In a meeting with priests and bishops in Sicily, Pope Francis condemned the blatant injustices happening on the island.
POPE FRANCIS
There are in Sicily both behaviors and gestures of great virtue and others of cruel brutalities. There are masterpieces of extraordinary beauty as well as scenes of mortifying negligence.
Pope Francis further spoke of the stark contrasts on the island—there are many cultured people but also children who are deprived of schooling.
He also praised the honest and hardworking people who strive to change the system, especially the many who have given their lives.
POPE FRANCIS
It is no coincidence that so much blood has been shed at the hands of violent people, but blood has also been shed by the humble and heroic resistance of the saints and the just, servants of the Church and of the State.
Pope Francis charged the clergy with fighting corruption with 'a complete, total and exclusive service.' He says this is the way to put an end to the detachment of young people from the faith.
POPE FRANCIS
Young people are struggling to find help in their parishes and ecclesial movements in their search for the meaning of life. They do not always see that there is an obvious transition from the old erroneous and even immoral ways of acting to the resolute path of justice and honesty.
Pope Francis encouraged the clergy to look to Sicily's future to find new ways to proclaim the Gospel of Christ in spite of the changes the island is facing.
RM
TR: KG
