Audience: On May 1st an appeal against slave labor
(Vatican Radio) Marking the feast of St Joseph the Worker and World Labor Day this
Wednesday May 1st, Pope Francis launched an urgent appeal to Christians
and men and women of goodwill worldwide to take decisive steps to end slave labor.
Emer McCarthy reports:
Speaking during
the general audience in Italian he said : “I would like to add a word about another
particular work situation that concerns me: I am referring to what we could define
as "slave labor", the work that enslaves. How many people worldwide are victims of
this type of slavery, in which the person is at the service of his or her work, while
work should offer a service to people so they may have dignity. I ask my brothers
and sisters in faith and all men and women of good will for a decisive choice to combat
trafficking in persons, which includes "slave labor".
Taking advantage of bank
holiday and the unseasonably hot weather, an estimated 70 thousand people descended
on St Peter’s Wednesday morning, queuing from dawn to ensure their place in the square
for the audience with the Pope.
Many among the pilgrims belonged to Catholic
Confraternities from all five continents who are preparing two days of celebration
together with the Pope as part of the great events organized by the Pontifical Council
for Promoting the New Evangelization for the Year of Faith.
But the vast majority
of those gathered were young people, boys and girls as well as thousands of teens
and University students. Speaking directly to them, Pope Francis said: “I would like
to speak especially to you young people: be committed to your daily duties, your study,
your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping towards others; your future
also depends on how you live these precious years of your life. Do not be afraid of
commitment, sacrifice and do not look with fear towards the future; keep your hope
alive: there is always a light on the horizon”.
The Pope was referring to his
earlier reflection on the current employment crisis that is afflicting many nations
worldwide. Pointing to the figure of St Joseph the Worker, Pope Francis said:
“Work
is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work, to use an image, "anoints" us with
dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us like God, who has worked and still works,
who always acts (cf. Jn 5:17); it gives you the ability to maintain ourselves, our
family, to contribute to the growth of our nation. And here I think of the difficulties
which, in various countries, today afflicts the world of work and businesses; I think
of how many, and not just young people, are unemployed, many times due to a purely
economic conception of society, which seeks selfish profit, beyond the parameters
of social justice.
I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone,
and I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give
new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the person, but above
all I would say do not lose hope; St. Joseph also moments of difficulty, but he never
lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons
us”.
Below a Vatican Radio transcript and translation of the
Holy Father’s Wednesday Audience catechesis:
Dear brothers and
sisters, Good Day!,
Today, May 1st, we celebrate Saint Joseph the Worker and
begin the month traditionally dedicated to Our Lady. In our encounter this morning,
I want to focus on these two figures, so important in the life of Jesus, the Church
and in our lives, with two brief thoughts: the first on work, the second on the contemplation
of Jesus
1. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, in one of the moments when Jesus
returns to his town, to Nazareth, and speaks in the synagogue, the amazement of his
fellow townspeople at his wisdom is emphasized, and the question they ask: "Is not
this the carpenter's son? "(13:55). Jesus comes into our history is among us, born
of Mary by the power of God, but with the presence of Saint Joseph, the legal father
who cares for him and also teaches him his work. Jesus is born and lives in a family,
in the Holy Family, learning the craft of carpenter from Saint Joseph in his workshop
in Nazareth, sharing with him the commitment, effort, satisfaction and also the difficulties
of every day.
This reminds us of the dignity and importance of work. The book
of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of
filling the earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it, but nurturing
and protecting it, caring for it through their work (cf. Gen 1:28; 2 15). Work is
part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of
creation and in this way participate in the work of creation! Work is fundamental
to the dignity of a person. Work, to use an image, "anoints" us with dignity, fills
us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always
acts (cf. Jn 5:17); it gives you the ability to maintain ourselves, our family, to
contribute to the growth of our nation. And here I think of the difficulties which,
in various countries, today afflicts the world of work and business; I think of how
many, and not just young people, are unemployed, many times due to a purely economic
conception of society, which seeks selfish profit, beyond the parameters of social
justice.
I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone, and I would
like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give new impetus
to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the person, but above all I would
say do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never
lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons
us. And then I would like to speak especially to you young people: be committed to
your daily duties, your study, your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping
towards others; your future also depends on how you live these precious years of your
life. Do not be afraid of commitment, of sacrifice and do not look with fear towards
the future; keep your hope alive: there is always a light on the horizon.
I
would like to add a word about another particular work situation that concerns me:
I am referring to what we could define as "slave labor", the work that enslaves. How
many people worldwide are victims of this type of slavery, in which the person is
at the service of his or her work, while work should offer a service to people so
they may have dignity. I ask my brothers and sisters in faith and all men and women
of good will for a decisive choice to combat trafficking in persons, which includes
"slave labor".
2. In reference to the second thought: in the silence of daily
events, St. Joseph, together with Mary, have one common center of attention: Jesus.
They accompany and nurture, with commitment and tenderness, the growth of the Son
of God made man for us, reflecting on everything that happened. In the Gospels, St.
Luke twice emphasizes the attitude of Mary, which is also that of St. Joseph: "She
kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (2,19.51). To listen to the
Lord, we must learn to contemplate, feel His constant presence in our lives and we
must stop and converse with Him, give him space in prayer. Each of us, even you boys
and girls, young people, so many of you here this morning, should ask: how much space
do I give to the Lord? Do I stop to talk with him? Ever since we were children, our
parents have accustomed us to start and end the day with a prayer, to teach us to
feel that the friendship and the love of God accompanies us. Let us remember the Lord
more in our daily life!
And in this month of May, I would like to recall the
importance and beauty of the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Reciting the Hail Mary, we
are led to contemplate the mysteries of Jesus, that is, to reflect on the key moments
of his life, so that, as with Mary and St. Joseph, He is the center of our thoughts,
of our attention and our actions . It would be nice if, especially in this month of
May, we could pray the Holy Rosary together in the family, with friends, in the parish,
or some prayer to Jesus and the Virgin Mary! Praying together is a precious moment
that further strengthens family life, friendship! Let us learn to pray more in the
family and as a family!
Dear brothers and sisters, we ask Saint Joseph and
the Virgin Mary, who teach us to be faithful to our daily tasks, to live our faith
in the actions of everyday life and to give more space to the Lord in our lives, to
stop to contemplate His face.
English summary
Dear
Brothers and Sisters: On this first day of May, Mary’s month, we celebrate the feast
of Saint Joseph the Worker. Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, reminds us of the
dignity and importance of labour. Work is part of God’s plan for the world; by responsibly
cultivating the goods of creation, we grow in dignity as men and women made in God’s
image. For this reason, the problem of unemployment urgently demands greater social
solidarity and wise and just policies. I also encourage the many young people present
to look to the future with hope, and to invest themselves fully in their studies,
their work and their relationships with others. Saint Joseph, as a model of quiet
prayer and closeness to Jesus, also invites us to think about the time we devote
to prayer each day. In this month of May, the Rosary naturally comes to mind as a
way to contemplate the mysteries of Christ’s life. May Saint Joseph and the Virgin
Mary help us to be faithful in our daily work and to lift up our minds and hearts
to Jesus in prayer.
Greetings to English language pilgrims
I
am pleased to greet the many pilgrimage groups present at today’s Audience, including
those from the Archdiocese of Gwangju in South Korea. Upon all the English-speaking
visitors, including those from England, Scotland, Denmark, Canada and the United States,
I invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Lord.