppressed - started the 'Solidarity' trade union and historical political changes in your country and in central Europe ", the Pope said greeting the Polish faithful.

"Today we are talking about solidarity in the context of the pandemic, and what St. John Paul II said is always relevant: 'there is no solidarity without love. On the contrary, there is no happiness', there is no future for man and of the nation without love, love which is at service, which is self-forgetful and is willing to give generously. "Dear brothers and sisters, be faithful to this love!".