Pontiff deplores world hunger, corruption, drug trafficking
September 23, 2024
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: In a wide-ranging address to the Guardia di Finanza (Italian financial police) for the 250th anniversary of its founding, Pope Francis deplored world hunger, corruption, drug trafficking, “undeclared and underpaid work,” and the globalization of indifference.
“In this panorama, you are required to contribute to the justice of economic relationships, verifying compliance with the rules that govern the activities of individuals and businesses,” the Pope said. “Therefore, you oversee the duty of every citizen to contribute to the needs of the State according to equitable criteria, without favoring the strongest ... And all this is your concrete and daily way of serving the common good, of being close to the people, of fighting corruption and promoting legality.”
The Pope received the members of the financial police on September 21, the Feast of St. Matthew. The Pope commented:
Matthew, in a certain sense, moved from the logic of profit to that of equity. But, in the school of Jesus, he also went beyond equity and justice and came to know gratuitousness, the gift of self that generates solidarity, sharing, inclusion. Gratuitousness is not just a financial dimension, it is a human dimension. Entering into the service of others, freely, without seeking profit for oneself. Because while justice is necessary, justice is not enough to fill those gaps that only gratuitousness, charity and love can heal.
In this context, the Pope thanked the members of the financial police for rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, assisting victims of natural disasters, and providing to drug traffickers an example of a better way of life.
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