Meeting in the Vatican with some 150 representatives of corporations and cooperatives of the “Progetto Policoro” sponsored by the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Pope Francis highlights the urgent will will need for “better politics” in our war-torn-situations.
By Lisa Zengarini
Pope Francis on Saturday praised Italian youths involved in a Church sponsored project aimed at supplying help to unemployed and underemployed young people, saying their commitment contributes to a “better politics” close to people’s desires and as a outcome to establishing peace in the planet.
The Pope was addressing representatives of corporations and cooperatives aspect of the “Progetto Policoro”, a project sponsored by the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) to assistance young people integrate in the labour marketplace by organizing vocational coaching programmes, marketing cooperatives and establishing intermediaries, such as “community animators”.
War is the failure of politics
Referring to the theme of peace chosen by the project for this year, the Pope highlighted that our war-torn situations make the will will need for “good politics”, that listens to the people and fosters peace, even far additional urgent now.
“War – he emphasized – is the failure of politics. It tends to make us touch the absurdity of the arms race and its use for solving conflicts.”
“If armaments have been not designed for a year, hunger in the planet could be eliminated.”
Citing the biblical King Ahab of Israel and his wife Jezebel as an instance of the worst politics “which pursues distinct interests and tends to make use of any indicates to satisfy them”, and recalling the words of St. Ambrose, Pope Francis insisted that “A politics that exercise routines power as domination and not as a service is not capable of caring, tramples upon the poor, exploits the earth and reacts to conflict with war.”
On the other hand – he continued – a constructive biblical instance we can draw from is Joseph, the son of Jacob: “Joseph, who personally suffered injustice, does not seek his individual interest but that of the people, pays in person for the prevalent superb, becomes a peacemaker, weaves relationships capable of innovating society”.
Tenderness and fruitfulness in politics
These two biblical examples, pointed out Pope Francis, assistance us to superior comprehend what spirituality ought to underpin political activity. He focused on two components: tenderness and fruitfulness.
Tenderness, he pointed out, “is the appreciate that becomes close” to the least, the weakest, the poorest, when fruitfulness “is designed of sharing, of extended-term vision, of dialogues, of trust, of understanding, of listening. It indicates hunting to the future and investing in future generations starting processes rather than occupying spaces”.
“Time is greater than space”
The politician is a servant of the neighborhood
In light of this, Pope Francis, as a outcome, urged participants in the Policoro Project to concentrate not on person or political accomplish, but on fostering entrepreneurship, producing dreams flourish by suggests of marketing people’s participation which, he pointed out, “is the balm of the wounds of democracy.”
“Your concern ought to not be not electoral help or person benefits, but involving people, building entrepreneurship, producing dreams flourish, producing people definitely really feel the beauty of belonging to a neighborhood. The politician is a servant when the politician is not a servant, he is a poor politician.”
Concluding the Pope encouraged them to continue their function “always with the aim of serving” the neighborhood.
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