The AC of Ravenna-Cervia also “embraced” Pope Francis this morning in St. Peter’s Square. Five delegates, representing all sectors, accompanied by around thirty members, left from Ravenna to participate in the national meeting organized by the national Catholic Action with the pontiff. Between them, Roberta Ametrano, Pietro Berardi, Chiara Ugolini, Stefano Alberani and Fabio Zannoni.
“Be athletes and standard-bearers of the synod”: this is the instruction that the Pope left to the AC and which has remained in the hearts of many. And then Francesco’s thanks “for this intense and beautiful embrace, which from here wants to extend to all humanity, especially to those who suffer”.
Below is the report of this morning’s meeting in St. Peter’s Square by Michela Nicolais (Agensir) with the Pope’s words to the Ac
“At the origin of wars there are often missed or rejected hugs, which are followed by prejudices, misunderstandings and suspicions, to the point of seeing the other as an enemy”. Pope Francis is convinced of this in his speech to the over 80 thousand members of the Italian Catholic Actioncoming from all the Italian dioceses and gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Liberation Day, denounced how “unfortunately, in these days, all this is before our eyes, in too many parts of the world”.
“When the hug turns into a punch it is very dangerous,”
he added off the cuff regarding the theme of the event, “With open arms”. “The impetus that you express so festively today is not always welcomed in our world,” Francis’s analysis: “sometimes it encounters closures and resistance, so the arms become stiff and the hands clench threateningly, no longer becoming vehicles of brotherhood, but of refusal and opposition, even violent, of distrust towards others, near and far, to the point of leading to conflict”. “With your presence and with your work, however, you can testify to everyone that the path of‘hug is the way of life’, the homage of the Pope, who concluded his speech by urging those present to
“to be athletes and standard-bearers of synodality, in the dioceses and parishes of which you are part, for a full implementation of the journey undertaken to date”. Today’s meeting is a prologue to the work of the XVIII Elective National Assembly of the AC, “Witnesses of all the things he accomplished”, which will take place in Sacrofano, at the Fraterna Domus, from today’s afternoon to the morning of Sunday 28 April. One thousand delegates from all the dioceses of Italy will elect the National Council of Italian Catholic Action for the three-year period 2024-2027.
“Thank you for this intense and beautiful embrace, which from here wants to extend to all humanity, especially to those who suffer”,
the Pope’s debut. “The hug is one of the most spontaneous expressions of the human experience”, Francis recalled: “Man’s life opens with a hug, that of the parents, the first gesture of welcome, which is followed by many others, which give meaning and value to the days and years, until the last one, that of farewell from the earthly journey. And above all she is enveloped in the great embrace of God, who loves us first and never stops holding us close to himself, especially when we return after being lost, as the parable of the merciful Father shows us.” “What would our life be, and how could the mission of the Church be realized without these embraces?”, asked the Pope, who proposed to those present a reflection on “three types of hugs: the hug that is missing, the hug that saves, the hug that changes life”.“Let us allow ourselves to be embraced by him, like children, and so from the Lord’s embrace we learn to embrace others”, he orders.
“Friends, you will be all the more a presence of Christ the more you know how to embrace and support every brother in need with merciful and compassionate arms, as lay people engaged in the events of the world and history, rich in a great tradition, trained and competent in what concerns your responsibilities, and at the same time humble and fervent in the life of the spirit”.
It is the identikit of each member of the Italian Catholic Action, drawn by the Pope at the end of his speech. “This way you will be able to place concrete signs of change according to the Gospel at a social, cultural, political and economic level in the contexts in which you operate”, Francis assured regarding the “embrace of charity”, “the only essential sign of the disciples of Christ”: “Then the culture of embracing, through your personal and community journeys, will grow in the Church and in society, renewing family and educational relationships, the processes of reconciliation and justice, the efforts of communion and co-responsibility, building bonds for a future of peace”.
“Seeing you all here together – children, families, men and women, students, workers, young people, adults and ‘very adults’, as you call those of my generation – makes me think of the synod”, the final image chosen by the Holy Father. “And I think of the current Synod, which reaches its third stage, the most challenging and important, the prophetic one”, Francis continued: “The most important thing about this synod is synodality. This is why we need people shaped by the SpiritOf ‘pilgrims of hope’as the theme of the Jubilee now approaching says, capable of tracing and following new and challenging paths”.
