Pope Francis shaking hands with children as he meets staff and families of the Italian Steel Works company “Acciaierie di Terni” celebrating its 130th anniversary during an audience at the Vatican.
Employment not only involves an economic benefit but mainly men’s dignity, Pope Francis said today during an audience with workers of the Italian Steel Works company “Acciaierie di Terni” and warned the unemployed face the risk of “social exclusion.”
The meeting took place this morning in the Vatican marking the 130th anniversary of Terni’s foundation.
“Any person who is unemployed or underemployed runs the risk of being put in the margins of society and becoming therefore a victim of social exclusion,” the first Latin American pontiff in history told the group of visitors and pointed out that labour is a “vital reality” to families and people. Having a job, Francis considered, must be “an opportunity within everybody’s reach.»
At times Europe continues to struggle against the global crisis with millions – specially the young -, left without a job, the head of the Roman Catholic Church called workers to “face” a “stage of trouble and unemployment” with “creativity and solidarity.”
“Solidarity among all members of society, (from those) who give up something and adopt a sober lifestyle to help those in need,” Francis insisted, renewing his pledge for a humbler and austere way of life.
buenosairesherald.com