Pope Francis Recommends Booklet by St. Ambrose on the Biblical Story of Naboth's Vineyard to Young Social Activists
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Audience with the young people of the "Policoro Project" promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference, 03.18.2023
This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the young people of the "Policoro Project" promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference. Meeting in the Vatican with some 150 representatives of companies and cooperatives. Pope Francis on Saturday praised Italian youths involved in a Church sponsored project aimed at offering support to unemployed and underemployed young people.
Below the speech that the Pope addressed to those present during the meeting:
Dear Monsignor Baturi, dear young people, welcome!
Thank you for your greetings. This meeting gives me the opportunity to encourage the path of socio-political formation that gives continuity to the "Policoro Project" of the Italian Church. I like to underline that the need for this path was born from below, from your need to form yourselves for a service in society and in politics; and also to be able, in your turn, to collaborate in the formation of other young people.
This year you have peace as your theme. It is a theme that cannot be lacking in socio-political formation, and unfortunately it is also urgent due to the current situation. War is the failure of politics. This must be underlined: war is the failure of politics. It feeds on the poison that considers the other as an enemy. War makes us touch the absurdity of the arms race and its use for conflict resolution. A technician told me that if armaments were not made for a year, hunger in the world could be eliminated. Therefore, a "better policy" is needed (cf. Enc. Fratelli tutti, chap. 5), which presupposes precisely what you are doing, that is, educating yourself in peace. This is everyone's responsibility. Making war but another war, an inner war, a war on oneself to work for peace.
Today politics does not enjoy an excellent reputation, especially among young people, because they see scandals, so many things that we all know. The causes are many, but how can we not think of corruption, inefficiency, the distance from people's lives? This is precisely why there is an even greater need for good politics. And the difference is made by people. We see it in local administrations: it is one thing to have an available mayor or councilor, and another to be inaccessible; one thing is the politics that listens to reality, that listens to the poor, and another is the one that is closed in the buildings, the "distilled" politics.
The biblical episode of King Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth comes to mind. The king wants to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, to enlarge his garden; but Nabot does not want and cannot sell it, because that vineyard is the inheritance of his fathers. The king is angry and sulks like a spoiled child. Then his wife, Queen Jezebel – who is a little devil! She – she solves the problem by getting Naboth eliminated on a false accusation. So Naboth is killed and the king takes his vineyard. Acab represents the worst policy, that of moving forward and making space by killing others, one that does not pursue the common good but particular interests and uses every means to satisfy them. Ahab is not a father, he is master, and his rule is dominion. St. Ambrose wrote a booklet about this biblical story, entitled The Vineyard of Naboth. At one point, addressing the powerful, Ambrose wrote: «Why do you drive out those who share in the goods of nature and claim the possession of natural goods for yourself alone? The earth was created in communion for all, for rich and for poor. [...] Nature does not know what the rich are, she who generates all equally poor. When we are born we have no clothes, we do not come into the world laden with gold and silver. This earth brings us into the world naked, in need of food, clothing and drink. Nature […] creates us all equal and encloses us all equally in the womb of a sepulcher» (1, 2). This small but precious work of Saint Ambrose will be useful for your formation. The politics that exercises power as domination and not as a service is not capable of caring, tramples the poor underfoot, exploits the earth and faces conflicts with war, does not know how to dialogue.
This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the young people of the "Policoro Project" promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference. Meeting in the Vatican with some 150 representatives of companies and cooperatives. Pope Francis on Saturday praised Italian youths involved in a Church sponsored project aimed at offering support to unemployed and underemployed young people.
Below the speech that the Pope addressed to those present during the meeting:
Dear Monsignor Baturi, dear young people, welcome!
Thank you for your greetings. This meeting gives me the opportunity to encourage the path of socio-political formation that gives continuity to the "Policoro Project" of the Italian Church. I like to underline that the need for this path was born from below, from your need to form yourselves for a service in society and in politics; and also to be able, in your turn, to collaborate in the formation of other young people.
This year you have peace as your theme. It is a theme that cannot be lacking in socio-political formation, and unfortunately it is also urgent due to the current situation. War is the failure of politics. This must be underlined: war is the failure of politics. It feeds on the poison that considers the other as an enemy. War makes us touch the absurdity of the arms race and its use for conflict resolution. A technician told me that if armaments were not made for a year, hunger in the world could be eliminated. Therefore, a "better policy" is needed (cf. Enc. Fratelli tutti, chap. 5), which presupposes precisely what you are doing, that is, educating yourself in peace. This is everyone's responsibility. Making war but another war, an inner war, a war on oneself to work for peace.
Today politics does not enjoy an excellent reputation, especially among young people, because they see scandals, so many things that we all know. The causes are many, but how can we not think of corruption, inefficiency, the distance from people's lives? This is precisely why there is an even greater need for good politics. And the difference is made by people. We see it in local administrations: it is one thing to have an available mayor or councilor, and another to be inaccessible; one thing is the politics that listens to reality, that listens to the poor, and another is the one that is closed in the buildings, the "distilled" politics.
The biblical episode of King Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth comes to mind. The king wants to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, to enlarge his garden; but Nabot does not want and cannot sell it, because that vineyard is the inheritance of his fathers. The king is angry and sulks like a spoiled child. Then his wife, Queen Jezebel – who is a little devil! She – she solves the problem by getting Naboth eliminated on a false accusation. So Naboth is killed and the king takes his vineyard. Acab represents the worst policy, that of moving forward and making space by killing others, one that does not pursue the common good but particular interests and uses every means to satisfy them. Ahab is not a father, he is master, and his rule is dominion. St. Ambrose wrote a booklet about this biblical story, entitled The Vineyard of Naboth. At one point, addressing the powerful, Ambrose wrote: «Why do you drive out those who share in the goods of nature and claim the possession of natural goods for yourself alone? The earth was created in communion for all, for rich and for poor. [...] Nature does not know what the rich are, she who generates all equally poor. When we are born we have no clothes, we do not come into the world laden with gold and silver. This earth brings us into the world naked, in need of food, clothing and drink. Nature […] creates us all equal and encloses us all equally in the womb of a sepulcher» (1, 2). This small but precious work of Saint Ambrose will be useful for your formation. The politics that exercises power as domination and not as a service is not capable of caring, tramples the poor underfoot, exploits the earth and faces conflicts with war, does not know how to dialogue.
As a positive biblical example we can take the figure of Joseph son of Jacob. Remember that he is sold into slavery by his brothers, who were envious of him, and is taken to Egypt. There, after some vicissitudes, he is freed, enters the service of the Pharaoh and becomes a kind of Viceroy. Giuseppe doesn't act like a master, but like a father: he takes care of the country; when famine arrives, he organizes grain reserves for the common good, so much so that Pharaoh says to the people: "Do whatever [Joseph] tells you" (Gen 41:55) - the same phrase that Mary will say to the servants at the wedding of Cana referring to Jesus –. Joseph, who personally suffered injustice, does not seek his own interest but that of the people, pays in person for the common good, becomes a peacemaker, weaves relationships capable of innovating society. Fr. Lorenzo Milani wrote: «The problem of others is the same as mine. To get out of it all together is the policy. To get out of it alone is avarice".[1] That's right, it's simple.
These two biblical examples, one negative, the other positive, help us understand which spirituality can fuel politics. I only grasp two aspects of it: tenderness and fruitfulness. Tenderness "is the love that becomes close and concrete. [...] It is the path that the bravest and strongest men and women have traveled. In the midst of political activity, the least, the weakest, the poorest must move us: they have the "right" to take our soul and heart" (Encyclical Brothers all, 194). Fruitfulness is made of sharing, of long-term vision, of dialogues, of trust, of understanding, of listening, of time spent, of prompt answers and not postponed. It means looking to the future and investing in future generations; start processes rather than taking up space. This is the golden rule: is your business to occupy a space for you? It does not work. For your group? It does not work. Occupying space doesn't work, starting processes works. Time is superior to space.
Dear friends, I would like to conclude by proposing the questions that every good politician should ask himself: «How much love have I put into my work? How have I advanced the people? What imprint have I left on the life of the company? What real bonds have I built? What positive forces have I released? How much social peace have I sown? What did I produce in the place entrusted to me?» (ibid., 197). Your concern is not electoral support or personal success, but involving people, generating entrepreneurship, making dreams flourish, making people feel the beauty of belonging to a community. Participation is the balm on the wounds of democracy. I invite you to make your contribution, to participate and to invite your peers to do so, always with the aim and style of service. The politician is a servant; when the politician is not a servant he is a bad politician, he is not a politician.
Thanks for your effort. Go ahead and may Our Lady accompany you. I bless you from my heart, and I ask you please to pray for me. Thank you!
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[1] Letter to a professor, Florence 1994, 14.
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