It is a “fire” of faith, hope and goodness that
On the morning of May 23, Leo tears of those who lost their loved ones in these toxic fires. “A deadly concentration of obscure interests and indifference towards the common good, which has poisoned the natural and social environment,” defined the Pope in his first speech at the cathedral, delivered before the clergy and families struck by terrible bereavements. Taking up the Encyclical Praised yes on the safeguarding of the common Home, in the wake of his predecessor Francis, the Pope urged us to listen to “the cry of Creation and that of the poor”, a cry which “demands conversion” and which kindles not the fire which destroys, but that of the Spirit, by inspiring “consolation, be careful.” The Bishop of Rome also issued a strong warning to “uproot a culture of privilege, of abuse of power, of irresponsibility, which has done so much harm to this land, as to many other regions of Italy and the world.”
The Sovereign Pontiff notably asked the clergy and religious to demonstrate “on a daily basis the authority of service, which humbles itself and becomes close, which takes the first step and forgives”, so that all resentment dies away. Then, during a meeting with the mayors and the faithful of the ninety municipalities of the “Land of Fires”, in a Calipari Square crowded with 15,000 people, Leo XIV reminded everyone of their responsibilities, in the name of justice and life, following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose Jubilee Year we are celebrating. It is only in this way, in fact, that we can “build good community practices”: through “the sense of the limit, and not that of irresponsible violation”; “the taste for recovery, and not the logic of invasion”; “the hunger and thirst for justice rather than possession.” After taking off from Acerra around 12:15 p.m., the Holy Father finally returned to the Vatican at 1:10 p.m.
