VATICAN CITY -- Parish, diocesan and national Catholic charities help the Catholic Church live the Gospel by being a “church of tenderness and closeness where the poor are blessed, where mission is at the center and where joy is born of service,” Pope Francis said.
The Gospel teaches only one Christian lifestyle: “It is the style of humble love, concrete but not showy, proposed but not imposed. It is the style of gratuitous love, which does not seek rewards. It is the style of availability and service, in imitation of Jesus who made himself our servant,” Pope Francis said June 26 as he helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of Caritas Italiana.
Leaders of the national Catholic charity and its more than 200 diocesan branches gathered in the Vatican audience hall to mark the anniversary.
“I would like to say thank you, thank you; thank you to the staff, the priests and the volunteers! Thank you also because during the pandemic the Caritas network intensified its presence and relieved the loneliness, suffering and needs of many,” Pope Francis told them. “There are tens of thousands of volunteers, among them many young people, including those engaged in civil service, who during this time have listened to and offered concrete responses to those in distress.”
In recruiting volunteers and organizing service to anyone in need, Catholic charities must pay attention to young people, he said. “They are the most fragile victims of this era of change, but also the potential architects” of changing the way society is going.
“It is never a waste of time to dedicate time to them, to weave together, with friendship, enthusiasm and patience, relationships that overcome the cultures of indifference and appearance,” he said.
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