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Pope Francis address to the Federation of Christian Organizations
for International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV)
VOLUNTEERS TO THE WORLD
Consistory Hall Monday, 14 November 2022
Pope Francis’ discourse (in a footnote below) was handed to those present
But first – Pope Francis speaking from the Heart
Pope Francis said the following from the Heart about Confrontation Versus Volunteering
Thank you very much for this visit, thank you very much to you, for your words.
This is the speech that I have to read now, but it is better for you to read it at home, I give it to the president, she is in charge of making it known.
At this time I say a few things from my heart, okay?
Volunteerism is one of the three things I have found in Italy as a characteristic of yours, I have not found it so elsewhere.
The other things are the parish oratories, in the north especially, and then the economic aid associations, banking, for people to take there mortgage and go ahead, an economic type of help. Three typically Italian things.
I’ll take the first one: volunteering.
It is one of the most beautiful things. Because everyone, with his own freedom, chooses to take this path which is a path of going out to the other, going out with an outstretched hand, a path of going out to care about others. One has to take action.
I can stay at home sitting, quiet, watching TV or doing other things – NO.
I make this effort of going out. Volunteering is the drudgery of going out to help others, that’s what it is. There is no desk volunteering and there is no television volunteering, no.
Volunteering is always going out, heart open, hand outstretched, legs ready to go.
Going out to meet and going out to give. I want to talk more about these two phrases again.
Going out to meet.
We are living a civilization of confrontation. Wars are a great clash, and today no one doubts that we are living the third world war: in a century, one clash after another, one after another… And we never learn, on a world level, but also on a personal level.
How many times we make decisions based on the confrontation: “Who are you?”-“No, I don’t know who I am, but I am against this and against that.” One’s identity is being-against, confrontation.
Instead, the way that you propose, that you live, and that is a true Christian proposal is the encounter to resolve, to heal the confrontation.
We are living the civilization of confrontation. It is easier to say, “I am against this, against that, against that other,” than to say, “I am with.” It costs us more effort to do that.
And you go out to find people, to find men and women who need help, who need the outstretched hand, to walk together, with, not against.
Going out to Give
This is your volunteer work, and you do it without salary; yes maybe you get something for the bus, the ticket, but nothing more. Without salary, not to earn your living, but out of vocation. And it is an investment of your time that makes the lives of others fruitful. Continue on this path of volunteerism, it is one of the riches of your Italian culture.
If there are problems — there will always be problems, everywhere — problems should not be solved like the ostrich does by putting his head in the ground, problems are solved by walking, by going, by fighting — yes, fighting, it’s good! Sometimes it’s good to have a good fight — and to understand each other well but as brothers, fighting like brothers, good brothers know how to fight well.
I remember one time — a family thing — we are five of us and my brother, the second one, got angry with the third one, both already married, grown up and they said (things) to each other in all colors! Me there listening to them, I was thinking, “My God, these people don’t tell each other!” “You did … you are a jerk … you are this, that other …”. Of everything.
Then they stopped. And my brother said, “I’m leaving because I’m busy… Bye beautiful!”
A kiss and it was over. Brothers know how to argue but without going so far as to destroy the essential which is the brotherly bond. We have to do this, seek the truth, there are different points of view, you argue, fine, but that you do not touch, that always remains, brotherhood. And volunteering is a hymn to brotherhood, it is a hymn to keep going like this. Therefore, keep going like this, keep helping in this sense, help by giving people a hand.
This I wanted to tell you before I give the blessing and say goodbye. I am so happy with this that you guys are doing. Keep going, and may more people join you to do this good work of humanity. Thank you!
Footnote: (Pope Francis’s Formal Discourse to FOCSIV
Pope Francis address to the Federation of Christian Organizations
for International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV)
Consistory Hall Monday, 14 November 2022
Pope Francis’ discourse was handed to those present
The Italian Federation of non Governmental (NGO) Christian Organisations for the International Voluntary Service, have been involved since 1972 in the cooperation with populations in the Southern Hemisphere and in the promotion of a culture of universality, inspirited by the desire to remove structural causes for poverty and underdevelopment, the struggle for the complete acknowledgement of dignity and the rights of each human being, to construct a long bridge of solidarity between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Federation of Non-Governmental Christian Organizations for the International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV) offers a valuable contribution to the fight against every form of poverty and marginalization, to the protection of human dignity, to the affirmation of human rights and the promotion of growth in communities and local institutions; and it seeks to carry out all this in coherence with the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church. Thank you for what you do, and for how you do it! You are a good sign of the Mother-Church that generates hope in a world inured to the outrages of hunger and wars.
Your witness is a concrete response to those who no longer believe in a possible peace. Indeed, by your commitment you demonstrate that every small daily fragment can build the great mosaic of brotherhood.
We want a world of solidarity, where everyone feels welcome and is not forced to give up their dreams. This is not just a simple wish, but a very precise intent, which one of your mottos expresses as follows: “A world to be built together, with respect for creation, in which every person is fulfilled in full dignity!” It is a very timely message at this historic moment: the shadow of a third world war looms over the destiny of entire nations, with terrible consequences for people. I am thinking, in particular, of the elderly, women, and children. What future are we building for the new generations? This is a question that should always accompany decisions at international level. Today, therefore, taking up the cry of the many voiceless to whom your organizations are close, I would like to reflect with you on three objectives that concern us all.
The first has to do with your being volunteers in the world.
What does that mean today? It seems to be a decisive and courageous signal of openness, of availability towards one’s neighbour, be they near or far. Because the outlook beyond borders becomes a predisposition of the heart to the encounter with the “neighbour”, a witness of love for humanity. Voluntary work is based on a deep-rooted attitude of solidarity, and we all know how much poverty, injustice and violence are present in every continent. Well, FOCSIV demonstrates that we can be “fratelli tutti”, all brothers and sisters, embracing every human being that the Lord places on the paths of our lives.
Today “we have a great opportunity to express our innate sense of fraternity, to be Good Samaritans who bear the pain of other people’s troubles rather than fomenting greater hatred and resentment” (Fratelli tutti, 77). In this way, Gospel teaching becomes daily life. And it is an invitation without exclusion; brothers all in humanity and in love.
A second objective regards peace,
which we see is wounded, trampled on in Ukraine and in many other places on the planet. When peace is lacking, when the “reasons” of fore prevail, people suffer, families are torn apart, and the most fragile are left alone. For months we have been seeing images of destruction, of death. Peace in justice is a necessary condition for a dignified life, to build together a better future. You, volunteers of FOCSIV, are required to nurture peace in your hearts and to share it with everyone you meet in your service. It is the most important gift you can take with you, wherever you go, because “the world does not need empty words but convinced witnesses, peacemakers who are open to a dialogue that rejects exclusion or manipulation” (Message for the 53rd World Day of Peace, 1 January 2020).
Finally, a third objective is development.
Every person, every people, needs the basic conditions for a dignified life; besides peace, shelter, healthcare, education, work, dialogue and mutual respect between cultures and faiths. Human promotion remains a commitment to which we must devote ourselves with willingness, vigour, creativity and the appropriate tools. Only an integral development – of the person and the contest in which he or she lives – enables the fulfilment of a good life, both personal and social, serene and open to the future. But think of how many young people are forced today to leave their homeland in search of a dignified existence; of how many men, women and children face inhuman journeys and violence of every type, in search of a better future; of how many continue to die on the routes of desperation, while we discuss their destiny or turn away! Forced migrations – to flee from wars, hunger, persecution or climate changes – are one of the great evils of this age, we will only be able to tackle at its root by ensuring real development in every country. And you, volunteers of FOCSIV, are also committed to this.
Dear friends, in these fifty years you have been weavers of peace and artisans of charity and development. I encourage you to continue, on the paths of the world, taking care of your brothers and sisters, like the good Samaritan did, aware that “we cannot be indifferent to suffering; we cannot allow anyone to go through life as an outcast” (Fratelli tutti, 68). Do not let yourselves be discouraged by difficulties or by disappointments, but trust in the Lord, who who is both rock and tenderness. I entrust each of you and all the members of your organizations to the protection of the Virgin Mary. With all my heart, I bless you. And I ask you to please pray for me. Thank you!
