Archbishop Fisichella: “Do not feed the poor with rhetoric”

The Undersecretary for Missionary Affairs presented Pope Francis’ message on the occasion of the Seventh World Day of the Poor, which will be celebrated this year on November 19.

archbishop Renault FisichellaProper of Missionary departmentfoot Message from Pope FrancisPosted today by Vatican to Seventh International Day of the Poorwhich will be held on November 19.

In statements to the Vatican media, Monsignor Fisichella stressed that the poor “are not a number, but human beings who must be welcomed and supported, not only with economic aid but also through the promotion of friendship, based on the agendas of political leaders.”

Fisichella explained that in the letter the story of Tobias, a biblical character, was chosen to reaffirm that indifference, rhetoric and charity could not be delegated to others before the poor.

Indeed, he said, let us not forget that the Pope gave us this message while he was in hospital and thus shared suffering with many other poor people. The message that he addresses to us is very objective, because in the first place he takes as reference the will that the father (Tobias) leaves to his son (who bears the same name), and therefore there is a transmission of important contents that we cannot forget. And among them, the Pope tells us, there is a care for the poor, which is not a rhetorical care. It is an attention that touches each one, following the example of Jesus, who responded to every patient who approached him, and therefore to the public, looking to their deepest need.

He added: “Here, in front of the poor, the Pope tells us, there is no discourse. The poor are not a statistical number, they are people above all who desire our closeness and our sense of humanity.”

Don’t be silent about poverty
As Archbishop Fisichella noted, “The Pope warns that too much attention is being paid today to other issues: finances, the economy, leisure. Thus, in the face of these issues, that which can disturb us, that shakes one’s conscience, that also forces one to change one’s life is silenced.” And think about what is essential in people’s lives.

On the one hand, I would say that the Pope is once again provoking us to touch on the deep meaning of life. It is not for nothing that the Pope has said many times that the poor preach to us. This expression means nothing but that the poor make us see and touch the essentials of life. We cannot remain silent about this, because our personal existence is at stake.

Serious and effective political and legislative commitment.
The head of the missionary department also noted the invitation made by the pope in his letter, encouraging them to take on a “serious and effective political and legislative commitment”, which the archbishop noted “must be twofold”.

“I am afraid – he said – that too often government and legislative measures focus only on financial and economic aid. This is a first step and it is important, because misery and poverty are also defined by the inability to make ends meet, as the letter expressly says. But this is only a part. There is a part Another, more related to the cultural dimension, is the need, also through the law, to change the mentality, to change what is often an attitude of indifference or contempt, which then leads to marginalization.

Hence he warns that “before worrying about a financial law designed to provide material assistance that ends later, and oftentimes it ends very quickly because it is so accidental, we forget that there is education and training and this must be done in all places: it must be done in school, And it should happen in the family, and it should happen where there is a meeting place, where people grow together.At the legislative level, I think we can and must also intervene in this configuration, which restores dignity to every person.