The Holy Father displayed in his home a signed flag from the 33
Chilean miners as a reminder to pray for the trapped men until they were
freed.
Their rescue, said Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, is a
reminder of the value of all human life and the importance of
dedication to saving it.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, in his weekly editorial on the Vatican
television network CTV, reported that a young Chilean gave the flag to
the Pope at a general audience. Benedict XVI subsequently took it home
and displayed it as a reminder of the men’s plight and their need for
prayer.
On several occasions during their more than two-month entombment, the
Holy Father remembered the miners in public comments assuring them of
his prayers. As he commended them to God on Oct. 13 rescuers were
already extracting them.
The world watched as the 33 miners returned to the surface after 69
days under the earth.
Fr. Lombardi noted the wide participation of the
global audience in the "worries and hopes" of the miners, their families
and all of Chile.
It was "beautiful," he said, that through the media
the world was able to become involved in the "extraordinary enterprise
carried out to save some human lives."
It was the power of the media that allowed the world to participate
in this situation, which brought awareness to the value of life, said
Fr. Lombardi.
While the world is happy for the "new horizon" of those saved, he
added, "in the background remains our memory of the numerous miners who
in the different parts of the world have had or will have a different
destiny due to misfortunes and unsafe work conditions."
Referring to those who die "forgotten and unappreciated," he asked
why the "marvelous commitment of intelligence and passion" used for
these 33 couldn't be multiplied to save more.
"Shouldn't the media continue to make the world participate in the
commitment for life?" the Vatican media head concluded his editorial.
SIC: CNA/INT'L