Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is
wonderful to be here with you! From the start, my wish in planning this
visit to Brazil was to be able to visit every district throughout the
nation. I would have liked to knock on every door, to say “good
morning”, to ask for a glass of cold water, to take a cafezinho, to
speak as one would to family friends, to listen to each person pouring
out his or her heart – parents, children, grandparents ... But Brazil is
so vast! It is impossible to knock on every door! So I chose to come
here, to visit your community, which today stands for every district in
Brazil. How wonderful it is to be welcomed with such love, generosity,
and joy! One need only look at the way you have decorated the streets of
the community; this is a further mark of affection, it comes from your
heart, from the heart of all Brazilians in festive mood. Many thanks to
each of you for this kind welcome! And I thank Archbishop Orani Tempesta
as well as Rangler and Joana for their kind words.
1. From the
moment I first set foot on Brazilian soil, right up to this meeting here
with you, I have been made to feel welcome. And it is important to be
able to make people welcome; this is something even more beautiful than
any kind of ornament or decoration. I say this because when we are
generous in welcoming people and sharing something with them – some
food, a place in our homes, our time – not only do we no longer remain
poor: we are enriched. I am well aware that when someone needing food
knocks at your door, you always find a way of sharing food; as the
proverb says, one can always “add more water to the beans”! And you do
so with love, demonstrating that true riches consist not in material
things, but in the heart!
And the
Brazilian people, particularly the humblest among you, can offer the
world a valuable lesson in solidarity, a word that is too often
forgotten or silenced, because it is uncomfortable. I would like to make
an appeal to those in possession of greater resources, to public
authorities and to all people of good will who are working for social
justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater
solidarity! No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that
persist in the world! Everybody, according to his or her particular
opportunities and responsibilities, should be able to make a personal
contribution to putting an end to so many social injustices. The culture
of selfishness and individualism that often prevails in our society is
not what builds up and leads to a more habitable world: it is the
culture of solidarity that does so, seeing others not as rivals or
statistics, but brothers and sisters.
I would like
to encourage the efforts that Brazilian society is making to integrate
all its members, including those who suffer most and are in greatest
need, through the fight against hunger and deprivation. No amount of
“peace-building” will be able to last, nor will harmony and happiness be
attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins or excludes a
part of itself. A society of that kind simply impoverishes itself, it
loses something essential. Let us always remember this: only when we are
able to share do we become truly rich; everything that is shared is
multiplied! The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the
way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from
their poverty!
2. I would
also like to tell you that the Church, the “advocate of justice and
defender of the poor in the face of intolerable social and economic
inequalities which cry to heaven” (Aparecida Document, 395), wishes to
offer her support for every initiative that can signify genuine
development for every person and for the whole person. Dear friends, it
is certainly necessary to give bread to the hungry – this is an act of
justice. But there is also a deeper hunger, the hunger for a happiness
that only God can satisfy. There is neither real promotion of the common
good nor real human development when there is ignorance of the
fundamental pillars that govern a nation, its non-material goods: life,
which is a gift of God, a value always to be protected and promoted; the
family, the foundation of coexistence and a remedy against social
fragmentation; integral education, which cannot be reduced to the mere
transmission of information for purposes of generating profit; health,
which must seek the integral well-being of the person, including the
spiritual dimension, essential for human balance and healthy
coexistence; security, in the conviction that violence can be overcome
only by changing human hearts.
I would like
to add one final point. Here, as in the whole of Brazil, there are many
young people. Dear young friends, you have a particular sensitivity
towards injustice, but you are often disappointed by facts that speak of
corruption on the part of people who put their own interests before the
common good. To you and to all, I repeat: never yield to
discouragement, do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to be
extinguished. Situations can change, people can change. Be the first to
seek to bring good, do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it. The
Church is with you, bringing you the precious good of faith, bringing
Jesus Christ, who “came that they may have life and have it abundantly”
(Jn 10:10).
Today, to
all of you, especially to the residents of this Community of Varginha, I
say: you are not alone, the Church is with you, the Pope is with you. I
carry each of you in my heart and I make my own the intentions that you
carry deep within you: thanksgiving for joys, pleas for help in times
of difficulty, a desire for consolation in times of grief and suffering.
I entrust all this to the intercession of Our Lady of Aparecida, Mother
of all the poor of Brazil, and with great affection I impart my
blessing.