Francis in Ecuador gives key lessons on mission, unity and ecology

[Austen Ivereigh] Pope Francis's second and final day in Ecuador offered a chance to outline a new future for Latin America and a better world order as he linked mission to unity and called for a new awareness of the planet and the poor.His teaching began with a million-strong Mass at Quito's Bicentennial Park, and ended with meetings with thousands of educators and civil society leaders at the city's Catholic university and one of its most important churches. The three main addresses were underpinned by his ecology encyclical, Laudato Si', which calls for the restoration of the bonds between people and God and the planet.The Bicentennial Park Mass, on the theme of evangelization and mission, put on a spectacular display of Ecuador's ethnic diversity, with each of its 14 nationalities represented in the offertory. The Pope's own vestments were hand-made of wool, with native patterns. The second reading was in Quichua, a local variant of the language of the Inca empire, Quechua.The massive attendance at both Masses, on Monday and Tuesday, together with the large crowds lining the roads where he has traveled, means that about a quarter of Ecuador's population has had the chance to see the Pope directly.Francis, who is well read in the history of Latin-American emancipation from Spain in the early nineteenth century, linked the continent's struggle for independence - born of "a lack of freedom, of exploitation and despoliation" - to Jesus's cry for unity. Noting that the independence movement "only made headway once personal differences were set aside, together with the desire for power and the inability to appreciate other movements of liberation which were different yet not thereby opposed", he warned that evangelization must build unity, focussing on the Gospel. "Our unity can hardly shine forth if spiritual worldliness makes us feud among ourselves in a futile quest for power, prestige, pleasure or economic security," he said.In what was inevitably taken as an allusion to Latin America's doctrinaire governments in Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina as well as Bolivia and Ecuador,  Pope Francis said true unity was not the result of the imposition of ideologies or authoritarian states, but the recognition of peoples' innate dignity as children of God:

 The wealth of our differences, our diversity which becomes unity whenever we commemorate Holy Thursday, makes us wary of all totalitarian, ideological or sectarian schemes. Nor is this unity something we can fashion as we will, setting conditions, choosing who can belong and who cannot. Jesus prays that we will all become part of a great family in which God is our Father and all of us are brothers and sisters. This is not about having the same tastes, the same concerns, the same gifts. We are brothers and sisters because God created us out of love and destined us, purely of his own initiative, to be his sons and daughters (cf. Eph 1:5).

He ended with an invitation to Latin America to become an example to the world of fraternal unity and communion.

How beautiful it would be if all could admire how much we care for one another, how we encourage and help each other. Giving of ourselves establishes an interpersonal relationship; we do not give “things” but our very selves. In any act of giving, we give ourselves. “Giving of oneself” means letting all the power of that love which is God’s Holy Spirit take root in our lives, opening our hearts to his creative power. When we give of ourselves, we discover our true identity as children of God in the image of the Father and, like him, givers of life; we discover that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, to whom we bear witness. This is what it means to evangelize; this is the new revolution – for our faith is always revolutionary –, this is our deepest and most enduring cry.

In the afternoon, Pope Francis addressed 2,000 educators and some 3,000 students at Quito's Jesuit-run Pontifical Catholic University, telling them that care for the environment is now a "requirement". Linking together 'human ecology' and care for the world, he said humanity was faced with a stark choice:

There is a relationship between our life and that of mother earth, between the way we live and the gift we have received from God. “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation” (Laudato Si’, 48).  Yet just as both can “deteriorate”, we can also say that they can “support one another and can be changed for the better”.  This reciprocal relationship can lead to openness, transformation, and life, or to destruction and death.One thing is certain: we can no longer turn our backs on reality, on our brothers and sisters, on mother earth. It is wrong to turn aside from what is happening all around us, as if certain situations did not exist or have nothing to do with our life.

Using the same urgent language and concepts as Laudato Si', Pope Francis urged educators to abandon abstraction and focus their efforts on reflecting on present realities and how to transform them.

Educational communities play an essential role in the enrichment of civic and cultural life.  It is not enough to analyze and describe reality: there is a need to shape environments of creative thinking, discussions which develop alternatives to current problems, especially today.Faced with the globalization of a technocratic paradigm which tends to believe “that every increase in power means an increase of progress itself, an advance in security, usefulness, welfare and vigor; …an assimilation of new values into the stream of culture, as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as such” (Laudato Si’, 105), it is urgent that we keep reflecting on and talking about our current situation.  We need to ask ourselves about the kind of culture we want not only for ourselves, but for our children and our grandchildren.  We have received this earth as an inheritance, as a gift, in trust.  We would do well to ask ourselves: “What kind of world do we want to leave behind?  What meaning or direction do we want to give to our lives?  Why have we been put here?  What is the purpose of our work and all our efforts?” (cf. Laudato Si’, 160).

He then went to the St Francis church in Quito to meet civic, business and political leaders in an invitation-only meeting watched on video screens outside by a crowd of 6,000. There he heard speeches by businesspeople and indigenous leaders, and listened to music played by an orchestra of children with Downs Syndrome. A catechist of the Motubio people told the Pope of the challenges facing farmers in her area.In his short and direct speech, Francis developed his "culture of encounter" vision of a new world order in which "the goods of the earth are meant for everyone, and however much someone may parade his property, it has a social mortgage.  In this way we move beyond purely economic justice, based on commerce, towards social justice, which upholds the fundamental human right to a dignified life." Outlining the challenges facing contemporary Latin America -- "Migration, overcrowded cities, consumerism, crises in the family, unemployment and pockets of poverty" -- he called for politics and laws to create the conditions for inclusion, dialogue and encounter. He pointed to a better future, which meant creating jobs for young people and ensuring an economic growth which is shared by all. And he stressed the importance of what he called "a participatory democracy" in which "each social group, indigenous peoples, Afro-Ecuadorians, women, civic associations and those engaged in public service are all indispensable participants in this dialogue."He also called for Ecuadorians to be at the forefront of "integral ecology", the vision he outlined in Laudato Si' of a new awareness and concern for humanity and the planet.

The tapping of natural resources, which are so abundant in Ecuador, must not be concerned with short-term benefits.  As stewards of these riches which we have received, we have an obligation toward society as a whole and towards future generations.  We cannot bequeath this heritage to them without proper care for the environment, without a sense of gratuitousness born of our contemplation of the created world.Among us today are some of our brothers and sisters representing the indigenous peoples of the Equatorial Amazon.  That region is one of the “richest areas both in the number of species and in endemic, rare or less protected species…  it requires greater protection because of its immense importance for the global ecosystem… it possesses an enormously complex biodiversity which is almost impossible to appreciate fully, yet when [such woodlands] are burned down or leveled for purposes of cultivation, within the space of a few years countless species are lost and the areas frequently become arid wastelands” (cf. Laudato Si’, 37-38).   Ecuador – together with other countries bordering the Amazon – has an opportunity to become a teacher of integral ecology.  We received this world as an inheritance from past generations, but also as a loan from future generations, to whom we will have to return it!

Following a private visit to the Jesuit church in Quito, Pope Francis retired to the Nunciature. This morning he will visit the Missionaries of Charity's nursing home and meet with clergy at the Marian shrine of El Quinche before traveling to La Paz, Bolivia.The full texts from yesterday follow.TEXT 1, 7 July: Pope Francis’ Homily at Mass for the Evangelization of Peoples, at the Bicentennial Park, QuitoThe word of God calls us to live in unity, that the world may believe. I think of those hushed words of Jesus during the Last Supper as more of a shout, a cry rising up from this Mass which we are celebrating in Bicentennial Park. The bicentennial which this Park commemorates was that of Latin America’s cry for independence. It was a cry which arose from being conscious of a lack of freedom, of exploitation and despoliation, of being “subject to the passing whims of the powers that be” (Evangelii Gaudium, 213).I would like to see these two cries joined together, under the beautiful challenge of evangelization. We evangelize not with grand words, or complicated concepts, but with “the joy of the Gospel”, which “fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. For those who ac­cept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness” (ibid., 1). We who are gathered here at table with Jesus are ourselves a cry, a shout born of the conviction that his presence leads us to unity, “pointing to a horizon of beauty and inviting others to a delicious banquet” (ibid., 15).“Father, may they be one... so that the world may believe”. This was Jesus’ prayer as he raised his eyes to heaven. This petition arose in a context of mission: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world”. At that moment, the Lord was experiencing in his own flesh the worst of this world, a world he nonetheless loved dearly. Knowing full well its intrigues, its falsity and its betrayals, he did not turn away, he did not complain. We too encounter daily a world torn apart by wars and violence. It would be facile to think that division and hatred only concern struggles between countries or groups in society. Rather, they are a manifestation of that “widespread individualism” which divides us and sets us against one another (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 99), that legacy of sin lurking in the heart of human beings, which causes so much suffering in society and all of creation. But is it precisely this troubled world into which Jesus sends us. We must not respond with nonchalance, or complain we do not have the resources to do the job, or that the problems are too big. Instead, we must respond by taking up the cry of Jesus and accepting the grace and challenge of being builders of unity.There was no shortage of conviction or strength in that cry for freedom which arose a little more than two hundred years ago. But history tells us that it only made headway once personal differences were set aside, together with the desire for power and the inability to appreciate other movements of liberation which were different yet not thereby opposed.Evangelization can be a way to unite our hopes, concerns, ideals and even utopian visions. We believe this and we make it our cry. I have already said that, “in our world, especially in some countries, different forms of war and conflict are re-emerging, yet we Christians remain steadfast in our intention to respect others, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships and to ‘bear one an­other’s burdens’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 67). The desire for unity involves the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, the conviction that we have an immense treasure to share, one which grows stronger from being shared, and becomes ever more sensitive to the needs of others (cf. ibid., 9). Hence the need to work for inclusivity at every level, to avoid forms of selfishness, to build communication and dialogue, to encourage collaboration. We need to give our hearts to our companions along the way, without suspicion or distrust. “Trusting others is an art, and peace is an art” (ibid., 244). Our unity can hardly shine forth if spiritual worldliness makes us feud among ourselves in a futile quest for power, prestige, pleasure or economic security.Such unity is already an act of mission, “that the world may believe”. Evangelization does not consist in proselytizing, but in attracting by our witness those who are far off, in humbly drawing near to those who feel distant from God and the Church, those who are fearful or indifferent, and saying to them: “The Lord, with great respect and love, is also calling you to be a part of his people” (Evangelii Gaudium, 113).The Church’s mission as sacrament of salvation also has to do with her identity as a pilgrim people called to embrace all the nations of the earth. The more intense the communion between us, the more effective our mission becomes (cf. John Paul II, Pastores Gregis, 22). Becoming a missionary Church requires constantly fostering communion, since mission does not have to do with outreach alone… We also need to be missionaries within the Church, showing that she is “a mother who reaches out, a welcoming home, a constant school of missionary communion” (Aparecida Document, 370).Jesus’ prayer can be realized because he has consecrated us. “For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth”. The spiritual life of an evangelizer is born of this profound truth, which should not be confused with a few comforting religious exercises. Jesus consecrates us so that we can encounter him personally. And this encounter leads us in turn to encounter others, to become involved with our world and to develop a passion for evangelization (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 78).Intimacy with God, in itself incomprehensible, is revealed by images which speak to us of communion, communication, self-giving and love. For that reason, the unity to which Jesus calls us is not uniformity, but rather a “multifaceted and inviting harmony” (Evangelii Gaudium, 117). The wealth of our differences, our diversity which becomes unity whenever we commemorate Holy Thursday, makes us wary of all totalitarian, ideological or sectarian schemes. Nor is this unity something we can fashion as we will, setting conditions, choosing who can belong and who cannot. Jesus prays that we will all become part of a great family in which God is our Father and all of us are brothers and sisters. This is not about having the same tastes, the same concerns, the same gifts. We are brothers and sisters because God created us out of love and destined us, purely of his own initiative, to be his sons and daughters (cf. Eph 1:5). We are brothers and sisters because “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” (Gal 4:6). We are brothers and sisters because, justified by the blood of Christ Jesus (cf. Rom 5:9), we have passed from death to life and been made “coheirs” of the promise (cf. Gal 3:26-29; Rom 8:17). That is the salvation which God makes possible for us, and which the Church proclaims with joy: to be part of the divine “we”.Our cry, in this place linked to the original cry for freedom in this country, echoes that of Saint Paul: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). It is a cry every bit as urgent and pressing as was the cry for independence. It is similarly thrilling in its ardor. May each of you be a witness to a fraternal communion which shines forth in our world!How beautiful it would be if all could admire how much we care for one another, how we encourage and help each other. Giving of ourselves establishes an interpersonal relationship; we do not give “things” but our very selves. In any act of giving, we give ourselves. “Giving of oneself” means letting all the power of that love which is God’s Holy Spirit take root in our lives, opening our hearts to his creative power. When we give of ourselves, we discover our true identity as children of God in the image of the Father and, like him, givers of life; we discover that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, to whom we bear witness. This is what it means to evangelize; this is the new revolution – for our faith is always revolutionary –, this is our deepest and most enduring cry.TEXT 2, 7 July:  Pope Francis' Meeting with Educators at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, QuitoI am very happy to be here with you this afternoon at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, which for almost sixty years has helped to further the Church’s educational mission in service to the men and women of this country.  I am grateful for your kind words of welcome, which expressed your profound hopes and concerns in the face of the challenges, both personal and social, of your work as educators.In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus, the Master, teaches the crowds and the small group of his disciples by accommodating himself to their ability to understand.  He does this with parables, like that of the sower (cf. Lk 8:4-15).  He does it in a way that everyone can understand.  Jesus does not seek to “play the professor”.  Instead, he seeks to reach people’s hearts, their understanding and their lives, so that they may bear fruit.The parable of the sower speaks to us of “cultivating”.  It speaks of various kinds of soil, ways of sowing and bearing fruit, and how they are all related.  Ever since the time of Genesis, God has quietly urged us to “cultivate and care for the earth”.God does not only give us life: he gives us the earth, he gives us all of creation.  He does not only give man a partner and endless possibilities: he also gives human beings a task, he gives them a mission.  He invites them to be a part of his creative work and he says: “Cultivate it!  I am giving you seeds, soil, water and sun.  I am giving you your hands and those of your brothers and sisters.  There it is, it is yours.  It is a gift, a present, an offering.  It is not something that can be bought or acquired.  It precedes us and it will be there long after us.Our world is a gift given to us by God so that, with him, we can make it our own.  God did not will creation for himself, so he could see himself reflected in it.  On the contrary: creation is a gift to be shared.  It is the space that God gives us to build up with one another, to build a “we”.  The world, history, all of time – this is the setting in which we build this “we” with God, with others, with the earth.  This invitation is always present, more or less consciously in our life; it is always there.But there is something else which is special.  As Genesis recounts, after the word “cultivate”, another word immediately follows: “care”.  Each explains the other.  They go hand in hand.  Those who do not cultivate do not care; those who do not care do not cultivate.We are not only invited to share in the work of creation and to cultivate it, to make it grow and to develop it.  We are also invited to care for it, to protect it, to be its guardians.  Nowadays we are increasingly aware of how important this is.  It is no longer a mere recommendation, but rather a requirement, “because of the harm we have inflicted on [the earth] by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed it.  We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder it at will…  This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor” (Laudato Si’, 2).There is a relationship between our life and that of mother earth, between the way we live and the gift we have received from God. “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation” (Laudato Si’, 48).  Yet just as both can “deteriorate”, we can also say that they can “support one another and can be changed for the better”.  This reciprocal relationship can lead to openness, transformation, and life, or to destruction and death.One thing is certain: we can no longer turn our backs on reality, on our brothers and sisters, on mother earth.  It is wrong to turn aside from what is happening all around us, as if certain situations did not exist or have nothing to do with our life.Again and again we sense the urgency of the question which God put to Cain, “Where is your brother?”  But I wonder if our answer continues to be: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9).Here, in this university setting, it would be worthwhile reflecting on the way we educate about this earth of ours, which cries out to heaven.Our academic institutions are seedbeds, places full of possibility, fertile soil which we must care for, cultivate and protect.  Fertile soil thirsting for life. My question to you, as educators, is this: Do you watch over your students, helping them to develop a critical sense, an open mind capable of caring for today’s world?  A spirit capable of seeking new answers to the varied challenges that society sets before us?  Are you able to encourage them not to disregard the world around them?  Does our life, with its uncertainties, mysteries and questions, find a place in the university curriculum or different academic activities?  Do we enable and support a constructive debate which fosters dialogue in the pursuit of a more humane world?One avenue of reflection involves all of us, family, schools and teachers.  How do we help our young people not to see a university degree as synonymous with higher status, money and social prestige.  How can we help make their education a mark of greater responsibility in the face of today’s problems, the needs of the poor, concern for the environment?I also have a question for you, dear students.  You are Ecuador’s present and future, the seedbed of your society’s future growth.  Do you realize that this time of study is not only a right, but a privilege?  How many of your friends, known or unknown, would like to have a place in this house but, for various reasons, do not?  To what extent do our studies help us feel solidarity with them?Educational communities play an essential role in the enrichment of civic and cultural life.  It is not enough to analyze and describe reality: there is a need to shape environments of creative thinking, discussions which develop alternatives to current problems, especially today.Faced with the globalization of a technocratic paradigm which tends to believe “that every increase in power means an increase of progress itself, an advance in security, usefulness, welfare and vigor; …an assimilation of new values into the stream of culture, as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as such” (Laudato Si’, 105), it is urgent that we keep reflecting on and talking about our current situation.  We need to ask ourselves about the kind of culture we want not only for ourselves, but for our children and our grandchildren.  We have received this earth as an inheritance, as a gift, in trust.  We would do well to ask ourselves: “What kind of world do we want to leave behind?  What meaning or direction do we want to give to our lives?  Why have we been put here?  What is the purpose of our work and all our efforts?” (cf. Laudato Si’, 160).Personal initiatives are always necessary and good.  But we are asked to go one step further: to start viewing reality in an organic and not fragmented way, to ask about where we stand in relation to others, inasmuch as “everything is interconnected” (Laudato Si’, 138). As a university, as educational institutions, as teachers and students, life itself challenges us to answer this question: What does this world need us for?  Where is your brother?May the Holy Spirit inspire and accompany us, for he has summoned us, invited us, given us the opportunity and the duty to offer the best of ourselves.  He is the same Spirit who on the first day of creation moved over the waters, ready to transform them, ready to bestow life.  He is the same Spirit who gave the disciples the power of Pentecost.   The Spirit does not abandon us.  He becomes one with us, so that we can encounter paths of new life.  May he, the Spirit, always be our teacher and our companion along the way.Text 3, 7 July: Pope Francis address to civic leaders at Saint Francis Church in QuitoI am pleased to be with you, men and women who represent and advance the social, political and economic life of this country.As I entered this church, the Mayor of Quito gave me the keys to the city.  So I can say that here, in Saint Francis of Quito, I feel at home.  His expression of affectionate closeness, opening your doors to me, allows me to speak, in turn, about a few other keys: keys to our life in society, beginning with family life.Our society benefits when each person and social group feels truly at home.  In a family, parents, grandparents and children feel at home; no one is excluded.  If someone has a problem, even a serious one, even if he brought it upon himself, the rest of the family comes to his assistance; they support him.  His problems are theirs.  Should it not be the same in society?  Our relationships in society and political life, though, are often based on confrontation and the attempt to eliminate our opponents.  My position, my ideas and my plans will move forward if I can prevail over others and impose my will.  Is this the way a family should be?In families, everyone contributes to the common purpose, everyone works for the common good, not denying each person’s individuality but encouraging and supporting it.  The joys and sorrows of each are felt by all.  That is what it means to be a family!  If only we could view our political opponents or neighbors in the same way we view our children or our spouse, mother or father!  Do we love our society?  Do we love our country, the community which we are trying to build?  Do we love it in the abstract, in theory?  Let us love it by our actions more than by our words!  In every person, in concrete situations, in our life together, love always leads to communication, never to isolation.This feeling can give rise to small gestures which strengthen personal bonds.  I have often spoken the importance of the family as the primary cell of society.  In the family, we find the basic values of love, fraternity and mutual respect, which translate into essential values for society as a whole: gratitude, solidarity and subsidiarity.Parents know that all their children are equally loved, even though each has his or her own character.  But when children refuse to share what they have freely received, this relationship breaks down.  The love of their parents helps children to overcome their selfishness, to learn to live with others, to yield and be patient.  In the wider life of society we come to see that “gratuitousness” is not something extra, but rather a necessary condition of justice.  Who we are, and what we have, has been given to us so that we can place it at the service of others.  Our task is to make it bear fruit in good works.  The goods of the earth are meant for everyone, and however much someone may parade his property, it has a social mortgage.  In this way we move beyond purely economic justice, based on commerce, towards social justice, which upholds the fundamental human right to a dignified life.The tapping of natural resources, which are so abundant in Ecuador, must not be concerned with short-term benefits.  As stewards of these riches which we have received, we have an obligation toward society as a whole and towards future generations.  We cannot bequeath this heritage to them without proper care for the environment, without a sense of gratuitousness born of our contemplation of the created world.Among us today are some of our brothers and sisters representing the indigenous peoples of the Equatorial Amazon.  That region is one of the “richest areas both in the number of species and in endemic, rare or less protected species…  it requires greater protection because of its immense importance for the global ecosystem… it possesses an enormously complex biodiversity which is almost impossible to appreciate fully, yet when [such woodlands] are burned down or leveled for purposes of cultivation, within the space of a few years countless species are lost and the areas frequently become arid wastelands” (cf. Laudato Si’, 37-38).   Ecuador – together with other countries bordering the Amazon – has an opportunity to become a teacher of integral ecology.  We received this world as an inheritance from past generations, but also as a loan from future generations, to whom we will have to return it!Out of the family’s experience of fraternity is born solidarity in society, which does not only consist in giving to those in need, but in feeling responsible for one another.  If we see others as our brothers and sisters, then no one can be left out or set aside.Ecuador, like many Latin American nations, is now experiencing profound social and cultural changes, new challenges which need to be faced by every sector of society.  Migration, overcrowded cities, consumerism, crises in the family, unemployment and pockets of poverty: all these factors create uncertainty and tensions which threaten social harmony.  Laws and regulations, as well as social planning, need to aim at inclusion, create opportunities for dialogue and encounter, while leaving behind all forms of repression, excessive control or loss of freedom as painful past memories.  Hoping in a better future calls for offering real opportunities to people, especially young people, creating employment, and ensuring an economic growth which is shared by all (rather than simply existing on paper, in macroeconomic statistics), and promoting a sustainable development capable of generating a solid and cohesive social fabric.Finally, the respect for others which we learn in the family finds social expression in subsidiarity.  To recognize that our choices are not necessarily the only legitimate ones is a healthy exercise in humility.  In acknowledging the goodness inherent in others, even with their limitations, we see the richness present in diversity and the value of complementarity.  Individuals and groups have the right to go their own way, even though they may sometimes make mistakes.  In full respect for that freedom, civil society is called to help each person and social organization to take up its specific role and thus contribute to the common good.  Dialogue is needed and is fundamental for arriving at the truth, which cannot be imposed, but sought with a sincere and critical spirit.  In a participatory democracy, each social group, indigenous peoples, Afro-Ecuadorians, women, civic associations and those engaged in public service are all indispensable participants in this dialogue.  The walls, patios and cloisters of this city eloquently make this point: rooted in elements of Incan and Caranqui culture, beautiful in their proportions and shapes, boldly and strikingly combining different styles, the works of art produced by the “Quito school” sum up that great dialogue, with its successes and failures, which is Ecuador’s history.  Today we see how beautiful it is.  If the past was marked by errors and abuses – how can we deny it! – we can say that the amalgamation which resulted radiates such exuberance that we can look to the future with great hope.The Church wishes for her part to cooperate in the pursuit of the common good, through her social and educational works, promoting ethical and spiritual values, and serving as a prophetic sign which brings a ray of light and hope to all, especially those most in need.Thank you for being here, for listening to me.  I ask you please to carry my words of encouragement to the different communities and groups which you represent.  May the Lord grant that the civil society which you represent will always be a fitting setting for experiencing and practicing these values of which I have spoken.