Pope thanks Vatican Gendarmes for two centuries of
service
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
on Sunday thanked the Vatican security force for their tireless service and
warned against crimes that are connected to exploitation and corruption.
The Pope’s words came as he
celebrated Holy Mass for the Gendarmerie on the occasion of the 200th
anniversary of the Corps of the Vatican Gendarmes.
In his homily the Pope
reflected on the reading of the day from the prophet Amos regarding three
different types of people: the exploiter, the crook and the faithful man.
“Crooks love the scam and
hate honesty. Crooks love bribes, agreements done in the dark. This is worse
than anything, because he believes he's being honest” he said.
And he pointed out that
crooks “trample on the poor” with no concern or thought for the consequences of
their actions.
The Pope also spoke of the
many people in the world today who have “large, large industries of slave
labor” and said that “in the world today slave labor is a style of
management.”
Pope Francis also reflected
on the figure of the faithful man saying he is the one who follows Jesus and is
“a man of prayer, in the double sense that he prays for others and trusts in
the prayer of others for him.”
He told those present that
their responsibility is to serve by fighting against “scams, against crooks,
against exploiters”.
And observing that the
responsibility of the gendarmes is to defend honesty,” he said: “I thank you
for these two centuries of service, and I wish for all of you that the society
of Vatican City, that the Holy See, from the lowest to the highest, recognize
your service.”
The Vatican Gendarmerie is
the Corps that offers constant watch over Vatican City and the extraterritorial
areas belonging to the Holy See. The Corps ensures the security of these
places, maintains public order, and works to prevent and stop crime, in
addition to carrying out duties as judicial and border police. Pope Pius VII
established the force in 1816 after the Congress of Vienna led to the
restoration of the Papal States.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét