Archbishop Fisichella on Pope’s Message

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, presented the Holy Father’s Message for the Seventh World Day of the Poor, which this year will be celebrated on 19 November. He highlighted that the poor are not just numbers, but human beings, to be welcomed and supported, not only with economic aid but also by nourishing friendship, starting from the agendas of political leaders.

In an interview with Antonella Palermo from Vatican News, the Archbishop emphasized that the “Pope is giving us this Message while he is in the hospital, and therefore shares suffering with so many other poor people. The Message he is giving us is of great topicality”, he continued, “because first of all he is telling us that it is the testament that a father leaves to his son, and therefore, there is this transmission of important contents that we cannot forget. And, among these”, adds the Archbishop, “it tells us there is the attention to the poor, which is not a rhetorical attention. It is an attention that touches every single person, following the example of Jesus, who responded to every single sick person who approached him and therefore to the crowds, by looking at the deep need they had”.

Here, in front of the poor, the Pope tells us, there is no rhetoric. The poor are not a mere statistic; they are people who above all desire our closeness and sense of humanity.

For the full interview visit: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-06/ interview-archbishop-rino-fisichella-on-world-poor-day-message.html