10 May, 2013 - Open the doors of your communities so that animated by the sacrament
of love, your communities may become meeting places of charity for all who are in
need of a brotherly hand. This is the encouragement that Pope Francis gave in a message
sent by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to participants in
the concluding meeting of “Diaconia 2013” taking place in the famous Marian shrine
of Lourdes in France, May 9-11. “Diaconia 2013” on the theme of brotherly service
is a 3-year initiative launched in 2011 by the French Catholic Church’s National Council
for Solidarity, calling on dioceses, Church communities and institutions to live more
closely and in brotherhood and hope with those in difficult situations. In his message,
the Pope noted that today’s severe financial, economic and ecological crisis was particularly
hitting the vulnerable, and the Church, in the footsteps of Christ, was accompanying
all those who are being crushed by life’s trials. In this crisis, the Pope said,
the Church’s contribution is to bring about a creative love driven by faith, away
from those selfish ideologies that exacerbate poverty. Being a Catholic is not an
obstacle to collaborating with others because Christ wants his disciples to be the
light of the world and the signs of the goodness, compassion and fatherly tenderness
of God for each person, the Pope added. (Source: Ansa)