Pope marks Day of the Poor by hosting hundreds for lunch at Vatican
Pope marks Day of the Poor by hosting hundreds for lunch at Vatican
Pope Francis denounced the “sirens of populism” as he called for a renewed commitment to helping the poor, homeless and migrants amid Italy’s latest migration debate.
Francis celebrated the Catholic Church’s World Day of the Poor on Sunday by inviting hundreds of poor and homeless people and migrants into the Vatican for a special Mass and lunch.
He denounced the indifference the world shows them as well as the “prophets of doom” who fuel fear and conspiracies about them for personal gain.
“Let us not be enchanted by the sirens of populism, which exploit people’s real needs by facile and hasty solutions,” Francis said.
This year’s commemoration takes place as Italy once again is at the heart of a European debate over migration, with the far-right-led government of Giorgia Meloni going head-to-head with France over the fate of people rescued in the Mediterranean.
Italy kept four rescue boats at sea for days until finally allowing three to disembark last week and forcing France to take in the fourth.
The stand-off sparked a diplomatic row that resulted in France suspending its participation in a European redistribution programme and reinforcing its border crossings with Italy.
Francis lamented that the war in Ukraine is only adding to the plight of the poor, who are still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as from natural disasters and climate change.
“Today also, much more than in the past, many of our brothers and sisters, sorely tested and disheartened, migrate in search of hope, and many people experience insecurity due to the lack of employment or unjust and undignified working conditions,” he said.
To show concrete acts of solidarity, the Vatican invited some 1,300 people to lunch in the audience hall after the Mass.
In addition, free medical checks that had been halted due to Covid-19 were restarted this week in St Peter’s Square, providing people with check-ups, vaccines, blood tests, electrocardiograms as well as tests for hepatitis C, tuberculosis and HIV.
Reference: PA Media: By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
Articles-Latest
- Using Vibrational Aromatherapy In Treatment - 2
- Taliban step up security ahead of supreme leader’s Kandahar mosque visit on Eid
- Using Vibrational Aromatherapy In Treatment
- The BI-Gendered God-She-male Gods & The Roots of Christianity
- Geometry and Myth-She-Male Gods & the Roots of Christianity
- Muslim Council Demands Investigation Into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party
- What does the Bible say about homosexuality? Well, for starters, Jesus wasn’t a homophobe
- King Charles attends Easter service, providing a glimpse of the monarch after cancer diagnosis
- We must stand up to religious extremism in the UK before it tears us apart,’ writes Frederick Chedam
- Trump compares himself to Jesus Christ – again
- Pope makes last-minute decision not to deliver Palm Sunday Mass homily
- New York City's mayor gets baptized in jail by Rev. Al Sharpton on Good Friday
- Pope Francis calls predecessor Benedict a key transitional figure
- Lawyers hit out at Vatican’s ‘trial of the century’ after Pope secretly changes law four times
- What we know about the killing of Detroit synagogue leader Samatha Woll
- Sodomy and theology: the feverish birth of the King James Bible
- Africa's Catholic hierarchy refuses same-sex blessings, says such unions are contrary to God's will
- After decades of struggle for a place in Israel, dozens of Black Hebrews face threat of deportation
- Purgatory in the Bible
- Pope’s new ruling on blessings for same-sex couples does not change Catholic teaching - bishop
Articles-Most Read
- Home
- Let There Be Light
- Plants that feel and Speak
- The Singing Forest
- The Singing Forest-2
- Introduction
- Meditation
- Using Essential Oils for Spiritual Connection
- Heaven Scent
- Plants that Feel and Speak-2
- Purification
- Making the Spiritual Connection
- Anointing
- The Sanctity of Plants
- Essential Oils: The unseen Energies
- The Aroma Of Worship - Introduction
- The Aroma Of Worship-Foreward
- Methods Of Use
- Spiritual Blending
- Handling and Storage