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SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE PREFECTS OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC
TO THE PREFECTS OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC
Pope Francis addresses Italian prefects, thanking them for promoting the values of social cohesion and solidarity in Italian society.
Clementine Hall
Monday, December 11, 2023
_____________________________
Mr Minister,
Distinguished Prefects,
I cordially greet you and welcome you with pleasure, a few days after the feast of your Patron Saint, Saint Ambrose: he too, although in different historical circumstances, had been prefect, before being called by God in an unexpected way to become pastor of the people in Milan. And that phrase of his is well known: «You think: times are bad, times are difficult, times are difficult. Live well and you will change the times." Live well and you will change the times: beautiful phrase! These words can also refer to the substance of your service: ensuring that the inhabitants of the places entrusted to you can "live well".
To carry out this task, you act as an intermediary between the State and the territory, constantly relating the whole to the parts, the center to the peripheries, the common good with attention to individuals. Your role realizes at an institutional level that «daily ability to broaden the […] circle» (Encyclical letter Fratelli tutti, 97), whereby each citizen, especially those who find themselves in difficult situations, experiences, in the presence of the State , the concrete closeness of the civil community. Therefore you take on various challenges, such as security and public order in a given territory, various services to people and communities. I would like to briefly focus on three of these challenges: public order, environmental critical issues and the management of migratory flows.
Public order. This is the priority and most delicate aspect of your work, because it requires, often in unpredictable and emergency situations, to combine respect for the law with attention to humanity. Legality and humanity together, to give the provisions the necessary application and at the same time also approach those who make mistakes with due respect, reconciling the protection of victims with the fair treatment of the guilty. Added to this is the great responsibility you have to deal with the risks that members of the police force, whom you also take care of, run on a daily basis. When carrying out your public office, it may be good to remember an ancient maxim, which refers to the order of personal life: "serva ordinim et ordo servabit te", "keep order and order will save you"; he will guard you, he will save you. It is a wise statement, because public order cannot be administered without personal and internal order. But when this is present, responsibility for public order is perceived as a call to create that climate of harmonious coexistence thanks to which difficulties can be faced and resolved. I would like to say that yours is a sort of institutional fatherhood: exercised with conscience and dedication, it does not spare sacrifices and sleepless nights and deserves our gratitude.
Second point: environmental critical issues. Your roots in the territories leads me to this second reflection: although they do not fall within your direct competence, hydro-geological problems are unfortunately now frequent emergencies and involve everyone; linked to atmospheric phenomena that should be unusual and extraordinary, have become habitual due to climate change. We have witnessed this in recent times: think, to name a few, of the recent disasters in Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Sicily. But precisely in those circumstances we had the opportunity to admire, beyond sterile controversies, the best qualities of the Italian people, who, especially in times of difficulty, know how to unite in an exemplary way, combining the diligence of the institutions with the commitment of the citizens. You have had the task of managing the available resources as best as possible and of bringing public and private operators into synergy. It is important and urgent, in the present and in the future, to unite efforts to protect, in time and with foresight, our common home.
And finally the migratory flows, with their delicate management at a local level. This task is also not easy, because it entrusts to your care wounded people, vulnerable people, often lost people and those who have suffered terrible traumas. They are faces, not numbers: people who cannot simply be classified, but who should be embraced; brothers and sisters who need to be freed from the tentacles of criminal organizations, capable of speculating without any mercy on their misfortunes. We learned about the "camps" in some North African countries, where those who want to come to Europe are treated like slaves, tortured, even killed. You are given the arduous task of organizing an orderly welcome for them in the area, based on integration and constructive insertion into the local fabric. You cannot be left alone in this task of supporting them in their essential needs and at the same time listening to the apprehensions and tensions that may arise in residents, as well as naturally intervening when situations of disorder and violence arise.
We must be careful. Migrants must be received, accompanied, promoted and integrated. If this is not there, there is danger; if there is no this path towards integration, there is danger. And this also makes me think of another problem. Migrants help when they fit in well. Italy is a land where there is a lack of children, and migrants come. I am worried about the problem of the low birth rate here in Italy. They don't have children. One of my secretaries was telling me that he was walking around the square the other day: a lady approached who had a trolley with her child; he goes to pet the baby… she was a little dog! Little dogs are taking the place of children. Think about this. The responsibility that Italians have to have children to grow up and also to receive migrants as children.
In conclusion, I renew my gratitude for your visit and for the commitment you make every day in favor of the common good. Thank you, because you work for peaceful coexistence in the very varied territories of our Italy, rich in traditions and values that speak of cohesion, welcome, solidarity. I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the upcoming Christmas holidays: God who, by incarnating himself, came to inhabit our spaces, bless you, bless the populations and territories you serve. And don't forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Clementine Hall
Monday, December 11, 2023
_____________________________
Mr Minister,
Distinguished Prefects,
I cordially greet you and welcome you with pleasure, a few days after the feast of your Patron Saint, Saint Ambrose: he too, although in different historical circumstances, had been prefect, before being called by God in an unexpected way to become pastor of the people in Milan. And that phrase of his is well known: «You think: times are bad, times are difficult, times are difficult. Live well and you will change the times." Live well and you will change the times: beautiful phrase! These words can also refer to the substance of your service: ensuring that the inhabitants of the places entrusted to you can "live well".
To carry out this task, you act as an intermediary between the State and the territory, constantly relating the whole to the parts, the center to the peripheries, the common good with attention to individuals. Your role realizes at an institutional level that «daily ability to broaden the […] circle» (Encyclical letter Fratelli tutti, 97), whereby each citizen, especially those who find themselves in difficult situations, experiences, in the presence of the State , the concrete closeness of the civil community. Therefore you take on various challenges, such as security and public order in a given territory, various services to people and communities. I would like to briefly focus on three of these challenges: public order, environmental critical issues and the management of migratory flows.
Public order. This is the priority and most delicate aspect of your work, because it requires, often in unpredictable and emergency situations, to combine respect for the law with attention to humanity. Legality and humanity together, to give the provisions the necessary application and at the same time also approach those who make mistakes with due respect, reconciling the protection of victims with the fair treatment of the guilty. Added to this is the great responsibility you have to deal with the risks that members of the police force, whom you also take care of, run on a daily basis. When carrying out your public office, it may be good to remember an ancient maxim, which refers to the order of personal life: "serva ordinim et ordo servabit te", "keep order and order will save you"; he will guard you, he will save you. It is a wise statement, because public order cannot be administered without personal and internal order. But when this is present, responsibility for public order is perceived as a call to create that climate of harmonious coexistence thanks to which difficulties can be faced and resolved. I would like to say that yours is a sort of institutional fatherhood: exercised with conscience and dedication, it does not spare sacrifices and sleepless nights and deserves our gratitude.
Second point: environmental critical issues. Your roots in the territories leads me to this second reflection: although they do not fall within your direct competence, hydro-geological problems are unfortunately now frequent emergencies and involve everyone; linked to atmospheric phenomena that should be unusual and extraordinary, have become habitual due to climate change. We have witnessed this in recent times: think, to name a few, of the recent disasters in Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Sicily. But precisely in those circumstances we had the opportunity to admire, beyond sterile controversies, the best qualities of the Italian people, who, especially in times of difficulty, know how to unite in an exemplary way, combining the diligence of the institutions with the commitment of the citizens. You have had the task of managing the available resources as best as possible and of bringing public and private operators into synergy. It is important and urgent, in the present and in the future, to unite efforts to protect, in time and with foresight, our common home.
And finally the migratory flows, with their delicate management at a local level. This task is also not easy, because it entrusts to your care wounded people, vulnerable people, often lost people and those who have suffered terrible traumas. They are faces, not numbers: people who cannot simply be classified, but who should be embraced; brothers and sisters who need to be freed from the tentacles of criminal organizations, capable of speculating without any mercy on their misfortunes. We learned about the "camps" in some North African countries, where those who want to come to Europe are treated like slaves, tortured, even killed. You are given the arduous task of organizing an orderly welcome for them in the area, based on integration and constructive insertion into the local fabric. You cannot be left alone in this task of supporting them in their essential needs and at the same time listening to the apprehensions and tensions that may arise in residents, as well as naturally intervening when situations of disorder and violence arise.
We must be careful. Migrants must be received, accompanied, promoted and integrated. If this is not there, there is danger; if there is no this path towards integration, there is danger. And this also makes me think of another problem. Migrants help when they fit in well. Italy is a land where there is a lack of children, and migrants come. I am worried about the problem of the low birth rate here in Italy. They don't have children. One of my secretaries was telling me that he was walking around the square the other day: a lady approached who had a trolley with her child; he goes to pet the baby… she was a little dog! Little dogs are taking the place of children. Think about this. The responsibility that Italians have to have children to grow up and also to receive migrants as children.
In conclusion, I renew my gratitude for your visit and for the commitment you make every day in favor of the common good. Thank you, because you work for peaceful coexistence in the very varied territories of our Italy, rich in traditions and values that speak of cohesion, welcome, solidarity. I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the upcoming Christmas holidays: God who, by incarnating himself, came to inhabit our spaces, bless you, bless the populations and territories you serve. And don't forget to pray for me. Thank you.
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