By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Hope is the first act of resistance to evil, Pope Francis told the people of Naples as he pleaded for respect for the dignity of immigrants, jobs for the unemployed and the conversion of the city’s notorious mafia families. “The Gospel teaches that the truly blessed are the […]
A recent report on poverty in Philadelphia prompted me to think of ways to move the urban poor back and forth each day from their neighborhoods to the suburbs where jobs are opening up.
The Vatican has announced that, in addition to the new showers being built under the colonnade at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City State, barbers in Rome on Mondays (the traditional day off for barbers) will begin offering haircuts and shaves for the homeless and those in need. Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner, will be in charge of the project, which is set to begin on Feb. 18.
The pope’s homily at the Jan. 18 Mass, which drew an estimated 6-7 million people, also reprised several other themes he had sounded during the four-day visit, including environmental problems, poverty and corruption.
“Markets and financial speculation cannot enjoy absolute autonomy,” the Pope said. There must be “programs, mechanisms and procedures aimed at a better distribution of resources, job creation and the integral advancement of those who are excluded.”
