PRESS CONFERENCE FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE LENTEN MESSAGE 2016
(26 January 2016)

A press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office this morning to present the Holy Father's Message for Lent 2016. The speakers were Card. Francesco Montenegro, Achbishop of Agrigento, President of  Caritas Italiana and member of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso assisted by Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, respectively Secretary and Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

Speech by Msrg. Giampietro Dal Toso

Mons. Giampietro Dal Toso
Secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum

PRESENTATION OF THE MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR LENT 2016
« I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Mt 9:13).
The Works of Mercy on the Road of the Jubileee »
Press Office of the Holy See, 26.1.2016

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for being here–especially Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento, President of Caritas Italiana and recently appointed Member of our Pontifical Council.

Cor Unum diffuses the Lenten Message every year and in this Jubilee it was only natural for the theme to be linked to mercy and - more specifically – to the works of mercy, of which the Pope has already spoken in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee. The works of mercy are: To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To shelter the homeless; To visit the sick; To visit the imprisoned; To bury the dead; To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To admonish sinners; To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive offences willingly; To comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead.

Are the works of mercy a mere expression of human common sense? Some might say that everyone already agrees that we should feed the hungry and teach those who are ignorant. Yet: why did the Pope want to rekindle these works? I have a feeling that these works have long been depreciated and trivialized, maybe because we thought that it was no longer fashionable to think of the petty life of the believer, or maybe because our ecclesial practice has become quite institutionalized and politicized.

I think that the Pope has recalled these works for us because they denote not so much an action, but a relationship. Namely, they are not a way for us to affirm ourselves, but a means to say for whom and for what we live. For a Christian, the works of mercy express a relationship, i.e how one stands before God and one’s own life; they are not simply good deeds. The message sees in ‘mercy’ the dramatic love-story between God the Father - the betrayed Groom, and his people- his unfaithful wife and children. Mercy "restores the relationship." This applies not only to the relationship with God, but also to the relationship with our brothers and sisters. It is one thing to say, “Let us make wireless accessible to all”; it is quite another to say, "Let us teach those who are ignorant". In between, there is the person. Person that is so important, that one of the works of mercy is to bury the dead: what kind of love could be more free-giving than to honor to the body of a deceased person?
For their personal interpretation, I am particularly grateful to Pope Francis, who has recalled the works of mercy in the context of this Jubilee. He himself is a living witness of this. Bringing to light the works of mercy means to give vent to what Benedict XVI had anticipated, when in the introduction (§1) of the Encyclical Deus caritas est, he stated that faith can be qualified especially by a personal encounter with Christ. I would also like to mention my first meeting with Card. Montenegro, who impressed me with the observation that, when it comes to charity in the Church, before speaking of services we have to learn to speak about people.

Regarding the works of mercy, I would like to mention three aspects.
a. They are corporal and spiritual. Behind this tiny statement, there is an entire universe: infact, man is made of both body and soul. This Christian fact is in no way obvious: Christ is true man and true God. By His incarnation, the human body was deified and therefore the Church has always loved and defended the body together with the soul. The temptation to separate body and soul is a constant in history and continues to this present day. For eg., is man’s freedom limited by his physical body, or not? Or: can our development actions take place regardless of the spiritual aspect, or not? These are very serious questions and the unitary notion of the person conveyed by the works of mercy is a clear indication for our ecclesial action as well.
b. The works of mercy are a very simple, concrete, direct, alive, daily, easy, accessible-to-all - way of living the Jubilee of Mercy. The works of mercy describe what we as Christians can actually do every day, and that is why I find them so fascinating. Christianity is not a religion of ideas, of great and elaborate speculations, but it is born from concrete experiences and is intertwined with day to day living. Ideas can be said true after being carefully scrutinized by experience. Christianity is not even a religion of feelings, and mercy is not simply a feeling of vague universal reconciliation that has no impact on our daily lives. The works of mercy tell us that mercy has to become flesh, because Christianity is the faith in the incarnation of the Son who gave his body for the salvation of the world.
c. St. Thomas (S. Th. II-II, 32, 1) emphasizes the relationship between charity and works of mercy, because he states that mercy is the effect of charity. It is also indicative that to express the concept for the works of mercy, St. Thomas uses the term “alms”, which is the Greek term for mercy. Today, “alms” means something totally different. The same thing happened in the end with the term “charity”. This tells me that unfortunately we have narrowed this field down to "giving a few coins," while the Christian vision is much broader. In this perspective lays my desire to enhance these terms anew – first of all love – so as to not lose a precious treasure, and especially to maintain a view of the life of the Church that is biblically and theologically founded.

In conclusion, I would like to speak to you about two initiatives accompanying the Lenten Period of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and take this opportunity to publicize them. The first concerns a day of retreat during Lent for the Church’s charitable workers. It is an initiative that Pope Francis asked us to implement in the context of the Jubilee, always keeping in mind a Jubilee consistent with the reality we live in. For this reason, we have not set aside one particular date for this retreat, but each group, or institution, or organization can choose according to their local needs. The many charitable organizations are somehow a crystallization of the works of mercy. But we cannot offer mercy without having first received it. This day of retreat is for the many workers in the field of charity, so that they may experience the mercy of God, and then be able to give it to others through concrete works. I wish to point out that the idea is to carry out this initiative at the local level, in each single parish group such as Caritas, or St. Vincent de Paul, or the Misericordie (Mercies). All this is left to the liberty of the individual, while Cor Unum, in addition to raising awareness and promoting the initiative, has provided the material for the animation of this day, material that is found in several languages on our website: www.corunumjubilaeum.va.

The second initiative concerns a big International Conference on the 10th Anniversary of the first Encyclical by Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, promulgated on January 25, 2006. Pope Francis has supported and encouraged this project, which fits perfectly well in the context of this Jubilee. The response to this initiative, that will take place in the New Synod Hall on 25-26 February 2016, has been amazing and so it is my hope that it will have the same resonance in the media. I must also say that that Encyclical has had a major impact on the Church’s charitable world and has opened a path that is further expanding. It almost seems to me – though I don’t want to appear too bold – that Pope Francis gives concreteness today with his life example to what Pope Benedict had masterfully expressed in words. This Encyclical still has something to say and is a fundamental guide for the Church’s charitable workers, and for every Christian individually. The program is ready and will soon be available. The Conference will be transmitted live via streaming. Other details will be provided in due time, but right now I can tell you that Card. Muller, Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will be present, as will be attending Card. Tagle, President of Caritas Internationalis. The two will address the theological aspects of the meeting, while we have invited three great intellectuals of our time: Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen (Jewish), Prof. Saeed Ahmed Khan (Muslim) and Prof. Fabrice Hadjadj (Catholic), to speak on the subject from their respective points of view.

I wish to thank you in advance for the attention with which you will follow these initiatives.


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Bollettino della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, N. B0055, del 26.1.2015.