This Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI denounced a “vicious” criminality that wounds the social
fabric of the Italian region of Calabria and called on Catholics to take strength
and courage from their faith, to overcome the obstacles of injustice, to care more
for each other and the common good.
The Holy Father was on a one day pastoral
visit to the diocese of Lamezia Terme and Serra San Bruno, which lies in the heartland
of the region home to the infamous Ndrangeta mafia. Calabria is Italy’s southernmost
region, and one of its’ poorest and least developed with an unemployment rate touching
27%. The setting for Sunday’s mass was particularly poignant, a disused plastics
factory, one of the many empty warehouses in the industrial complex just outside the
town.
Welcoming Pope Benedict Sunday, Mayor Gianni Speranza spoke of a land
of “extraordinary potential and resources” but also of “unacceptable unemployment,
and dramatic injustice and violence”. He said “We cannot allow the dominion of the
mafia and organised crime to grow stronger, or healthy industries be taken over by
illegality”. “Your presence”, the Mayor concluded “gives courage and a voice to all
of those who so desperately need it”.
In his homily Pope Benedict responded
“never give in to the temptations of pessimism and retreat in on yourselves. Rely
on the resources of your faith and your human capacities; strive to grow in the ability
to collaborate, to take care of each other and the public good”.
He continued
“If we observe this beautiful region, we recognize it as a seismic land not only from
the geological point of view but also from a structural, behavioural and social standpoint;
a land, that is, where acute and destabilizing problems occur, a land where unemployment
is worrying, where an often vicious criminality wounds the social fabric; a land that
seems to live in a state of constant emergency”.
“Do not be afraid to live
and witness to faith in the various sectors of society, in many situations of human
existence! You have every reason to show yourselves strong, confident and courageous,
and this by the light of faith and the power of love. And when you encounter the opposition
of the world, make your own the words of the Apostle: "I can do all things in him
who strengthens me".
Earlier in his homily Pope Benedict had reflected on the
Sunday Gospel, which recounts Jesus’ parable of the king’s wedding feast: “In the
Gospel Jesus speaks to us about the response given to God's invitation - represented
by a king - to participate in this his banquet (cf. Mt 22:1-14). The guests invited
are many, but something unexpected happens: they refuse to participate in the feast,
they have something else to do, and indeed some show their contempt of the invitation.
God is generous to us, He offers us His friendship, His gifts, His joy, but often
we do not accept His words, we show more interest in other things, we put our material
concerns, our interests first”.
“The invitation of the king even meets with
hostile, aggressive reactions. But that does not bridle his generosity. He is not
discouraged and he dispatches his servants to invite many other people. The rejection
of the first guests invited results in the extension of the invitation to all, even
the poorest, the abandoned and neglected. The servants gather all those whom they
find, and the hall is filled: the goodness of the king knows no boundaries and all
are given the opportunity to respond to his call. But there is a condition for remaining
at this marriage feast: they must wear wedding garments. And on entering the hall,
the king sees someone who has not wanted to wear the wedding garment, and for this
reason he is excluded from the feast. I would like to pause for a moment on this point
with a question: why did this guest accept the king’s invitation, enter the banquet
hall, the door was opened for him, but he did not put on the wedding garment? What
is this wedding garment? In the Mass of the Lord's Last Supper this year I made reference
to a beautiful comment on this parable by St. Gregory the Great. He explains that
the guest has responded to God's invitation to participate in his banquet, he, in
a certain way, has the faith that opened the door of the hall for him, but he is lacking
in something essential: the wedding garment, which is charity, love. And St. Gregory
adds: "Each of you in the Church, then, who has faith in God has already taken part
in the wedding banquet, but can not claim to have the wedding garment if you do not
cherish the grace of Charity" (Homily 38.9 PL 76.1287). And this garment is symbolically
interwoven on two pieces of wood, one above and one below: love of God and love of
our neighbour (cf. ibid., 10: PL 76.1288). We are all invited to be guests of the
Lord, to come with faith to His banquet, but we must wear and cherish the wedding
garment, charity, a life of profound love for God and neighbour”.
“Cherish
the wedding garment of love”, urged Pope Benedict, “persevere in the witness of human
and Christian values so deeply rooted in faith and in the history of this territory
and its population”.
In short their can be no future for this tormented region
if first there is no charity.
At the end of mass beneath a sky that threatened
rain, Pope Benedict again returned to the need to care more for one another in his
midday Angelus address: “Let us invoke the intercession of Mary for the most serious
social problems in this area and the whole of Calabria, especially those related to
unemployment, young people and the protection of persons with disabilities who require
greater attention from all, especially the institutions”.
Then, looking ahead
to his Sunday afternoon appointment with the community of monks at the renowned Certosa
monastery in Serra San Bruno, Pope Benedict concluded: "Saint Bruno came to this land
nine centuries ago, and has left a profound mark on it by the strength of his faith.
The faith of the Saints renews the world! With the same faith, today you too, can
renew your beloved Calabria!" Listen to Emer McCarthy's report: